<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but from my understanding, the CSS profile is based on your custodial parent's finances, in this case, my mom. However, some schools will require you to fill out another form/application with your non-custodial parent's finance information to assess the aid packet you'll be given.</p>
<p>I was wondering, since my parents divorced when I was only an infant and I have not heard from my father since, how will I be able to provide my father's financial information? Should I leave it blank? I do know he pays child support of around $700 dollars a month, but that is the limit of our relationship with each other.</p>
<p>Keep in mind I haven't actually started the CSS profile or any other financial aid form, so please enlighten me if it is different than I described. Thank you! </p>
<p>Yes, you should try to get a waiver. Although if he is paying child support, there is SOME contact. You might not get the waiver. Be sure you pick some FAFSA-only schools for your list in case the waivers don’t come through.</p>
<p>However, most FAFSA only schools do no promise to meet need as defined by FAFSA. The EFC generated by FAFSA should be considered the MINIMUM required to spend. Many schools will require much more. </p>
<p>Other posts indicate that you live in California. Lucky for you – California public universities use FAFSA only and give relatively good in-state financial aid.</p>
<p>Lots of public schools use FAFSA only, but do not give good financial aid, especially for out-of-state students.</p>
<p>Some private schools do not require NCP information, but you need to check each one specifically. University of Chicago made a recent announcement of new financial aid policies, including not using NCP information.</p>
<p>You can also look for schools with sufficiently large merit scholarships that are not dependent on any financial aid information.</p>
<p>Note: if the NCP is only marginally cooperative with financial aid information, be aware of the risk of the NCP becoming uncooperative in the future, so that you will be forced to drop out of a school which requires NCP information in that case.</p>
<p>The FAFSA only requires the custodial parents info. The CSS profile requires info from both parents. Your mom knowshould the terms of support agreement and if it provides fo college expenses or support after you turn 18 and graduate HS. Your moms job is filling out the FAFSA and the profile You job is getting great grades studing for the SAT?ACT, writing a killer essay, finding strong ltters of rec, meting all application deadlines. </p>
<p>Actually, I would not totally discount any CSS profile schools. If you are truly interested in CSS profile school (most of the top tier) than you should move forward with the app and see what happens. Not all profile schools wieght data from the profile equally. Just make sure to have some financial safties in the mix too. The best thing to do at this point is ask your mom to get craking on the forms.</p>
<p>Also, If your dad is paying $700 per month in child support you have not “lost all contact”. This is converstaion for your mother. She should inform your dad of your plans to attend college. Give him the info on the CSS profile. Explain that schools will need his cooperation befor awarding your insistutional grants. Ask him how much he’s willing to contribute. </p>
<p>Good catch! I didn’t notice this. A couple of things. That child support will need to be included on your custodial parent financial aid application forms.</p>
<p>And yes…if child support is being sent, it would be very hard to prove you have completely lost contact!</p>
<p>You need to ask each college that requires NCP financial info as to what their procedures are for a waiver and follow their directions. As others have said, that your CP gets child support from the NCP is going to e an issue. That’s not losing all contact as others have said, and my opinion is that it will be an issue. Your CP will also have to include that child support on FAFSA as well as PROFILE as income. </p>
<p>Child support is usually paid through the DSS or other agency. Unless your dad is voluntarily paying child support directly to your mother, it is possible - indeed sound highly likely in this case - that there is no contact and no contact info available for your dad. Receiving child support does not mean a NCP waiver would not be approved. In fact there is question on the waiver asking child support to be reported, which does not preclude the waiver being accepted. </p>
<p>I know a family whose only source of income was 800/month child support from an out of country dad, and the NCP waiver was approved for S and D in that family for all their schools (as far as I know). The S went to Amherst College and D to Yale. Mom was nervous about the waiver being accepted because of the child support being paid but Amherst assured her that the purpose of the petition was to figure out whether it is reasonable to expect the NCP to pay for college tuition. I’m sure the smaller private colleges are more lenient but I don’t think it would hurt to submit the NCP waiver request to your CSS schools while also applying to FAFSA only schools. I strongly suggest you communicate directly with your colleges about their policies and expectations re: NCP. </p>
<p>Here’s an example of a waiver request form: <a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/images/ncp_waiver.pdf”>http://www.questbridge.org/images/ncp_waiver.pdf</a>.
You will have to get a 3rd party letter verifying that you have no contact with your dad and attach it to the form (see details on the request). The letter is not about child support; the verification is whether there has been actual contact between you and the parent. The 3rd party should be an adult who has known you and is not a relative or an attorney. Most students use a school official, clergy, doctor, psychologist, even a neighbor, anyone who has known the family situation over time and can verify the lack of contact. </p>
<p>I agree with Nynightowl, that there are situations where NCP waivers are approved even if child support is paid. There are a number of NCP waiver approved under all kinds of scenarios…and also denied. You do need to cast a wider net than most students do because there is no telling what a specific school will request and require for the waiver to go through. </p>
<p>^ Right. My kids were granted NCP waivers to every single one of their potential CSS Profile schools. They also received child support until they were 18 and graduated from high school. They also had no contact with their father. There were a lot of different colleges involved between the different kids. After my kids and/or I contacted each school, every single one of them clearly outlined what they needed from my kids, and from me. We complied with every guideline. Some required a lot more work than others. Some required lengthy personal statements. Some required third party letters. Some required pages and pages of documentation like the divorce decree, custody arrangement, child support agreement, etc. We just did everything each school asked for, and the kids were each ultimately granted an NCP waiver to each and every school.</p>
<p>Regarding child support, my mom receives checks from the government, not from my father directly. Is that a form of child support? On an NCP Waiver, would I put down “Yes, I receive child support in the year 20xx” if that is the only form of support I receive from him? </p>