<p>My daughters father died in 2005. She is now a junior in high school and thinking about college. I have been told by a few people that she should be able to get grants to go to school. Is this true? I am remarried, but my husband didn't adopt my daughter. Will they just look at my income or does it go by household income? Any information will be helpful?</p>
<p>It will go by household income & assets. There is a common myth in this country that if you want to go to college the money will somehow appear and that just isn’s true.</p>
<p>What type of grants do these people think she will get? Unless you are low income and low asset its unlikely. </p>
<p>Her best bet is to get good stats (gpa + test scores) and go to a college that offers merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Welcome to CC.</p>
<p>In short, it depends on the financial aid policies at the schools that she is looking at along with your income and assets. Not all schools have the financial resources to give her grants and most schools do not meet 100% demonstrated need with large amounts of grant aid.</p>
<p>When you file the FAFSA and any other financial aid documents (CSS profile or School financial aid forms), they will look at the income and assets of both you and and your spouse along with the income and assets of your daughter. </p>
<p>At schools that give need based financial aid, it will be based on your ability to pay: </p>
<p>not what you want to pay</p>
<p>not your husband feels that he should not have to pay because your daughter is not his child and he did not adopt your daughter</p>
<p>not because of any deals that you made before you got married</p>
<p>My recommendation is that you run your numbers through a couple of financial aid calculators using both the federal and the institutional methodologies so that you can have a rough idea as to what your EFC is going to be.</p>
<p>Depending on her grades and test scores, she may be eligible for merit scholarships at some schools.</p>
<p>I would recommend reading momoftexas’ thread about full ride scholarships</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
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<p>As noted, colleges look at family income (parent and step parent…they are married thus part of the family income/assets). It doesn’t matter that your husband didn’t adopt your daughter.</p>
<p>Without knowing your household income AND the colleges your daughter is planning to apply to, it is impossible to give you even a GUESS as to whether she will qualify for any need based aid. This is quite dependent on your income and assets AND the policies of awarding need based aid which vary by college.</p>
<p>You can use an online financial aid calculator and enter the income/asset data to the best of your ability to get a GUESTIMATE of what your family contribution will be…then go from there.</p>
<p>As noted above, your daughter might qualify for merit awards at some schools…you can look for those as well.</p>
<p>I have been told by a few people that she should be able to get grants to go to school.</p>
<p>I wonder why people say these things. </p>
<p>If you and your H make a good income combined, then you will likely have an EFC that is too high for federal grants (which are from low-income families).</p>
<p>If you have a good income, your EFC may be ROUGHLY about 24% of your income. It might be a higher % if your combined income is strong and/or you or your H has assets. </p>
<p>So, if your combined income is about $100k, expect that your EFC will be around $22k-26k per year. </p>
<p>You need to determine what your EFC will likely be.</p>
<p>You need to speak with your H about how much your family can contribute. If you can’t pay your EFC then your D will have to:</p>
<p>1) commute to a local state school or CC.</p>
<p>2) look at schools where her stats will give her large merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Another reason that your H’s income will be included is because his income means that you’re not paying all the family expenses. You’re not the only one paying for housing, food, utilities, etc. Furthermore, if you earn less than he does, his income is assumed to be providing more to the household. </p>
<p>A single mom earning $40k has far less money than a remarried mom earning $40k with a new husband earning $60k.</p>
<p>Some schools have their own grants to give based on determined need…again, they will look at both incomes. However, most schools do NOT meet need so, frequently people pay more than their EFC.</p>
<p>EFC does not really mean Expected Family Contribution. That is a misnomer.</p>
<p>i’m not sure why folks keep recommending momfromtexas’s full-ride thread. it’s almost 8 years old, which is a LOT of time in college admissions years!</p>
<p>is it her PROCESS that you’re recommending, or what…?</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>I agree that the momfromtexas thread is very old and many of the merit scholarships may not exist anymore. </p>
<p>Yes…it is the process that is being recommended. The idea of looking off the beaten path for other colleges that do offer full-rides for very good but not tippy-top stats. That can sometimes mean going to a school where many others are commuters, which may be a problem for an OOS kid.</p>
<p>I think the following thread is more up to date since scholarships are updated on it. I don’t know of any “full rides” on it, but there are “full tuition” scholarships on there.</p>
<p>ASSURED SCHOLARSHIPS…$$$ CC Important links to Merit Scholarships given for stats…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>The strategies Momfromtexas USED to find the scholarships for her kids is what make her thread so good to read. The specific awards noted on that thread and the schools mentioned don’t matter as much as the PROCESS she used…That is why her thread keeps coming up as a MUST READ for folks who want to find maximum merit aid for their kiddos.</p>
<p>It’s a great thread…even though it’s old.</p>
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<p>Just to amplify that – many financial aid packages contain “gaps” – meaning that you could pay more than the EFC.</p>
<p>Some schools package their aid preferentially depending on how desirable the student is relative to their applicant pool. So a school that says it meets full need for, say, 70% of students will have some kids who get their need fully met, while others will have to pay more than their EFC. </p>
<p>For schools like this your child will fare best if her stats are in the top quarter of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Unless the new spouse has a lot of money or resources, remarriage at this point can wreak havoc with college expenses.</p>