<p>I'm a junior in highschool, and I still haven't figured out how financial aid works. My parents are divorced and I live with my mom 100% of the time. She makes 60-70k and my dad makes 100-150k. So who is considered when I fill out FAFSA and such? I heard that private universities will require a form from my dad as well. Is that true? On my moms tax return, she listed my grandma and me as dependents, and my grandma will be living with us starting in august for about 6 months, then she will live in canada for 6 months. She's a canadian resident and she makes about 1,000 a month. So how does everything work out? My mom still owes a lot on our house and my dad pays about 1,250 a month for child support and 600 for alimony. For private colleges, is there anything I could do so my dad doesn't have to fill out forms and such? Thank you</p>
<p>Your mother is your custodial parent for purposes of filling out FAFSA. You will use her tax forms and asset information when you fill out the financial information on FAFSA. Alimony will appear on her taxes so it will be included in the calculation. </p>
<p>Many private colleges require a form called the PROFILE which asks for more information than the FAFSA. About a third of the colleges that require PROFILE will also ask your non-custodial parent to file the non-custodial form. If you don’t want your father to have to fill any forms out, you can apply to FAFSA-only colleges (the vast majority in the country are FAFSA-only), or apply to the PROFILE schools that don’t require the non-custodial form. Here’s a list:</p>
<p><a href=“https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv[/url]”>https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv</a></p>
<p>Your mom needs to pay more than 1/2 of your grandma’s support to have her as a dependent for tax and financial aid purposes. If Grendma is a Canadian resident…and you are not…this could beg the question of whether your mom really can declare her as a dependent. </p>
<p>The amount your mom owes on your primary residence is NOT reflected on the FAFSA at all. </p>
<p>As noted, your mom would be your custodial parent and you would use her financial information when completing your FAFSA. There are about 300 college/universities that use the Profile BUT be cautioned…there are also schools that use their OWN financial aid forms which sometimes ask for information about non-custodial parent finances. You’ll need to check your prospective colleges. </p>
<p>If you really don’t want your dad to fill out any forms, apply to schools that use the FAFSA only when determining eligibility for need based aid. BUT be aware…these schools do NOT meet full financial need for all accepted students.</p>