<p>Yes, asset protection-thank you! Swimcatsmom, I want your grasp of numbers in my next life. Great that you always chime in with the appropriate facts.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom--you are correct for the fafsa but for profile the income protection and asset protection is not equitable and that's what I would like to see--- the bottom line is we all want our kids to go to the best college for them--based on their abilities and talents, school's academic offerings, funds available, etc. good luck to all of our children these next few days!</p>
<p>lindz - I was only talking about FAFSA - I admit I have no clue about profile other than what I have read on CC :) . I try and always remember to emphasize when I post that I am only talking about FAFSA (which is much easier to understand as it is a set formula - profile seems a little mysterious). </p>
<p>My concern on this thread is for the OP which the thread seems to be drifting away from (as CC threads tend to). A divorce at any time is difficult but to be trying to deal with that and at the same time trying to figure out the finances for her daughters schooling - probably with no real idea of how her own finances are going to be - horrible. On another thread she said her husband has said he will only pay for the State school (I gather the divorce proceedings are very recent and unexpected coinciding with college acceptances beginning to appear) so she is in a really difficult situation having to make these decisions at this point in time when everything is so uncertain.</p>
<p>
[quote]
you don't acknowledge that simple things like correcting the inequity in income allowance for single parents and the lack of a formula for div parents so their incomes are not simply lumped together are issues that colleges can address differently.
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I thought I did acknowledge it in a previous post. If not, consider this my acknowledgement: Income and asset protections for two households should be different than for one, without question. That inequity should certainly be addressed in any institutional formula. I agree with swimcatsmom - that one burns me, too!</p>
<p>applicantmum77--good luck with your process--pm me if you would like any addl info. </p>
<p>I thought applicantmum77's original ? was actually regarding css profile and how it might work for her student given their situation--many nuances to the profile and divorce that are important to know since so different than fafsa only--</p>
<p>Great Lakes Mom makes an excellent point. My d was in the 5th grade when I had it put in our divorce agreement that we would split the cost of college. However, it will do me no good to spend money on a lawyer to extract money from my ex that he does not have. </p>
<p>We avoided css schools, not just because of the process, but because privates were out of reach for us anyway. Every one on them gave my very smart daughter about a 3rd of the cost in merit money. Well, if you are looking at schools that are $35k to $45K a year, that is not going to cut it.</p>
<p>For my 2nd D, we did not even bother looking at schools that we could not afford. She will be attending Grand Valley State in Michigan. With merit money, our cost is less than it would have been at any of the public colleges in Illinois. Any additional money that comes in the form of grants because of the FAFSA is greatly appreciated, as we will take out less loans that way, but the point is we picked a school we can (barely) afford. </p>
<p>What I learned after going through it with both kids is to avoid even looking at schools that you can't afford. Would you look at cars that you can't afford, or a house that you can't afford? </p>
<p>I think sometimes we sacrifice for our children to the point of stupidity. I'm already working 2 jobs. Working 3 jobs to pay for Beloit College, Bradley or Lake Forest College seems like sacrificing to the point of stupidity. Those are fine schools, but so are Grand Valley, Illinois State, U of I, etc.</p>