Is a "top college" worth it?

[ucbalumnus]

@compmom

I believe (and just looked it up) that only your custodial parent and spouse need to be on the FAFSA.

That is true for FAFSA.

However, many of the good financial aid colleges require additional forms (e.g. CSS Profile), including those detailing the finances of the non-custodial parent (e.g. CSS Noncustodial Profile).

See the following (although the definition of custodial parent is changing to the parent providing the most financial support, instead of the one the student lives with the most):

FAQ: Divorced parents, financial aid, and net price calculators

Divorced parent situations are common situations that get asked about on these forums. It is also a situation where many students and parents make mistakes in assumptions about financial aid or use of net price calculators, resulting in disappointment when financial aid letters arrive. Q1: What do all of these terms mean? A1: Some common terms: Custodial parent (CP): the parent the student lives with most of the time. Noncustodial parent (NCP): the parent the student does not live with most of the time. Net price calculator (NPC): a tool on each college's web site to estimate financial aid. It is not a guarantee of financial aid, and some colleges' NPCs are more accurate than others'. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): financial aid form for federal student aid (Pell grants, direct loans, federal work study). Uses only the CP household financial information. CSS Profile: supplemental financial aid form required by many colleges for their financial aid. CSS …