<p>I am wondering what the average financial aid package for Early Decision students is, and what mine would likely be.
My parents are divorced, and my mom has custody of me, my twin sister, and my younger sister (13 months apart). On financial aid applications, do I need to include my dad's information? My mom makes about $35,000 a year, which is better than the $12,000 she made for the past three years. My mom barely has enough money to pay electricity and oil, and is definitely not going to be able to support three kids all going to college within two years. The expenses at Duke are significantly more than my mom makes in a year, and me and my siblings will be first generation. My dad pays child support, but it's barely anything (AT MOST $1,000 a year for all three of us together). He probably makes about $80,000 a year, but he isn't planning on supporting us through college or giving my mom any child support after we turn 18 in a few months.
My question is: will my financial aid be based on both my parents incomes, or just my mom's annual income? My dads salary is a lot more than my moms, but he is not paying a cent for my college education. It seems unfair to me that they would consider financial aid based on what both my parents make when we live completely off my mom's salary and my dad won't be supporting me in any way financially. What is Duke's position on a case like this, which I am certain can't be uncommon, for ED students?
Any information would be really appreciated! Thanks so much!</p>
<p>A school like Duke will consider both parent’s finances.</p>
<p>They will request the CSS Profile for your mom and the Noncustodial CSS Profile for your dad.</p>
<p>If I am wrong, someone please correct me.</p>
<p>Ya they will require the CSS. You could always call them and tell them your situation though because it seems complex. Anyway, if for some reason you get in ED and the financial aid is nowhere near what you need, you can opt out.
I’m not an expert on how to pay for college so I’m not sure how it’ll all workout, but maybe even call up and ask them now.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for your situation, most universities will look at both parents (and all step-parents) for income. They base financial aid decisions on ABILITY to pay, not WILLINGNESS to pay. You can always appeal your FA decision, although I have no idea how successful divorce case appeals are. If the FA office developed a reputation for letting deadbeat dads off the hook, I imagine that a lot more dads would claim to be deadbeats.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, your FA appeal case sounds compelling to me. I can’t imagine how your dad only pays $80/month for three kids when he makes $80K. I would even suggest that your mom go back to court to try to increase this amount. It might provide leverage for getting him to kick in a reasonable amount for college.</p>
<p>A couple of things…first of all, Duke will meet your full need (as determined by Duke) whether or not you apply ED or RD. There will be no difference in the financial aid package based on when you apply. However, as has been pointed out, Duke requires that you submit the CSS Profile and non-custodial form as well and BOTH of your parent’s income and assets will be considered. As has also been pointed out, they look at ABILITY for both of your parents to pay, not WILLINGNESS to pay. Applying ED is usually best for students that have straightforward financial situations in which you can count on the school’s Net Price Calculator to give you a reasonable estimate of your financial aid package. In your situation, with so many special variables, I would not advise applying ED. That being said, I would suggest calling the financial aid office directly and ask them how they would evaluate your situation. They will tell you now how they deal with evaluating an unwilling-to-pay parent in your situation. It’s true that you can always decline an ED acceptance based on not getting enough FA, but in your case it’s probably best cast a wide net and apply RD so that you can weigh offers at several schools.</p>
<p>Hello </p>
<p>I am in the exact same situation as you, living with my mother only. My parents got divorced when I was 3. My mom makes enough to support both me and my siblings. Although I do visit my dad, I don’t see him often. When we applied for finaid Duke did require information about my father’s income. However, my mom talked with the finaid office and we got the forms requiring my dad’s information (tax forms, noncustodial forms, etc.) waived. In the end, my mom only filled out her tax/income information and we received decent financial aid and pay abour 55K a year</p>
<p>Oh and also my dad’s income is triple my mom’s so we’re so glad Duke waived those forms haha ;)</p>
<p>Is 55K a year considered decent based on your mom’s income? I know that if that was Dukes price I’d have to turn it down, unless that’s a good price in your case. My parents separated when I was 7 but got back together for financial reasons for two years…from seventh grade to freahman year. I see him now maybe once every six weeks, by choice. I will definitely call and ask, I didn’t even think of such a simple answer. What would happen if my dad refused to fill out the forms? I honestly wouldn’t put it past him to do so. Thanks for the information.</p>
<p>My mom makes around 100K a year so yes 55K was decent. If you get in, they won’t give you a price that is too much to pay. I see my dad by choice as well once every month or two. But my mom just told finaid I saw him “rarely”.</p>
<p>Do not mention that your dad refused to fill out the forms. Give them as little info about your dad as possible. My mom truly does not have much direct contact with my dad (only contact is through me) and it has been several years since they last spoke with one another. So the way my mom explained it was that my dad had no way to fill out the forms because she has no contact with him and my dad is not involved with my academic life. Don’t get me wrong it was no way “simple”. She talked with them 4 times and it took them 3 weeks to waive the forms. I received finaid 2 months after everyone else. So no, it’s not that easy, but if you are persistent, they can’t turn you down.</p>
<p>Well, technically they can turn you down :P.</p>
<p>Hopefully they don’t though :)</p>
<p>Look, my mom makes 100K a year and they still gave us finaid (in accordance to her income). Duke is a rich school-- they have room for aid, trust me. I really empathize with you though because it is tough to be raised with multiple siblings under one parent and an elusive dad. This was one of my biggest concerns and I didn’t know whether to be happy I got in or cry if I had to put down my dad’s income and get no financial aid (my dad is unwilling to pay for my college)</p>
<p>@oncloud. Perhaps I misunderstand your post, but it sounds like Duke is having your mom pay 55k toward school on a 100k income. That doesn’t seem realistic, since taxes on 100k would likely take another 10-20k and basically put her at the poverty level.</p>
<p>Could you clarify please?</p>
<p>100K after taxes, sorry.</p>
<p>oncloud9: Thanks so much for your understanding! It’s not that I feel like I’m the only one in this, but it is just ridiculous that my dad could cause my family more problems than we already have. It gives me hope that it could work out for us since your mom’s salar alone is triple my mom’s and I have a sister one year younger who will be entering college only one year after us. Just a question: when did you ask to have the forms waived? Can I ask as early as August when applications for college come out, or do I have to wait until after I’m accepted? I want to apply ED, but there is simply no way I can afford Duke if they take into account both my parents’ salaries. If I could have the forms waived now (or be denied the waived forms), I would know whether or not it’s even worth it to apply ED. When did you do it, and do you know when I can? As early as possible would obviously be best!</p>
<p>And my mom makes 35K before taxes…my dad makes about 75K before taxes. Just to be more specific. I know that together they still make enough to get me some financial aid (being a twin and first generation), but it’s definitely not enough on a 35K salary with my mom really not able to contribute financially even if she’d like to, and my dad not willing to contribute even if he can.</p>
<p>Yeah, no problem haha. This problem totally stressed me out after I got my college acceptances so I understand.
But no, you may only apply for finaid after you submit your applications and you won’t receive your package before April 2013. They will only give you a package if you get in, obviously. I did not receive financial aid until June! I took a big leap of faith by committing to Duke before I recieved financial aid. Actually, not so big of a leap because trust me, you will NOT have to pay more than you can handle. Again, Duke is fairly generous with finaid. </p>
<p>Just a heads up, there will a lot more forms on your app portal than people with nondivorced parents and you will have to make an effort to waive each one. Again, mention as little of your dad as possible. Duke DOES make the distinction between CAN’T pay and NOT WILLING to pay so your best shot is to say that you have little to no contact with him. First though, I would worry about making your application the best it can be and focus on your admission ;)</p>
<p>Good luck and hope to see you on campus next year!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info! It’s great to hear from someone who had the same problem and worked it out 
My parent’s have no relation with each other and I rarely see my dad, and he has only been paying child support for less than a year. My parents are unwilling to have contact with each other, too, so I know my mom is completely on board with me. And yes, I REALLY hope I get into Duke! Thanks SO MUCH for all our help! :)</p>
<p>It would be a good study to see if students from divorsed homes receive more financial aid than students whose parents are together.</p>
<p>Very true, I will definitely look into that!</p>
<p>I haven’t read all these comments, but I was in a similar situation with divorced parents. There is a form you can request from FA that your dad has to sign that indicates he won’t pay for you at all. If he won’t sign you can get a special case made in which you deliver evidence that he won’t contribute. It worked for me :)</p>