<p>I'm facing a bit of a dilemma. I applied to four SUNY ( State University of NY) schools as an EOP applicant. This means that I do not meet the regular freshman admission requirements. As an applicant, my income has to fall within a certain range for me to be considered.</p>
<p>My father was a single parent, (also retired) for many years of my life, and I wrote about this in my college essay. He recieves pension and I know his income is pretty low. I also have my mother's death certificate to clarify that she is no longer here. With this plan in mind, I will surely be a strong candidate for the program. </p>
<p>However, this is not my current situation. My father has re-married. My step-mother is a CNA and makes a reasonable amount of money. She does not contribute to my finances, thus I do not want to include her in my application. I also have a step-brother who has finished his under-grad.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what to do... should I exclude my mom from my application or should I be as honest as possible?
This is really important because I also plan to apply for financial aid, and my step-brother with the same last name as me has been including the whole household for several years now.
Please helpppp</p>
<p>They do ask about your parents especially on fafsa. Even if she does or not contribute to your education, you have no choice but to include her income info on there… EOP is for people who are academically and financially disadvantaged. You can only be a strong candidate of you qualify and show that you have the potential to succeed.</p>
<p>I know what the program is all about. Even though its morally wrong…, will I be able to exclude her?</p>
<p>Well it comes with consequences from what I heard if you don’t state the facts. it’s not like they will use your step parent’s info anyway?</p>
<p>yeah… i heard about that . I can get expelled… But wait, they do use her information to determine my eligibility</p>
<p>that I’m not too sure. They might or might not. You might want to ask on the financial aid forum. Theere are some experts there that can really answer your question :)</p>
<p>If you live with your father and stepmother, they file income taxes together, and you are their dependent, your stepmother’s income is included. If this was the case in 2011, you need to include their income tax return for last year, which includes their information and yours. If the total income on the tax return is over the EOP limit for the household size, you will not be eligible.</p>
<p>Yes , they file their taxes together, but my father is willing to file it as single( not married ) this year.</p>
<p>If they are married, he is not eligible to file as a single. Each of them would have to file as married, filing separately, which penalizes them both. And if they are married, filing separately, both incomes would apply.</p>
<p>’ if they are married, filing seperately, both incomes apply’ okay so… This is just telling me that I have no choice but to be honest right? Lol thanks. Are you an admissions counselor?</p>
<p>No, I am a parent and I have looked at some SUNY EOP applications for my daughter who is now a junior in high school. We may be eligible. Also, I know about income taxes, used to be a tax preparer.</p>
<p>Are there SUNYs that you could qualify for without EOP? You’ve seen this chart, right?
<a href=“https://www.suny.edu/student/downloads/Pdf/2013_Admissions_qf_stateop.pdf[/url]”>https://www.suny.edu/student/downloads/Pdf/2013_Admissions_qf_stateop.pdf</a></p>
<p>Good luck.</p>