Confusing Situation (Divorce, Lost Job, and a Noncustodial Parent)

Paying for College
1

This post is not for me (I’m a freshman in college), it is for a friend who is a senior in high school.

My friend’s parents are divorced and my friend lives with both of them equally (same time). Their father has a higher income (~$140k) and supports the friend and the friend’s siblings, as well as pays child support. Their mother has a lower income (~70k) and will not contribute to the children’s college education.

Normally, the father would be the one on the FAFSA/CSS Profile and then the noncustodial parent (mother) would fill out the noncustodial profile (or something like that). This is where the issue comes up.

My friend’s mother lives with her boyfriend, whose income is extremely high ($200-300k+), but will not contribute to my friend’s education as it is not his child. My friend’s mother has not married the boyfriend and I do not believe they are planing to marry.

The father recently lost his job and will be taking a huge pay cut as a result, and may be unable to pay for my friend’s college. Still, neither the mother nor her boyfriend will contribute. I advised the friend to see where they got in before worrying, but it’s either their state school or $60k/year at a private school (which requires the CSS profile and NCP). They probably couldn’t make the latter happen. I believe my friend will have to ask each school specifically after admission, but am unsure as to how that may play out.

Main questions:

Will the mother have to report her boyfriend’s income on the NCP, as they are not remarried but are living together?

If so, will private institutions (such as Harvard and Cornell) take this into account? Will they take into account the noncustodial parent’s income even though the NC parent won’t contribute to the education?

Even with the lost job, will my friend’s EFC still model someone who makes $140k? Will the schools take into account the lost job?

Finally, any words of encouragement I can give to my friend? I know they’d be devastated if accepted to one of the private institutions and have to turn it down. It happened to me, but it was a tad different as I didn’t qualify for any aid. Specifically, one of the private institutions in play is Harvard (including this as they’re known for their financial aid policies).

2

No.

3

If the father is a dislocated worker on the day the FAFSA is filed, then I believe assets are ignored.

But those private schools likely use CSS Profile.

Did friend’s dad save any money to pay for college?

4

No assets are not ignored for a dislocated worker unless their income is below threshold for simplified needs test. $140,000 income far exceeds that threshold.

Dislocated worker is one of the criteria that is used to qualify for simplified needs test which excludes assets.

Income threshold…plus one of the following: 1040a or EZ tax form, dislocated worker, eligibility for means tested benefit.

So…just being a dislocated worker won’t ignore assets unless the income is a LOT lower…I believe it’s less than $50,000.

5

But the father/child can fill out the FAFSA and then once accepted, file for an appeal of financial aid. The FA officer at the school can make adjustments if warranted. However, if he made $140 and now makes ‘less’ he’s still likely to make much more than will bring the EFC down to Pell or other qualifying levels.

All your friend can do is fill out the forms and work with the results.

6

Dislocated worker is a person who lost his job and unlikely to return to his previous occupation. Not every unemployed person is a dislocated worker. Your friend’s father will have a chance to explain all details on CSS Profile. Note that finaid offer that comes with the acceptance is preliminary and college will most probably verify the employment status in May or June before issuing the final finaid offer.

7

Where did you hear that colleges verify employment status? I have never heard that before. Ever.

If a parent has a change in employment, the PARENT needs to notify the school. The school doesn’t verify that the parents are employed or not for all matriculated students…even those receiving need based aid.

Changes in employment must be reported by the family. The school is not going to ask.

If the parents have completed their taxes for 2014, and all documents are submitted on time…the financial aid offer the student receives with an April acceptance is NOT an estimate. It’s the real deal. The estimate is only if the 2014 tax returns have not been completed.

8

<<<
. I advised the friend to see where they got in before worrying, but it’s either their state school or $60k/year at a private school (which requires the CSS profile and NCP).
<<<

that probably wasn’t the best advice. None of his schools may end up being affordable. Even state schools are often not affordable when no one is paying.

With no one seemingly able to pay, this person needs to quickly send some apps to some schools that will give him huge merit for his stats. Sadly, many deadlines have already passed.

9

What are your friend’s stats?

10

If your friend spends time with each parent equally, then all he has to do is spend one day more prior to filing FAFSA with mom, to make her the custodial parent. It’s the one year prior to the date of filing FAFSA that is the time period, not year end. The boyfriend’s income will not be considered, but if he is paying bills in her name, that becomes part of her income, and all child support that she receives from the father even for the other kids is added to income as well. Income is for the 2014 calendar year.

As for schools that require NCP info (many PROFILE schools and those with their own apps), that does have to be completed, but PROFILE does have a section for special circumstances, and the unemployment situation should be explained there. It will be up to each school as to how that will be taken into account if at all. PROFILE also has a section that asks for anticipated 2015 income and at this point the dad can put down the minimum he can expect in that time period (unemployment, severance pay,etc) If he finds employment and that number is too low, it can be revised.

Whether a parent will contribute to the school costs is not taken into consideration, just whether the numbers show that the parent(s) could/should. Otherwise, just about no one would say s/he would contribute if that will warrent financial aid.

11

@mom2collegekids‌ Sorry for the confusion, I also advised them to shoot applications to some other state schools where they could get some $$$. They have a prepaid tuition plan for the school in this state, and should be a candidate for merit scholarships. The only out of pocket cost is ~10-15k room and board, which makes the state school a possibility (5.5k federal loans + $10k parental contribution/loans - whatever scholarship money they get).

Edit: worst case scenario they are able to commute to the state school as well.

12

@Madison85‌ ~2200; top 2%; ~3.9 UW GPA 4.4/5 W GPA; varsity athlete; [many other EC’s and leadership]

13

Oh good! Is he a NMSF?


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They have a prepaid tuition plan for the school in this state, and should be a candidate for merit scholarships.

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If it’s a prepaid tuition plan, it can also be used OOS. His plan would have some sort of calculation as to how much would get paid towards an OOS school.

14

Sadly, they’re not. Our state’s in the top 5 for NMSF qualifying scores, so ~220 didn’t make the cut.

And I didn’t know that, thank you!