<p>I'm not sure exactly how the FAFSA works, but my parents are divorced, and i live with my mom and stepdad. My mom doesn't work, and my stepdad makes about 35k a year. However, my dad makes about 50k. Will everyone's financial information be included when considering aid from the government and schools? I don't have a college fund, so am i screwed for the more expensive colleges or will i get a lot of financial aid?</p>
<p>For the FAFSA, the financial information for your mom, and stepdad will be included on the FAFSA. They are the parents with whom you reside, correct? Your dad’s info will not go on the FAFSA. However, any child support or spousal support your mom receives will go on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Some schools will require info from your non-custodial parent. You will need to check each college website to determine what you need to submit. Non-custodial parent info is collected either using the Profile non-custodial parent form (your mom and stepdad would do,the. Profile, and your dad the non-custodial parent Profile), or through a school form.</p>
<p>So are you referring to the CSS for the non-custodial parent? because a couple colleges that I’m looking at also require a CSS… how would this affect my chances at institutional aid? I’m pretty sure i would qualify for the maximum federal grant, but that is definitely not enough.</p>
<p>Yes. If your college requires the Profile, your mom and stepdad will complete the Profile. Your dad will complete the non-custodial parent Profile if required (some Profile schools do not require the non-custodial parent Profile).</p>
<p>You will need to check each of your colleges for what they require.</p>
<p>How will the non-custodial Profile affect your institutional aid? Well…schools that require it will likely have an expectation that your non-custodial parent will contribute based on his income and assets.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks. But if my non-custodial parent (my father) makes about 45-50k a year, how much can he be expected to contribute? Do you think that any schools would give financial aid in the form of grants, or mainly student loans? because “institutional aid” isn’t really free money based on need, right?</p>
<p>Max, it all depends upon the school. Most schools, nearly all of them really, do not guarantee to meet full need, and most schools do give out loans as part of the financial aid package. It’s difficult to figure out how much your father will be expected to contribute. You can run his numbers through the EFC and a sample NPC (from a school that interests you ) calculator and that will give you some idea of what he would be expected to contribute if he were the only parent and then add what your custodial family would be expected to contribute. Also run the figures as though you have a custodial family income and assets with your NCP dad’s numbers simply added to the family amounts. Neither result will be completely accurate but it gives you some ideas.</p>
<p>Those schools that give institutional aid can vary widely. Some rarely give anything outside of the federal entitlements, some do dip into their own funds, some use their own money solely or mostly in merit venues to attract the students they want most. They can do what they please with their own money. A school like Harvard tends to be far more generous than most any of the other schools, on a need basis, but Harvard gives no merit money. </p>
<p>What are some of the schools you are considering? I can give you some examples. For instance Albright College will meet EFC except for discretionary expenses (travel, books, sundries) out of their own funds. At a similiar school, say Gannon, you could get gapped more as they have no such guarantee, but then they do have some nice merit money. </p>
<p>Just be careful when adding together two divorced parent contributions on those NPCs. If you get a Pell Grant based on your mom’ snet price calculator, you will NOT get another one based on your dad’s. If you get a $5500 Direct Loan on mom’s, you will not get an additional one on your dad’s. You can’t even be sure about institutional grants using two different net prices calculation calculations…because it’s unlikely you will get TWO grants (one based on mom, and one based on dad).</p>
<p>This is one reason the net price calculators are NOT accurate for divorced parents.</p>
<p>Another reason…some schools don’t have the same expectation of the non-custodial parent in terms of contributions…in other words…the formulas vary.</p>
<p>But to answer another question…institutional NEED based aid can come in many forms. It can be grants, or loans. This all depends on the college.</p>
<p>What schools are you looking at? </p>
<p>Hey guys! My long-short list of schools is UCONN, Stony Brook SUNY, Northeastern, BU, and Rutgers. I also have some safeties, but these are my ideal schools… do you think that these would be financially realistic colleges? I’ll give you my credentials… I’ve done a lot of those sample calculators but it would be great to hear from some real people.</p>
<p>SAT Superscore 2110 (taken 2 times)
CR 760
Math 660
Writing 690</p>
<p>ACT Composite 30</p>
<p>AP Scores (so far): Lang and Comp 5, US History 5</p>
<p>About a 3.85 GPA, top 25 in class</p>
<p>President of Current Events Club
VP of Spanish Honor Society
Elected Class Officer, 4 years
CT Boys’ State Delegate (sort of like a government camp… approx. 200 kids from around the state)
CABE Student Leadership Award Recipient
High Honors almost all four years
Varsity Lacrosse Captain, player for 4 years
Indoor Track, 4 years
National Honor Society</p>
<p>Helped out at local fairgrounds every summer since 8th grade, picking up trash and painting buildings
Participated as a workhand in many local dog adoption events
Helped tutor middle schoolers
Participated in Relay for Life and made care packages for the homeless at an NHS-sponored event.</p>
<p>What is your home state?
uConn
stony brook
Rutgers</p>
<p>Unless you gave parents living in 2 of these 3 states leaving you OOS for only one school, you will be OOS for 2 of these schools. Are your parents willing to pay full freight for you to attend school in the state(s) where you do not live?</p>
<p>So far none if the schools on your whole list meet 100% demonstrated need. Where is your safety; a school that is a financially feasible option for your family, a school that you can be admitted to ( a little merit would be nice) and that if it is your only option, you would be happy to attend?</p>
<p>I live in CT, so UCONN would be an in-state school. I am planning to take out loans of course. My safety would give me some merit probably (CCSU) but I would very much rather not go there</p>
<p>And again, I’m sorry if these comments/questions are ridiculously dumb. This stuff is all very confusing to me, but are these schools worth applying to based on my financial conditions?</p>
<p>The amount of loans YOU are eligible are limited for is $5500 for the first year and similar levels for other years. f </p>
<p>What about grants? so I’ll only get 5500 and then have to figure out how to pay the other 20-50k?</p>
<p>Do not count on sufficient aid from the OOS publics.</p>
<p>Northeastern and BU are OOS private schools… Stony Brook costs just as much as UCONN does for me. I’ve done a few NPCs mainly for NU and while I will still have to take out loans, it seems like many private universities are more willing to offer need-based grants. </p>
<p>Public schools look after the residents of their home state first. There are exceptions but most don’t give much need based aid, other than any federal aid for which you qualify, to non-residents. Yes, privates are generally more willing to give need-based grants but also cost more, so you have to look at the bottom line of how much you and your family are expected to pay, including any loan amounts.</p>
<p>thanks, I totally understand that. I did an NPC test and it said that i could potentially get around a 37k need/merit based grant from NU, and after the pell grant and stafford loan I could be left with about a 10k gap. Would this school still be reasonable? It doesn’t seem as bad</p>
<p>You should view that net price calculator as an estimate only. Northeastern does NOT guaranteed to meet full need, and packages the Direct Loan in their need based awards. So…your family contribution would be at LEAST $10,000…I’m going to bet a lot more…PLUS a $5500 Direct Loan which would be included in your aid package.</p>
<p>NEU gives excellent merit awards to the very tippy top applicants. After that it is unpredictable.</p>
<p>How much can your parents afford to pay for you to attend college annually? You need to keep THAT number in mind.</p>
<p>P.S. Those private universities might give out more grants…BUT their costs to attend are HIGHER than the SUNY schools or instate UConn…by more than double.</p>