<p>I have a good friend who has a set of questions beyond my experience. Her ex had legal custody of her son by court order. In November of last year, at age 18, a schism developed between her son and his father that resulted in him being booted out of the house with no support from his father. My friend continued to pay her court ordered support but now directly to her son. Father provides nothing. </p>
<p>The son has been accepted to U of Arkansas. A Fafsa has been filled out by the mom, which included her income and spouse's income. That Fafsa has been sent to U of A.(back in March) They have heard nothing. I have suggested that she contact U of A to explain the situation in detail and to ask for their professional judgment on his FA. I will have her join CC this evening and hope that some of our pros can give her some tips and strategies as the cupboard at her house is pretty bare. I have explained Stafford loans and Parent Plus loans to the best of my ability. I was wondering if this might be, in some ways, akin to what MichaelNKat was calling "dependency override", at least as to which parents income should be used.</p>
<p>I’m concerned that nothing was heard from U of A, since March. Even if the student’s EFC is higher than the CoA, he should at least have been offered unsub Stafford and the PLUS loans. ??? I’d definitely contact FA office ASAP.</p>
<p>Yeah-- the student should received finaid packages from each college to which he was accepted. So check with the fin aid office.</p>
<p>Also, the way FAFSA works, in divorce situations, is that only the income and assets of the custodial parent are included (defined as the parent with whom the student lived most in the prior 12 months-- in this context, it has nothing to do with who has legal custody). So if FAFSA was filed in March, and the student lived with his father for at least the 6 months up until the boot-out date in November, then the father’s income and assets should have been listed, not mom’s (although the support she provided would be included as part of the father’s income).</p>
<p>A quick call to the financial aid office is in order to see what happened. Maybe the mail got sent to the father’s address?</p>
<p>Agreed with others. If the parents are divorced, only ONE parent’s income/assets (the custodial parent) is listed on the FAFSA. Why did the mom put both on the FAFSA? I agree that a call to the financial aid office is in order…and also suggest amending the FAFSA to reflect the custodial parent’s income/assets only…not both parents.</p>
<p>Curm, if the S is getting the child support from mom, is he living on his own or with her? I agree, the first thing to do is find out where the FA package went in the first place. Would he have received FA if his dad is the primary for FAFSA?</p>
<p>thumper, I think the mother is remarried, and the income she listed is hers and her husband’s: "A Fafsa has been filled out by the mom, which included her income and spouse’s income. "</p>
<p>If that’s the case (that Mom and Mom’s husband’s income/assets are included)-- all the more reason to revisit the issue of who, technically, was the custodial parent at time of filing. Looks like it may be the dad-- and it may very well be that listing the dad’s income (only) would result in a more advantageous financial aid package.</p>
<p>Unfortunately no. Dad’s income alone (Maybe $125k + whatever his spouse makes) is higher than my friend and her spouse (maybe $90K with 3 other younger kids). I agree that the custodial parent is what should have been listed.
If it was simple, I’d have known the answer and it may be simple. They may be screwed. But I’m scrambling. </p>
<p>More data. </p>
<p>November of 08 booted out, March 09 Fafsa filled out with “incorrect” parent’s income (remember zero contact/cooperation between student and “custodial parent”- think Grand Canyon size), advice received from someone school related (maybe HS counselor familiar with students living/support arrangement -local family took him in) to “check a box showing homeless”. Yeah. I know. Sounds wrong to me,too. That’s why I’m sending her here. </p>
<p>And yep. I’m mighty concerned that student nor mom has received anything from U of Arkansas and the call will go out Wednesday. </p>
<p>Something is wrong and I just want them to be armed with the best info possible when they talk to FA.</p>
<p>Edit: EFC of $19K with few assets and $90K income with 3 other kids? I told her to run the EFC numbers on finaid to see if maybe she ran the numbers wrong (if it’s even possible to use her as the de facto custodial parent for Fafsa purposes).</p>
<p>I wish I had been involved from the start but there is some good news, he did qualify for merit scholly and an OOS tuition waiver. Or else this would be waaaaaay worse.</p>
<p>On a $90K income (mom and spouse), the EFC is going to be somewhere in the $20K plus range. How does that compare to the COA of the school the kiddo wants to attend? Keep in mind that state public universities don’t meet full need. But the kiddo should get a Stafford loan at the very least.</p>
<p>EFC of $19k is in the ballpark, for $90K income. Three other kids don’t affect EFC much unless they’re in college. </p>
<p>I don’t know what changes could help with the situation as it is. Changing custodial parent to the dad won’t positively impact financial aid, and it’s not possible for student to be independent.</p>
<p>The conditions for independent status are quite strict: age 24, married, has own dependent. Dependency override is usually for documented abuse, a schism itself isn’t enough.</p>
<p>To other posters please correct me if I’m wrong. I feel like I’m playing out of my league here. O_o</p>
<p>OK…now that more info is in…how much is U of A going to cost annually? Is it more than $19K or $20K per year (considering he got a waiver and is paying instate tuition AND got a merit scholarship which would reduce need)? It doesn’t sound like there is much calculated NEED at all…it sounds like no one wants to pay the bills. I hope it all gets sorted out, but I seriously doubt that U of A is going to give this kid any need based aid. They already GAVE him merit aid and an instate tuition waiver…seems like his EFC will be close to the COA.</p>
<p>The criteria for independent student was expanded to include homeless, emancipated, unaccompanied youth (see page 3 of link below). If he was determined to be homeless by his high school, then he would be considered an independent student. The FAFSA should have been filed as such - not sure what checking the box did, but does not sound like it was the only thing required. I think he needs to run this by the school, with documentation from the HS, and correct his FAFSA. </p>
<p>OK, so I am the “friend” curmudgeon is writing about. Unfortunatly, I can’t give you much info on the cost of the school per year, or anything else for that matter. My son and I do no live in the same state, and all that was handled at his fathers house before he was kicked out and unfortuantly, can not be retrieved. I can tell you that after my son was kicked out of the house, he went to live with a school mate and their family. the counselor and I have been trying to work together, but the long distance makes it difficult to do. She originally called the financial aid office and discussed his living situation with the people there. They first told her to have me fill out the info using my information since he was 18 and the custody issue was no longer an issue. I filled out the paperwork with mine and my husbands info. After I got the initial confirmation, it showed that he was not eligible for any help i.e. Pell Grant…and that our estimated part was 19000. I told my son and the counselor so that we could try and go a different direction. Upon hearing that, she called the office again and talked to someone higher up and informed them again of the situation. (father kicked him out and I am a state away) they then informed her to tell me to make a correction to our Application and change(line 54, I think) stating that he “is an unaccompanied Homeless Youth as determined by High School/Homeless Liason.” She had the school “declare” him homeless since he was no longer living with either parent. She was told the school must keep the paperwork on file. Once I changed that line, it said my estimated part would be “0” I have not heard anything from the FA office nor have I received anything. We are planning a visit to the FA office in a week, but I am afraid if I go that it might change his status with FA.
Please know thumper1, the need IS there. Unfortunatly, we were under the assumption all along that a trust was set up in sons name for college, but now that the family as disowned him, those funds are no longer available. We have 3 others at home and one other that we pay child support for as well. We have set aside money for the girls, but set only a small amount aside for son since we thought he was taken care of.
I guess what I am looking for is advice on where to go from here and what to do first and foremost as we are quickly running out of time. If it turns out that there is no help from the school, where do I go about getting him some sort of aid without the payments falling on us? We have 4 others who will be entering college in the next few years and cannot take on that load but we WANT to help wherever we can. Whatever advice you can give is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>First off, I am so sorry you and your S have to undergo this process. Please tell him to hang in there… </p>
<p>In terms of enabling S to pay his own way, he will be eligible for $5500 in unsub Stafford loans and possibly $4000 in additional unsub loans, if you are denied Parent loans (PLUS). However, I realise the folly of overly relying on loans–he could quickly pile up a load of debt, unwisely, if loans are the primary source of money.</p>
<p>If you guys can’t come up with the money for public U, the most likely, cheaper alternative is community college. I’ve also heard of ROTC scholarships being suggested.</p>
<p>Would he consider taking a gap year to work and save up some money for college?</p>
<p>Once you corrected his FAFSA, did the SAR show his EFC to be 0? Did he notify the school that a change had been made so they could re-process his financial aid award? If not, he should do so immediately. It may be a little late to get much more in institutional aid other than work-study funds but the new EFC would certainly qualify him for a Pell grant, and maybe an ACG, and state grant money (if he applied for that as well).</p>
<p>I sure HOPE this trust is not in his name. If it IS, you are required to declare the value of the TRUST on the FAFSA regardless of whether he has access to it or not. If it’s in granddad’s name…no problem. If it’s in dad’s name and he ends up being the “parent of record”…then it would have to be declared for dad…AT LEAST THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING ABOUT FAFSA AND TRUSTS…someone else can clarify if I’m not correct.</p>
<p>Re: being homeless…perhaps the reason you haven’t gotten any word from U of A is that they are wondering how someone could go from having an EFC of $19,000 a year, and merit aid awarded, and an instate tuition waiver all of which would completely cover the cost of attendance…to someone who is now Pell eligible. </p>
<p>You will have to seriously have excellent documentation of your son’s status and the reason for it. Think of it this way…if any student could move out of their parents’ home and live with friends to gain “homeless” status and a $0 EFC…I can imagine that TONS of kids would do that…just move in with the neighbor and don’t talk to your parents for a semester or two. To colleges, this will look like “gaming the system” unless there is some very good documentation of the homeless status and WHY. </p>
<p>Are there lower cost options closer to where you live? What state is this youngster instate for? Any options there? Where IS he living now and who is providing his support? Lots of questions.</p>
<p>I know you feel you have a good case for more aid…but you and your husband COULD be determined to be his family. If that ends up being the case, his EFC is $19000 based on your family income/assets. $19K plus instate waiver, plus merit aid, plus Stafford loan SHOULD cover the instate costs at most public universities around this country…room and board…and tuition.</p>
<p>I know that isn’t what you want to hear. But there it is. I realize you hoped that trust would cover your son’s education…and maybe it will…someday. </p>
<p>As mentioned by others…MOST folks are shocked by their EFC and most feel the “need is there”. But your determined EFC is $19000. What IS the balance that you would owe U of A after the merit award is subtracted from the instate costs? My guess is it’s less than $19000. Can you chip in at all???</p>
<p>Thumper, they might be able to shake a few nickels loose (the cupboard is mighty bare) but the merit award is only $2500 this year- they are grateful for any and all help. He does plan on WorkStudy FWIW. He is living with the family that took him in. COA with OOS tuition waiver - merit = about $12.5K based on what I calculated yesterday.</p>
<p>TK, understand that everyone here is being helpful. The situation is “not good” and nobody is criticizing you for what fell in your lap. As you know, I know full well what transpired to bring y’all to this point…but we’ve shared enough “family business” for people to help. It may be the internet but it’s not always anonymous. Capische? ;)</p>
<p>You are correct to the best of my knowledge. And that would truly …suck. Knowing the GP participants, I believe the word “trust” is being used incorrectly.</p>
Agreed. This where the counselor and the high school’s determination of status will come in. The school is listed as a place where such a determination can be made. The link provided by sk8 above also says explicitly that FAA can find that status even after originally filing dependent status (as TK’s son did upon the original advice received).</p>