If you marry, that spouses income is considered part of the family income…and in some cases, the step parent doesn’t feel they are responsible for paying for college. That second income would add money to you family contribution for college, regardless.
One other thing…at this point, you don’t know exactly what paths your kids might want to take after HS. One might decide that a trade (many of which are highly needed, and well paying) is a better choice than more classes. So…wait and see.
If your state university uses ONLY the FAFSA, then your former husband and your fiancée incomes will not be included in their calculations.
You mention a fiancée. Thus this advice given applies…right?
The fiance is my ex-husband’s. I don’t have a fiancee or anyone in the fiancee pipeline.
Thank you for the clarification on the fiancée!
I think you are wise to get some preliminary information about college costs, etc. This is good information to have.
Once your kid(s) reach 11th grade and really start looking at colleges, you will have much better data on which to make some college decisions…and understand the finances.
There WILL be post high school options for both of your students.
My free advice…if there are financial considerations, please convey these to your students before they apply. That way they will understand that if money isn’t forthcoming…an acceptance might need to be dropped from consideration.
And also, look for colleges where the costs to attend are more modest to begin with. They are out there!
I’m not a believer in treating kids differently but in this case you’ll likely need to be more restrictive on where your second student goes due to her needs.
There are some schools out there, like Arizona which has large merit and has the SALT Center - which I’m not sure is for your student - but a support service that you might need.
But wherever she ends up, your second student will likely have a more restrictive list of schools she can attend.
So if it were me, when you start looking at schools, budget first and hopefully your first student understands there may need to be restriction in choice to truly inexpensive. This way you’d have a bit more money for the second student.
Wishing you well.
I agree with most of the advice that you have been given, but I wanted to add two points. If you are saving for retirement (and I realize that you may be unable), put that savings in an actual retirement account that will not be tapped in the financial aid process. I believe that is like a 401k, 403b, or an IRA, but someone who knows more could probably list them for you. If you are saving in other types of savings accounts, colleges will see that money as an available asset to cover tuition.
Also most people are suggesting waiting until junior year to narrow down a list of schools. This seems right about schools that are academic fits, but know that financial aid offices are generally looking at the prior year in determining aid. So the year that they are considering is from January of your child’s sophomore year to December of your child’s junior year.
This can actually be very important if your family is getting needs based aid and your wages fluctuate at all. If it is under your control, make sure that the year being considered (end of sophomore to beginning of junior year) shows your typical earnings for that year. It can be really problematic if colleges are assessing their original financial aid package based on an unusually high earnings year. So if you can delay a bonus or something like a freelance gig until January of junior year instead of getting it a month earlier, it could help with the initial freshman year package. Obviously, need based aid will go down for your kid’s sophomore year in college, but I think it will be easier to make the case that your income is unpredictable and fluctuating then (for the the second year of college) than before your kid matriculates.
If it is under your control, make sure that the year being considered (end of sophomore to beginning of junior year) shows your typical earnings for that year.
That is this year for my older child and next year for my younger, so this is very timely information. Thank you!
“Fiancée pipeline”, awesome. If you have a dating profile you should say “perhaps you can become part of my fiancée pipeline! Apply now!”
I was happy to be alone & exhausted for sure. If I hadnt known him from years before, no way. He was actually IN my first wedding as an attendant. I like to call him my bridesman. Haha
You CAN live together though. That doesn’t count for FAFSA.
Right. So very important. Many schools my 2 applied to required FAFSA & base any aid on that too. Daughter visited Bryn Mawr early in our search after she got mailings & maybe a school info session (?). I went to the parents FA session. After hearing all about meeting need, merit $, etc, one Dad there was savvy enough to ask - is your merit aid Need Aware/ need based also?
When the FA speaker hesitated but said - “yes it is” you could hear the collective sigh in the room. That was the sound of a group of middle class families realizing Bryn Mawr was now off the list. Especially after the poor rep was kind of pressured into an estimate of the “need” cutoff threshold. It’s not that we were all foolishly going though it was out of $. When talking in the hall after, we realized most of us had decided to go check it out anyway because of the marketing, info on website, calls to admissions, school visits etc where they really talk up the merit, scholarships, grants & meeting need for good, we’ll rounding students. And they DO offer it. None of us remembered seeing or having anyone mention the need based part of it though. It’s a great school & it’s not like they were being shady. I’m guessing that a lot of those families were like me - first in family to attend college without really knowing the process and now learning as we go with our own kids. NOW, I could be an College Admissions Counselor. Haha
This would drive me nuts if I was once again shepherding my kids around to different college presentations. If there is a need component, it’s not a straight merit award. There should be full transparency upfront.
I felt the same way. It should be right of front on the FA page. Maybe schools are hoping someone’s child will fall in love & scrape it up somehow? My daughter ended up going to Hollins (with a fantastic merit scholarship). Adored it! She completely blossomed & was active in so many areas. Ended up double majoring & graduating Summa cum Laude. Went abroad twice. It’s an incredible, supportive school that does amazing things for young women. Best decision ever!
It’s always nice to hear about great outcomes! Good for your daughter.
I believe living together does indeed affect FA determination. Someone else is paying expenses on your behalf. Say the boyfriend pays all the utilities. Or pays the mortgage on a house he owns and mom/kids move into. That’s paying for expenses on your behalf. It’s almost like extra income.
I’m not positive….Perhaps @kelsmom can comment…but I thought “paying on your behalf” was paying bills in that are in the other person’s name. NOT paying their own bills. So if a parent moves into a house owned for and paid for by someone else…and utilities in that owners name…the parent doesn’t have someone paying bills on their behalf.
Hoping @kelsmom clarifies.
This one confuses people. The PARENT does not report bills paid by someone else. This rule is for the student only. (And in 2024-25, the student will no longer have to report this information. Currently, though, the student would not report any bills someone else pays unless the bill itself is in the student’s name.)
Thanks for the clarification!
So if a mom and daughter move into mom’s mom’s house (grandma of the student) and mom and daughter don’t pay any bills or rent because grandma pays everything, that is not considered when making the financial aid determination?
No, it’s not. Just the income and assets of the parent and student are considered.
Keep in mind that the CSS profile is a repository for documents. Like the FAFSA the profile simply collects information that can be sent to multiple schools.
Just because a school does not use the non-custodial profile does not mean that it will not need or ask for the financial information of the non-custodial parent as many schools have their own financial aid forms.
Your best bet is to go to the financial aid website and carefully read the instructions to apply for financial aid. In addition, every school has a net price calculator (this may not necessarily be the most accurate when it comes to. divorced families, business owners, and people who own real estate outside of their primary home).
You must make sure that you are using a bottoms-up approach in making sure that your child(ren) is looking at schools that are financially feasible options for your family. You must have a 4-year plan for financing college. a dream school should not be a financial nightmare. If your student is borrowing more than $27,000 you may have to reconsider.
If the journey has to start at a community college for affordability, there are schools that have great articulation agreements with 4-year colleges.