<p>^ Yes, at many private colleges your father’s income will be considered in calculating your Expected Family Contribution (whether he is willing to contribute or not). A combined income of ~$175K means you may not qualify for need-based aid at those schools, unless there are other college-age kids in the picture.
[FinAid</a> | Answering Your Questions | Divorce and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Divorce and Financial Aid - Finaid)
[Financial</a> Aid and Divorced Families - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324677204578185343362538134]Financial”>Financial Aid and Divorced Families - WSJ)</p>
<p>The following page shows which colleges do or do not require the “non-custodial Profile” form, which reports financial information about the non-custodial parent and (if applicable) that parent’s new spouse.
<a href=“CSS Profile – CSS Profile | College Board”>CSS Profile – CSS Profile | College Board;
<p>According to this table, LACs that do not require the non-custodial Profile form, and that may be in range for your stats, include:
College of Wooster
Gettysburg College
Ithaca College
Lewis & Clark College
Ohio Wesleyan
St. John’s College (MD)
University of Puget SOund</p>
<p>Be aware that some colleges use their own form to collect information about the non-custodial parent. Even if your father’s income is not considered, you still need to talk to your mom about how much she is able and willing to contribute. With a family income of ~$100K, you may be eligible for some need-based aid from schools such as the above, but you still will be left with a substantial Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You can use collegeabacus.com (or the online Net Price Calculator for each school) to estimate EFCs.</p>