<p>@intparent I haven’t had contact with my biological father in many, many years, and he doesn’t pay child supporter anything in that regard. If it matters at all, he and his whole side of the family were the ones who abused me as a child. I am pretty much assured nothing from him as I grow up. Would I still have to add him, even if all he has contributed to my life is 1/2 of my DNA and 14 years of emotional trauma?
I would rather not go to college at all than contact him. </p>
<p>You may be able to get a waiver from colleges that want both bio parent’s financial information. Contact the FA offices at colleges you are interested in to see if you need to do that.</p>
<p>My understanding is the CSS profile schools (generally the schools that give need based aid only) do require both parents and step parents to submit financial information BUT in situations like yours it is possible to have it waived for a parent that is completely out of the picture. If you want more detailed answers post a question in the financial aid section. Make sure you do your home work on this so you can put together a realistic list.</p>
<p>You are a student who will DEFINITELY need to visit the schools on your short list once you have it nailed down. I think it would be hard to be antisocial at a lot of small LACs. It’s also harder to avoid the partying if it’s in the dorms and there aren’t many places to go to get away.</p>
<p>I hope they do.
Assuming my father and step-mother do the same jobs they did when I last contacted them and make median wages for their area, I’d be at the 200k a year group, which isn’t the best when it comes to aid. </p>
<p>Will your dad and stepmother contribute to your education (the colleges will expect them to but some parents refuse to)?
You’ll probably need a lot of merit scholarships.</p>
<p>How about Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ?</p>
<p>do you have any documentation about the abuse? </p>
<p>If your dad earns so much, how come he wasnt ordered to pay support?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634
I have had contact with his side of the family once in the past 6 or so years. Unless he has become a born again Christian or something of that magnitude, I can’t imagine me ever contacting him and even asking him to contribute. </p>
<p>So, I won’t qualify for major merit scholarships due to the trauma and results it caused me, and I won’t be able to qualify for major need based aid because he isn’t dead.
Surely there has to be a way for me not to get the double whammy here. I can’t be the first kid to have these problems together. </p>
<p>As far as I know, colleges do NOT require abuse victims to depend on their abusers for college funds. However 1° there must be some proof or documentation of the abuse (you do not need to have gone to trial and “proved him guilty” in court but there must be some record, e.g., a doctor who certifies this is true even if no detail is given, a mention in the GC’s report) 2° you have been estranged for xxx years.
I assume that since you haven’t been in touch and your mother hasn’t been asking questions, she knows about it.
I do not know the exact process to establish severed ties due to child abuse: head to the Financial Aid forum and ask, like “child abuse+estranged father & FA issues” r something descriptive of the kind, so that the specialists can answer thoroughly.</p>
<p>OP, you still have Purdue and Indiana as in-state options. You have nothing to worry about. Those both come in under your budget.</p>
<p>Your in-state options sound like excellent choices. You might consider a couple of schools like Notre Dame, or a couple of the Midwest Jesuit schools (Xavier, Marquette, Loyola) to see if you get merit aid but I really like Purdue and Indiana.
Academics are always the priority at college, but on a personal note college gives you a fresh start that so don’t shut yourself off to finding some good friends in college and going out once in a while. You can be an extraordinarily serious student and still create some time for a social life or becoming involved in some campus activities (even ones related to your academic area of interest) .</p>
<p>I was looking at Alabama, but their graduate programs were ranked a lot lower than IU and Purdue’s.
I know this isn’t a good way to accurately view undergrad programs (especially on US News), but would I be doing a disservice to myself to go to Alabama with a full ride over Indiana and Purdue? </p>
<p>Graduate programs aren’t usable here.
You’d be comparing Honors Programs, and UA’s is very good.
In any case: apply to all three. Then, compare what each offers you. :)</p>
<p>If you’re looking at Nuclear Physics, Reed College has a nuclear reactor and is around 3rd in the nation for producing PhDs by percentage. Though, it will be harder to get in for you because they aren’t need blind for admissions. You might be able to get good financial aid there if you get in, though.</p>
<p>My GPA is .3 points below their average, although my ACT score is above their average.
Overall, Reed’s social climate and all seems really strong, and it is something I wouldn’t want to participate in. </p>
<p>“I really don’t care where I live or what political climate there is or what type of college it is.
Although if I had to pick, I’d choose a small-mid size town, apathetic to politics and lack of party scene.
I plan to basically be a shut-in and leave only to buy essential foods.”</p>
<p>Sounds like Wabash material. </p>
<p>Wabash seems pretty alright from what I’ve read, they also seem to fill my mailbox every three days or so. Might be one for the list. </p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is probably a reach, but an awesome place for undergrad physics. My DH did his undergrad there and even with relatively middling stats (super high GREs, but he basically had a 4.0 freshman year and senior year and messed around and got low 3.x for Soph/Jr), he got into UIUC PhD in Physics program, passed his quals the summer before he started (he was funded for research the summer after BS) and grabbed a masters in one year before transferring to Caltech (I was still in SoCal) where he finished in less than 4 years (so 5 years total). His year at Urbana definitely helped him get into Caltech and it’s not typical to transfer PhD programs (although the best man in our wedding also transferred out of Urbana to go back to Penn where his fiancee was), but his Mudd connections and prep were amazing. He was the only 1st year student at UIUC to pass the quals that year without ever having taken a grad course (most PhD students did it late in their second year)</p>