I am a current junior living in Rhode Island. I go to a pretty competitive public high school and take almost all AP and Honors classes. I have an unweighted GPA of 3.51 and a weighted GPA of 4.0. I have decent extracurriculars, including community service club, ski and snowboard club, math team, varsity soccer, and varsity indoor/outdoor track. In addition, I play club soccer, volunteer at my local animal shelter (5 hrs/ week), and work at subway. My mom is going to be filling out my FAFSA next year, and she only makes about $35,000/year. My dad is not expected to contribute. However, I am worried we will have to put his information on the FAFSA, and that would probably take us out of the running for financial aid, which would really set me back because my dad has already said that he will not be contributing (they have shared custody, but I live with my mom far more often). Due to this, I may need merit aid. I am looking into schools like Boston University, University of Rochester, University of Vermont, etc. would I qualify for merit aid at schools like these? If not, where should I be looking? What else could I do to ensure that I can afford college? Thanks!
If your parents are divorced, only yoir custodial parent info, plus any child and spousal support received are put on the FAFSA.
BUT some colleges require information from the non-custodial parent, and if your colleges do, you will have to provide it. This is done either via the CSS Profile (your mom would complete the Profile and your dad would comolete the non-custodial parent Profile), or a school form.
You need to check each college website carefully, and you can also call or email…to find out if the non-custodial parent info is required. There are Profile schools that don’t require the NCP form.
There is a pinned thread at the top of this forum about scholarships…start by looking there. You may find something that will work. In particular, look for the guaranteed awards based on SAT or ACT and GPA.
However, until you have a SAT or ACT score, you really won’t know which merit awards you could get.
There are no schools that meet financial need as determined by FAFSA.
What was your PSAT score?
How much per year will your mom pay for all four years?
How much does she have saved now for college?
Do you have a summer job?
For schools that use the Profile in addition to FAFSA AND meet need, your dad’s income and assets WILL be considered (how much does he make?). It doesn’t matter that he chooses not to help pay for college. Everyone would say that to get more free money if that were the case.
You’re going to have to avoid schools that use CSS profile and will require your dad’s info.
Unfortunately, most schools that give the best aid will require both parents info.
For us to recommend schools that give HUGE merit (which is what you’ll need), you’ll need to tell us your test scores.
You need to take both the SAT and ACT…practice for both since you don’t just need “some merit”…you need HUGE merit. This is a common mistake. Kids in situations like yours will look for merit, when they really need HUGE merit.
Look at the threads pinned at the top of this forum for some schools with excellent merit aid.