<p>I'm a senior, and a recipient of a Likely Letter from UPenn. My Mom and my Stepdad combined make little over $40,000, but my Dad and Stepmom make a tremendous amount more. I don't know how much either my Dad or my Stepmom make, but I was able to get rough close by looking at their job titles and looking at salaries for similar jobs. I estimated that they make somewhere between $300,000 and $500,000 per year combined, which will really screw up my financial aid package. </p>
<p>My parents divorced 16 years ago, and I haven't had much contact with my Dad since then. Maybe once every other year we will see him. And I know for a fact he won't cover any of my college costs; in their divorce agreement, he is supposed to provide my sister with health insurance and child support until she is 22 and he is supposed to provide child support to me until I am 22, but he hasn't covered her health insurance since my parents separated and he stopped paying child support when she went off to college. </p>
<p>When I called the UPenn financial aid office, they said I would have to get some independent parties to write statements as to why it wouldn't be considered, and my mom and I would each have to write a statement to the same effect. He also said there was no guarantee that they would agree to ignore his finances, but he said, unless my dad was Bill Gates, there was a good chance they would ignore it. </p>
<p>My main question concerns how broad that is; meaning, would the income of my stepmom and dad be high enough for the financial aid office to refuse to reject my dad's and my stepmom's finances? Has anyone gone through a similar process?</p>
<p>"would the income of my stepmom and dad be high enough for the financial aid office to refuse to reject my dad’s and my stepmom’s finances? "</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>How would the school KNOW how high their incomes are? They’re not providing info. YOU should NOT be providing any idea of how much they earn. You should not be estimating their income and telling the school. Your position is that he’s not in your life and you don’t know how much they earn. </p>
<p>When people ask for waivers, they’re not providing estimates of how much the NCP earns. The point of the waiver is that the person isn’t in your life, therefore you wouldn’t know that info anyway.</p>
<p>UPenn and a couple of the other schools I’ve applied to require NCP to submit their tax information to the school, so they will know how much he and his wife make. There are a few of the schools that I’ve applied to which don’t require this information, but Penn isn’t one of them.</p>
<p>You misunderstand. IF YOU"RE ASKING FOR A WAIVER then they do NOT submit their info. That’s the point of the waiver.</p>
<p>If you think that you can have them submit their info…and then expect the school to ignore it, then you’re doing it wrong. </p>
<p>I certainly KNOW that those schools ask for NCP info. The point of the waiver is so that you don’t have to get them to submit their info.</p>
<p>Oh, ok. Thank you. So I should try to get a waiver first, and if it’s not granted then and only then will I have to get my father to submit his info?</p>
<p>Does your father still pay child support for you? If you mom has a court ordered child support agreement until both you and your sister are 22, why hasn’t she taken him back to court to get the court order enforced (even if it means having his butt locked up). On the basis of what you wrote, it is going to be very difficult for you to get a waiver as schools do not give waivers based on a parent’s unwillingness to pay. The school will most likely ask for a copy of your parents divorce decree, where they will see that there is a support agreement- it is up to your mother to have it enforced.</p>
<p>You can absolutely request a waiver. Provide all the information they requested (3rd party statements, plus statements from you and your mom) . . . and then see what they say.</p>
<p>I agree that it seems strange that your mom hasn’t tried to enforce the child support order. Given your dad’s income, child support would likely be a significant amount of money. But neither I nor anyone else on this forum knows your family’s unique circumstances . . . and there may be a reason why your mom hasn’t been willing or able to enforce the support order. And, if that’s the case, then it’s entirely possible you’d qualify for a waiver.</p>
<p>Penn’s financial aid information was due on 2/1/14. What did you submit?</p>
<p>We do not have the resources to financially support our children when they are grown either. Unfortunately, the ‘system’ such that it is, assumes that if that is the case you are either lying or abusive. It has not always been this way, but then people did things like claim a parent was not going to help, got ‘free’ money and then got help as well. Because of a few bad apples, many kids have to find other ways to finance their education. </p>
<p>I would be surprised if the university/government allows you to simply waive away that income without some serious back-story about why he is not in your life. Even otherwise distant NCPs come through when their kids need money for school.</p>
<p>Good luck. It is tough enough getting into a good school without obstacles to paying for it as well.</p>
<p>Of course you can request a waiver. But these are usually granted when the student has NO contact with the non-custodial parent and doesn’t even know where they are. You are not estranged from your NCP. You occasionally see him. Waivers are not granted because the NCP won’t pay.</p>
<p>But ask. And at the same time,have a plan B in case Penn says no.</p>
<p>Contact each of your schools about NCP waivers and find out what they require so that you can consolidate requests. Usually it involves a statement from your school GC or other third party person. There also may be questions asked. Schools have their own ways of handling this, so you should as each one. You send the info in, and hope for the best. Also you should be looking, if you don’t already have, some financial safeties on your list and alternative plans if this is denied.</p>
<p>“Does your father still pay child support for you? If you mom has a court ordered child support agreement until both you and your sister are 22, why hasn’t she taken him back to court to get the court order enforced (even if it means having his butt locked up).”</p>
<p>The CP’s are lowish income. Likely the NCP knows that they can’t afford to take his tush back to court. Are there free options to do this? </p>
<p>Absolutely. There are firms that take on pro-bono work in addition to non-profit firms that offer services on a sliding scale basis. In addition, it does not cost anything to go into the court and request an modification of support where the court will order both parties to present their financials.</p>
<p>In most (all?) states, there is a child support enforcement unit within the district attorney’s office. It costs the custodial parent nothing to get an existing order enforced.</p>
<p>Getting a support order changed based on the noncustodial parent’s increased income is a different matter, and would likely require the assistance of counsel. And that’s where pro bono counsel comes into the picture . . .</p>