@mom2collegekids curious how to approach private colleges when my spouse and I have been separated for 4yrs; he is not paying the interim agreement support, only $2,000/mo, 1/10th of what he should be paying as per the Judge in case ordered until there is a settlement decree. He has not seen his son in 2yrs and not provided anything more than what was ordered. He has not responded to my email/texts about filling our the CSS form and I assume he’s not going to complete the form. Would appreciate your thoughts as to going forward with schools given my situation. My earnings from 2018 were meager as I’m starting up a new career, $30k. Many thanks! sm
You put this in the U of Alabama forum, and Alabama doesn’t require the CSS.
It is very hard to get waivers for the CSS, and it does appear you know how to contract the father. Your best bet may be to stay with FAFSA only schools and look for merit as well as need based FA.
If your soon to be ex is giving you $24k/year I don’t think you can make a case to financial aid for abandonment. I think you need to target FAFSA only schools and/or merit. What are your son’s stats?
Thanks for your response and advice–apologies for placing this in the U of Alabama forum, still learning my way around these forums.
Thanks for your advice–
Your DD can Complete the CSS Waiver Request for Non Custodial Parent form for each school that requires the CSS PROFILE. It would be up to each school as to whether they will grant the request.
I agree with others who have opined that getting child support, though not sufficient, will likely be considered as contact. That he refuses to complete the PROFILE form is not going to matter in that regard. Sadly, there are a lot of such situations.
As others have suggested, you may want to explain to your son what the situation is, and make sure that a lot of FAFSA only schools on the list. Bear in mind that the child support you get is included in your income on the FAFSA .
What schools does your son have in mind?
Thank you for your helpful response. since I’m new to CC, please be so kind to define “DD”—
My son is considering applying g to U of Richmond, George Washington U, U of Colorado/Boulder, Fordham—he’s interested in Leadership/ Social Action/Gender Studies
CU Boulder doesn’t require the CSS. It also doesn’t give a lot of FA, even to instate resident students. It is the type of school that should come off your list unless you have a specific scholarship that will cover your costs.
DD means ‘dear daugther’ (but I think the poster meant DS, or dear son, in your case).
nvm
My mistake—DD is Dear Daughter. You have a DS, Dear Son.
Richmond and Fordham have merit money. Fordham has some guaranteed merit. You should go to the NPC, enter your sins stats and enter a big income like 500,000 and that will give you the guaranteed merit for him. He could get more, but that’s guaranteed.
But all of your schools except for UC-Boulder ask for PROFILE, and though you should give the waiver a try, you should not count on it.
What can you pay? That is key here. How much you can commit each year for your son’s college.
You can then run NPCs for schools that ask for FAFSA only, and see what kind of aid your son can expect. Your state schools are a good bet, most of the time.
As for merit money, your son’s stats, courses taken, are going to drive those possibilities. Large merit awards are hard to get. If you give his stats, and what you can pay, folks here can give you some good merit possibilities
Thanks for explaining the DS and DD abbreviations…appreciate your info and guidance about how to move forward!