Financial Need Complicated by Divorce

[MiddKid86]

I’m saying that admissions (and financial aid) offices need to take responsibility for their communications. College admissions officers’ near sole purpose for existence is to communicate with high school-aged college applicants, so they should be able to do that effectively. And effective communication involves knowing your target audience and not making statements that are likely to be readily misinterpreted by that audience.

The statement “we’ll work with you” is utterly ambiguous and, at the same time, encouraging. And it’s easy enough to predict that an unsophisticated 18-year old would interpret it to mean what he or she wants it to mean - which is that Dad’s unwillingness to pay for college will not be the kiss of death.

As far as I’m concerned, there’s no excuse for such ambiguity when a perfectly clear answer (“Non-custodial parent finances are usually taken into account in calculating a family’s ability to pay for college.”) is readily available.

Yup, you may be right about all of that, and who knows how OP interpreted “FA could work with you.” But for you to unequivocally state that this is really a suggestion on the part of the counselor that the NCP’s income can be disregarded is completely baseless.

[thumper1]

Admissions officers do not DO financial aid. Financial aid officers do financial aid.

If the college required the non-custodial parent Profile (which I believe Wash U requires), it’s a safe bet they use the information from the non custodial parent when computing need based financial aid awards.

[mom2collegekids]

[QUOTE=""]

I explained that my father has no legal obligation to help fund my education (I am 18 and mandatory child support ends next month), and therefore has stated he will not contribute to my college costs. My mother and I have an EFC of ~27k (which leaves us having to somehow make up almost 40k in costs since my father isn't actually helping). <<<

[/QUOTE]

Uh…your argument falls apart because YOUR MOM has no obligation either…

[sybbie719]

Wash U takes the either the NCP or their own Non-custodial parent form. They are also straight up in stating how they determine need

How will Washington University determine my eligibility for financial assistance?
For students whose parents are divorced, separated, or were never married, the financial assistance award is based on either the Family Financial Profile (FFP) or CSS PROFILE, in addition to the NCPS or CSS NCPS.

https://sfs.wustl.edu/Pages/Noncustodial-Parent-Statement.aspx

A school saying that they are going to work with a family does not mean that they are just going to negate the income and assets of a parent because the family is no longer in tact. Unless the student qualified for a non-custodial waiver, both parents (and in many cases their spouses, if remarried) are first in line when it comes toward paying for school.

It has been my experience that working with the family, means explaining the process to an uncooperative parent, reassuring the non-custodial parent that the information will not be shared, letting them know that filling out the form does not obligate either parent to pay for their child to attend Wash U and explaining the FA process including how the information will be used. THe school was in no position to even give the OP and early read on their financial situation, because they did not have the information to provide one.