EFC and Net price calculator for non- custodial parent

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm trying to educate a NC parent on how to figure out his EFC. I was told by a FA office that we both should fill out the information on the net price calculator separately. He has a C14 that will be going to a community college. Does having a child in a CC and one (c15) in a 4 year college lower his EFC.?</p>

<p>I did the NPC using my latest 1040 and I'm comfortable with C15 options based on the results. Is there a better way to figure out how much the the total EFC will be when a NC parent is involved? FA is so confusing.</p>

2

<p>Well…you also have to know the policies of the specific colleges with regards to how they treat non-custodial parent information. Unfortunately, the Net Price Calculators don’t do a good job when there is a NCP in the picture. </p>

<p>If he has two dependent kids going to college at the same time, it could lower his share of the family contribution. </p>

<p>Remember, EFC is a FAFSA term. For schools requiring the Profile, all bets are off, as they have their own ways of computing what a family should contribute.,including how they use non-custodial parent information.</p>

3

<p>Thanks. So it sounds like that I need to call the FA office of each profile school that C15 is considering and determine how they will handle the NCP. C15 is only considering a few profile schools. </p>

4

<p>First check to make sure those Profile schools actually require the NCP Profile. Some don’t.</p>

5

<p>Sounds like I need to do a spreadsheet on FA so that I can determine which schools are affordable for my family. Why is this so complicated? Thanks @Thumper1. I’ll start to do more research online and call FA. I’ll wait a few weeks to call the FA office to let them finish up with the CO14.</p>

6

<p>4CookieMonster, for what it’s worth, I feel your pain. I’m having a very hard time figuring out how to get an accurate assessment. I did see one website (Dartmouth maybe) that suggested filling out their NPC twice - separately, for each parent. If you crack the code, please post!</p>

7

<p>If I crack the code, I’m going to write a book to pay for college. :wink: </p>

8

<p>You probably have already seen this, but if not, here is some information: <a href=“CSS Profile Participating Institutions and Programs”>CSS Profile Home – CSS Profile | College Board;