Help! 1st time with financial aid, divorced parents

Paying for College
1

<p>So as mentioned, this is my first time figuring all this stuff out as in the past (high school and when I applied to college) I was able to pay full tuition, and I don't really understand it at all. I'm trying to google and read up on information, but it's hard. So please help me!</p>

<p>MY INFO
- divorced parents, approx four messy years in court, finally divorced this year.
- DAD: *lots of $$$$$. No custody! **DOES NOT want to contribute. *
We are currently in court trying to force him to contribute, but the lawyer tells us that under state law the court can only make him contribute about $6000 (or around 60% of state school tuition, no room/board)... which is a lot, but not enough, as I am (all $$ issues aside) going to a good private college. He retained most of the money in the family.
- **MOM: head of my household; has a little less than 50k/year as salary, but the court did let her keep the house, which is probably worth a lot. (Or at least it was! Don't you love the US economy?)</p>

<p>MY PROBLEMS
- my mom has not filed her 2009 taxes yet, and the 2008 taxes were filed with my father who has not had custody of me for four years and who, again, will NOT pay for tuition. The financial aid information will be due very soon. In fact, I should have it in already but long story short, I thought I wouldn't have to (Dad made noises like he was going to contribute). So now I need to call the FA office at my college which I postponed matriculation at to sort this stuff out ASAP.
- my mom has an approx 50k salary which would qualify me for FA at my college, but her assets - namely, the house that my dad bought when they were married and a little bit of land - are more. 400k total before the economy crash, now probably more like 100k. So I don't know how that is going to affect things.
- I could theoretically get a scholarship associated with my dad's work that would cover about 20k of my tuition BUT it would not cover my room and board, so my mother would still need to contribute 20k herself... a huge chunk from a 50k/yr salary that still needs to pay for an enormous amount of mortage (remember, the expensive house my dad bought). ALSO, my dad could legally count this as "his" contribution so he wouldn't contribute the remaining $6000 we are trying to make him contribute. Also, this is theoretical. And the forms are due... soon. June at most? The website is not very clear.
- **I don't think my school uses FAFSA, they use some sort of their own financial aid thing that I am looking at online right now<a href="even%20families%20with%20$200,000%20yearly%20income%20will%20have%20some%20benefit">/b</a>. So I know I can't ask for help on that, but I'm hoping that some of you can help anyway :(</p>

<p>MY QUESTIONS
- What tax forms should I reference when I am filling out the information? If you think I can use the 2009 taxes, do you think the FA office would accept a later submission (ie, after my mother does 2009 taxes)? I need to talk to them anyway because, as mentioned, I didn't put myself down as a financial aid applicant in the postponed matriculation form I sent out recently (before this whole business with my dad not wanting to pay).
- If you think I should use the 2008 taxes that my parents filled out together, how should I explain to the FA office that my dad (whose $$$ is on the 2008 form) will NOT contribute to my education? Or am I just screwed over?</p>

<p>Hmm that's all for now. I don't have the forms in front of me because I didn't mark myself down as a financial aid applicant, so I can only look at the website and try to use the financial aid calculator from there. But because I don't have the 2009 taxes with me, I can't fill it out any further :(. </p>

<p>Thanks for all your help! I'm really stressing out right now.</p>

2

<p>Any school that awards federal aid uses FAFSA. I do know of at least one school (Hillsdale) that does not; almost all others do. Your school may also use Profile.</p>

<p>FAFSA does not take noncustodial parent income into account, nor does it count that value of the primary residence. Some Profile schools count noncustodial parent income/assets, and the way they count the residence varies by school. Only the market value-what is owed on the home- is reported.</p>

<p>Taxes used for 2010-11 are 2009. Estimate if you need to - update when the taxes are done. Profile does ask some 2008 income questions, but you would use mom’s share of income for that.</p>

<p>Call your school & talk with a financial aid officer. That’s what they are there for! </p>

<p>Good luck to you. :)</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much!! I feel a little better now. </p>

<p>I just emailed my school’s FA office requesting the forms; we’ll see how it goes from here! :)</p>

4

<p>If Yale is the school we’re talking about, unfortunately they will not care whether your father will contribute or not. They will include his income and assets in determining your EFC. In their eyes both parents must contribute unless there are very unusual circumstances such as a student not knowing their parent and never having been supported by him.</p>

5

<p>I would be concerned that the dad may refuse to fill out the forms about his income/assets.</p>

<p>*I could theoretically get a scholarship associated with my dad’s work that would cover about 20k of my tuition BUT it would not cover my room and board, so my mother would still need to contribute 20k herself… a huge chunk from a 50k/yr salary that still needs to pay for an enormous amount of mortage *</p>

<p>Get that money! Does it have to be used at an expensive school? </p>

<p>**I think you need to mentally prepare yourself to the idea that you probably will not be able to afford your top choices. ** If that $20k scholarship is available, and your dad has to give you $6k per year, then with a small contribution from your mom, you could go to a state school or maybe an inexpensive private.</p>

<p>Obviously, your mom can’t contribute anywhere close to $20k. She’d be lucky to be able to contribute $5k.</p>

<p>**I know that none of this seems fair to you. ** Your parents should have given you a head up last summer, so that you could have applied to a mix of reaches and financial safeties (schools that give merit or schools that are inexpensive.)</p>

<p>If you apply to a state school, most will only use your mom’s income. If you’re applying to elite privates, they will likely want your dad’s info and then you’re in trouble.</p>

<p>Did you apply to ANY financial safety schools? What is your home state?</p>