<p>Hello all, I just joined and wanted to see if anyone can answer a few questions please.</p>
<p>First off, my daughter wants to go to a 4 year college with a culinary program which we have found for her and its really expensive. My question is are there any scholarships specifically that we can apply for on our own or would the school hook her up with these scholarships?
Next, I know there are variables involved in determining EFC/need but is there a website that breaks that down for you?
Third, when fafsa<br>
looks at household income, will I include my husband who is her step-father's income?
And lastly, is it true that child support payments continue to be due for the entire time a child is in school or is it cut off when they turn 18?</p>
<p>thanks in advance</p>
<p>FAFSA will require financial information for the custodial parent and spouse but not of the non custodial parent. Some schools (mostly more expensive and private schools) require other forms such as CSS or their own forms and may also require the non custodial parent information.</p>
<p>Child support rules will depend on your state and your divorce decree. Most states seem to have child support finish at 18 or when a child completes high school. You would have to check with your lawyer to find out what your situation would be. Any child support received must be reported as income on FAFSA.</p>
<p>There are several websites that give estimated EFCs. Finaid has an EFC calculator - it is a little out of date but will give an approximation. The FAFSA web site has a FAFSA4caster that will give you an estimate. And collegeboard has an estimator. </p>
<p>But remember the EFC is not necessarily all you will end up paying. A few schools promise to meet full need. Many schools either do not promise to meet full need or may include a lot of loans.(mostly more expensive</p>
<p>I have never heard of a culinary program that meets need, so all FAFSA is likely to do for you is qualify her for any Federal entitlements such as a Pell Grant if you’re low income and student loans. Be careful, many of the culinary programs are for profit and make crazy future income claims. Kids graduate with big debt and low paying jobs at best.</p>
<p>Ditto this ^^^</p>
<p>I would recommend having your child go and talk to people in the field and figure out the best educational path to take to her desired career.</p>
<p>Be very careful/wary of the for profit programs.</p>
<p>make sure she tries a job in a working kitchen before committing to college. a summer job or even a gap year is a really good idea. my dad’s a chef and he sees people make this mistake all the time. also, a career in food isn’t like a lot of other careers. a 4 year degree will not necessarily get you a better starting job than an associates degree and as far as I know a 4 year degree isn’t required for any chef or F&B job anywhere. once you make decisions about where to apply, contact each school directly about scholarships and aid. They will be really helpful. also even when you consider schools that aren’t for profit you have to really do your homework. some are expanding with satellite campuses and new campuses have a lot lower reputation.</p>
<p>I would find out as much SPECIFIC FA info from the school before making any commitments.</p>
<p>Schools like that rarely can come close to meeting need. Most times the student and the family have to pay most costs - regardless of income.</p>
<p>Your husband’s income WILL get included on FAFSA, so if you were looking to qualify for Pell, that’s probably not going to happen if your H makes a decent income (even if he’s not paying a cent for school).</p>
<p>Keep in mind that FAFSA is not some method to get big bucks. Most schools only use FAFSA to determine if income is low enough for the student to get Pell or to give student loans. FAFSA is not used to determine some kind of sliding scale to charge students.</p>
<p>Sadly, mostly you’ll be offered is loans. Culinary schools don’t usually have the funds to offer much (if anything) for scholarships/grants.</p>
<p>If this school is too expensive, your D will probably have to seek other options since federal student loans are small.</p>
<p>As for child support…most states do NOT require a NCP to continue child support while a child is in college. What is your state and what was in your divorce decree.</p>