<p>Sorry everyone, just one more quick question.</p>
<p>I know that regardless of where you go these days college is expensive, but I really want to avoid coming out of college with a lot of debt (as I'm sure everyone else does). Now here's my dilemma:</p>
<p>My dad makes about $155,000 a year but my mom started her own business a few years back and it hasn't done so well. Every year, the family has to shell out more money to pay for the business's losses and we've actually borrowed up to the maximum amount on our house. We really have no spare money at all for college and are heavily in debt. I filled out a mock-up FAFSA form and it told me that essentially I will get no federal aid. Now I am applying for outside merit scholarships, but I heard that they are pretty tough to get. Will Notre Dame take my family's extenuating circumstances into account in the financial aid process or not? Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>ND uses a slightly different formula than the FAFSA I have heard (I think from Docmom) so it may be different. At the very least, you could get in touch with financial aid if the package isn't good and basically beg and tell them your situation. Don't give up! Good luck!</p>
<p>I think most financial aid offices will take extenuating circumstances into account, but I don't know how much it will affect the overall amount of aid you recieve. Another option I would encourage you to look into is merit scholarships through the knights of columbus. I recieved a (small) merit scholarship from the K of C, but I noticed while I was searching their avaliable scholarships that they also offer a substantially larger need/merit-based scholarship. Private organizations may be more willing to consider your unique financial circumstances than the university itself will.</p>
<p>$155K is not out of financial aid reach, and you cannot tell what you will receive in aid from Notre Dame from the FAFSA. ND also requires the CSS Profile, which takes other information into account, such as the mortgage to the hilt and other expenses not detailed on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>The losses of the business should show up on your tax return, but I'd be sure to send a letter to financial aid explaining your particular situation, just to make sure they completely understand it and don't have to try and make sense of it from tax returns alone.</p>
<p>Finally, don't be afraid of a little debt. You have years to pay it off, and a Notre Dame education would be worth it. My son will graduate with around $25K in loans - kind of like a small car payment, I figure.</p>