Note that at some of the schools listed, they do not stack aid. So if the OP earns outside scholarships, all it does at some schools is lower the amount of need based aid, and the cost of attendance is the same. You have to ask each school about their policy on this.
@staceyneil ~ are you sure there’s a difference between self-employed and owning a business? If so, I’ve made some mistakes. My husband is a self-employed auto mechanic with no employees, no assets other than a lift and some tools, and low income. I, unfortunately, filled everything out as a business owner.
It was also just a guess that when other posters mention things being added back in because its a business, that that is not much of an issue with a small business like this where there is labor and parts income less expenses which are primarily parts costs and utility bills. Not much else to write-off in our case.
@NEpatsgirl That is the same situation as my father.
@NEPatsGirl Well, I explained our income situation to some college FA offices last year and this is how we were advised to do it. Maybe its because I receive 1099s as a freelancer? I really don’t know except that I was told to do it this way 
We do submit our fed tax returns, too, which spell it all out. Perhaps you can call the FA office of your kid’s school and ask them what they advise in your specific situation.
@NePatsGirl Does he file a Schedule C?
Yes. And pays self-employment tax as a sole proprietor.
I think you did it right but you could check I suppose.
I’m so done with all this finaid crappola honestly. They have pretty smart people in their offices going over everything with a fine-toothed comb I’m sure. Hopefully, if the numbers are right, it’ll all wash regardless of how or where they were posted. Right now, I’m really concerned that IDOC hasn’t even officially “received” all the documents we sent via USPS overnight in plenty of time for all our deadlines. This whole process is turning into a nightmare in which I spend hours every week trying to track things and then track things down when they go missing…
Hahaha we’re kind of getting off topic here but it may help OP when they get to filling out FA stuff. You guys going through the finaid circus for the first time this year, I am SO SYMPATHETIC. Last year I was absolutely tearing my hair out. I also spent hours each day dealing with it, for months it seemed like! I swear between the financial aid applications, FAFSA, IDOC, CSS, and waiting for decisions to come back I aged 10 years.
FWIW, I also file sched C and pay self-employment tax. I think you’re right, it all equals out in the end whether you say you own a business or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to call one of the FA offices and ask.
OP- it probably isn’t going to matter too much about your dad’s small business, but you just need to make sure he fills out the paperwork, and when you run the Net Price Calculators for each college you’re interested in, be sure to include his income in your entries.
@intparent If OP wins scholarship awards this year as a junior will OP have to pay taxes because it is income and will that affect eligibility for Pell grants for the college year? Sometimes it seems the more you try, the more you fall behind.
@staceyneil She only has to include him for privates not state schools right?
I believe she has to include him for any schools requiring the non-custodial parent form. OP, check each school’s FA page.
Yes, every school is different but they make it clear on their finaid pages just what is required. There is also a list generated out there (someplace here on CC) that lists many schools and which ones require the NCP. This is where we picked out half a dozen schools for D…those include UScranton, St. Mikes, and Simmons. Unfortunately, my D didn’t want to look far out of the NE area, there were many schools on the list. For example, our cost had D been accepted to Vanderbilt, would have been $8000 (according to the NPC). I actually spoke to their admissions and finaid offices to make sure I had the number right…it is one of the very few top tier schools where the NCP is NOT required. Of course, their admittance rate is right up there with the IVYS and top 10 LACs.
Maybe the OP can see if mom can get the American Opportunity Tax Credit while she is in college (and will she give the money to OP). Even if she pays no tax she would still receive $1000? That would pay for books.
If you haven’t signed up for free or reduced lunch at school, do that. Then your GC can give you fee waivers for SAT and you should be able to send 4 free scores with that and get 4 application fee waivers.
Also you should be able to apply to common app schools for free.
In our school they also pay less for AP test fees with free/red lunch
I receive free lunch, SAT’s and discounted AP tests.
I will be the first in my family to go to college so trying to understand all of this financial aid stuff is crazy. My Guidance counselors are no help either.
@gtgonewrong - Did you see my recommendation upthread about FAME Maine?? Please do contact them for financial aid advice. They are a non-profit agency specifically devoted to helping Maine students and families understand all the FA stuff. Get a real person on the line and explain that you are first gen and need them to start at square one to explain everything to you. Also check my other suggestions re: Mitchell Scholarship, etc. $8,000 is a lot and you seem like the perfect candidate. (post #51)
Yes it can be confusing. My daughter will be the first in our family to go to college also. I have learned a lot here at CC from knowledgable folks.
@gtgonewrong
Maybe some really basic things about financial aid will help -I’m going to try to keep this simple for now:
FINANCIAL AID is based on your family’s income. It can take the form of GRANTS/SCHOLARSHIPS awarded by the college (these are different from “outside” scholarships that you apply for when you’re a senior) AND it can also include work/study jobs AND it can also include the Federal Subsidized Student Loans. While no one wants debt, the Federal loans are a pretty good deal because you are only allowed to borrow a reasonable amount ($3,500 the first year) and they do not start accruing any interest or require repayment until AFTER you graduate. (As opposed to Parent Plus loans or private loans which you DO NOT want to take out!)
MERIT AID is money that the schools give you based on your academic stats. So if you have higher GPA and test scores than a majority of applicants at a particular school, you may be awarded merit aid. (At many schools, however, any merit aid you receive gets reduces your financial aid by the same amount so it’s pretty much a wash… sorry to confuse you with that at this point!)
There are public, state schools (like UMaine Orono, for example) that only require you to submit the FAFSA, which is a short form the federal government requires all students applying for aid to file. At state schools you will receive some financial aid, and perhaps some merit aid. Public schools tend to have a much lower tuition cost.
At private schools, for example the liberal arts colleges we’ve been discussing like Bowdoin, Bates, Smith, Mount Holyoke, you will usually also have to fill out the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA. This form has much more detailed questions and that’s where your dad’s business will come into play. HOWEVER— a great thing about the higher-ranked liberal arts colleges is that they will MEET 100% NEED. So that means that if the FAFSA and CSS forms say that your family’s “estimated family contribution” “EFC” is $5,000, you will not have to pay more than that. They will award you financial aid (see above) to pay the entire cost less that $5,000 that your family would need to come up with each year. Private schools tend to have a much higher tuition cost, BUT the better ones will also give you a lot more money to attend. We were really surprised to find out that several of the very expensive elite private colleges would cost our family LESS than UMaine. But the trick is to have high enough test scores and GPA to get in…
State schools and other schools that do not claim to meet 100% need will do what is called “gapping.” They will award you SOME financial aid, but not enough to make up the difference between cost of attendance (“COA”) and your estimated family contribution (“EFC”). So your family will have to come up with more.
Note that the “need” is not what your family can ACTUALLY afford. It’s the number that the mathematical formula used by the FAFSA and colleges spits out.
A great way to get an idea of what a certain college will REALLY cost YOUR family is to run the Net Price Calculator (“NPC”) for the school. It will ask you the same sort of financial questions that are on the FAFSA. You should get the numbers from your dad, and then sit down with your mom and try some out. A good place to access them is from the College Board’s “Big Future” web site. or an individual college’s admissions page. Here is Bates’s, for example: http://www.bates.edu/financial-services/costs-financial-aid/financial-aid-estimator/ When you put in your information, at the end it will tell you what the cost of attendance is, how much they expect you to take out in federal loans, how much in work study job they expect you to earn, and what they will give you as “free money” and what your family will have to pay.
If you want to run a more detailed calculator that estimates your federal EFC, I can send you the link, let me know.
I hope this helps a bit!
For what it’s worth, I ran BU’s net price calculator using the income figures you provided for your parents, and made up everything else (ie I said your parents dont own a home and that you earned 1000 last year… totally made up!!!) and it said that you would receive a $1,780 Pell Grant (free money from the government that you dont have to pay back) plus a $55,100 grant/scholarship from BU, leaving $4,596 that would be covered by a $2,600 federal student loan and $2,000 work study. With zero to have to come up with yourself.
Obviously that’s a made-up situation, but hopefully it illustrates that you really might have a chance at some great financial aid at some schools, so don’t lose hope. I encourage you to sit down with your mom and run some of the net price calculators at various schools to see.
Also keep an open mind about colleges. My daughter had an idea of what she wanted when she first started looking -she also thought she wanted to go to school in a big city. So we had a list of colleges she liked at first. But once we learned about the way financial aid works and started running the NPCs, her list changed. Some schools were vastly more affordable than others. Have you visited colleges at all? That might also change your mind. Once she visited BU, BC, Northeastern, and Barnard in NYC, as well as some smaller liberal arts colleges, she realized she felt vastly more at home in a less urban environment and a prettier, more traditional campus than in a city. You might be surprised, and it might open up a lot more schools to consider!
Thank you all! I forgot who has said what. But to comment that asked if I was male or female, I am female. I looked at the FAME website and I saw that there were many scholarships that I am eligible for. I will definitely be sure to apply next year, along with the George Mitchell scholarship.