<p>I am currently trying to plan for college expenses and decide whether or not to apply ED and such, and I have discovered that most online Financial Aid Calculators are not very clear as to how to report income in a divorced parent situation. All schools that I am applying to use the PROFILE so I know that (with the exception of Vandy) all will consider non-custodial parent income, but I don't know how to enter this in a calculator. Should I add both parents' income together, or complete two separate calculations and add the expected parent contribution of both? I know that those two ways sound similar but I've done both and they have extremely different results. My logic would suggest the latter, that each parent is looked at separately, but I am afraid of receiving much less money than expected, especially if I choose to go the ED route, just because a college did not make their online calculator clear.</p>
<p>I understand that all colleges have different policies, and I also know that the online calculator award may not be what I will actually receive, but I desperately need to know which method I should use to estimate.</p>
<p>The net price calculators will NOT be accurate in divorce parent situations. The closest you can get is to complete one for each parent and add the net costs together. HOWEVER, you probably need to look at the aid estimate because it is not likely that you will receive duplicates in the actual aid offered. In other words, as a freshman, you would get $5500 in Direct Loans. Not $5500 from dad’s side and $5500 from mom’s. If the NOC for mom suggests a grant, and there is an additional grant from dad’s NPC, it is unlikely you would get them both. In fact, if you add both of their incomes together, you might not get any grant aid at all…or less.</p>
<p>The general advice here is to do them separately and add them together. If both parents income is from wages the NPCs are generally more accurate. Self-employment, owning a business, rental properties etc. make them less accurate. How large is the difference when you do them both ways?</p>
<p>Thank you both! I haven’t done every college I am considering, but for the ones that I have, when done separately both parent’s expected contribution is somewhere between 0 and 2000. However, when added together that number jumped up above 10,000. Also, both only have income from wages, so hopefully that will make them more accurate? I have only been adding the parent contribution, keeping the student contribution and everything else the same. Also, how much could this information change? Like could I apply ED confident that the NPC’s estimate will be at least close? </p>
<p>What is the total income of both of your parents? Do both parents own homes (equity could count in both homes)? Is either parent remarried? </p>
<p>Like I said…when you do the parents separately, the NPC thinks that is the only income/asset info you have. So for your mom’s income, you could be awarded institutional grants, maybe work study, SEOG. And when you do your DAD, you would get the same awards…but really you would only receive these things ONE time…not doubles.</p>
<p>Also, it is possible that the combined incomes of your parents could put you above the income thresholds for certain need based institutional awards. For example, some colleges have no loan policies for students with family income under a certain amount. It might look like you qualify for that if each separate parent income is below that threshold…but when combined, you don’t.</p>
<p>If it were me, I would look at the worse case scenario in your NPC calculations. </p>
<p>And because there are so many “ifs” I would be reluctant to suggest ED. Exception would be if even if adding both incomes together, you are still VERY low income.</p>
<p>Ok thanks! That wasn’t the news that I wanted to hear but it is better to hear it from you now then from a college once I have already committed.</p>
<p>Here is some more free advice. It sounds like you are a very strong student…and that finances will play into your college choices. You might want to look at two threads with stick pins above…one is for schools with auto scholarships (full ride and tuition…there is a link on that thread to the updated list), and the other is for colleges that cost under $25,000. You might find a hidden jewel in there that will work for you.</p>
<p>As Thumper has said the NPCs are not accurate for those in your situation. A conservative way of doing this is to add the income and assets together. You’ll likely do a little better than that, as you might be eligible for PELL, state money, unsubsidized Direct Loans based on FAFSA EFC, Also each parent would get some asset protection allowance and the formula would be geared for two households rather than one. </p>
<p>You are not a good candidate for ED, due to this, at most schools, and ED has a lot of drawbacks for many students who need aid to go there. </p>
<p>Keep in mind with Vanderbilt that the EFC will be it for what you pay, no additional loans. Other schools may include loans with their financial aid packages. Vanderbilt is extremely generous in this way. So if your total EFC is $10k, Vandy will give you, flat out, a $53K grant. If you can split the EFC between you and your parents via loans each year, Vandy may very well be an affordable option. </p>
<p>Thank you all! If I apply somewhere ED it will most likely be Vandy or Duke. And because of what moonmaid said, I would feel pretty secure applying ED Vandy, due to their generous aid and the fact that they don’t consider non custodial info. However, does anyone know how confident I could be in Duke? Despite all of the suggestions to avoid ED, at both of these schools the ED acceptance rate is much higher than regular, making me nervous to apply to both regular. Any suggestions?</p>