<p>Soon I'll be applying to college and I don't want to apply to one and then not be able to go because I cannot afford it.</p>
<p>My mom had a 19K income last tax season because she went 3-4 years without a job. She just got a new job but, I'm not sure how much money she'll earn, if that'll change our EFC, etc. Either way, she'll probably need a lot of aid.</p>
<p>She keeps telling me that she doesn't want to put my dad on forms at all so that she'll get more aid even though we know where my dad is. I don't want to loose aid entirely or not get into a school because she decided she wanted lie about our family situation. I don't think she really understands how important it is that she tells the truth.</p>
<p>My parents were never married and my dad is currently married to someone else and lives in another state with their kids. My mom still has contact with him and is moving to that state soon (they'll be in different houses. Her decision to move isn't based on him). Will he still change our aid? Are there certain schools that don't ask for his info. at all so that I can just avoid the whole situation entirely?</p>
<p>Yes, there are some schools that don’t require NCP (non-custodial parent) info. (As Lerkin said above!)</p>
<p>What I can tell you is that for those schools that do require NCP info, the facts that your parents weren’t married makes no difference at all. Unless he’s been completely out of the picture - no child support, no contact - he has to be included. And what your mother says won’t matter - the schools will require a statement from someone other than your mother. A social worker, therapist, or clergy person (or other reliable person) will have to confirm that your father has been completely absent from your lives.</p>
<p>@lerkin Thank you! Is there a list floating around with FASFA only schools? or is that something that I just have to find on the college’s website? I was little worried about the moving thing too. If I’m accepted to the University of Maryland I would only have to pay roughly 9K on tuition alone but if she moves that bumps up to 27K and UMD only does about 60% need. I don’t want to suffer my last 3 years of college because of that and go through scholarship drama transferring.</p>
<p>@dodgersmom Thanks! You’re always so helpful. She’s pretty set on the fact that she can fool everyone! Haha. Maybe that will scare her out of it.</p>
<p>The majority of schools are FAFSA-only. As a rule, only the most expensive schools require the CSS PROFILE form. Check the financial aid pages on a school website to see what it requires.</p>
<p>Thank you! When they say ‘no’ under ‘non-custodial parent profile’. Can it be guaranteed that they won’t ask anything about my dad? I’m a little nervous because a lot of schools that I was considering were knocked out the first time around.</p>
<p>Look in the Financial Assistance section of each college’s web site for what they require to apply for FA. Stick to the ones not on that linked list that don’t ask for financial info from a second parent household. Read every part of every required form. Do it NOW (early in the process) and not right before the application deadlines. </p>
<p>Getting a non-custodial parent waiver approved is harder than lots of people on CC realize. I cringe whenever I see someone on here advise a student to “just ask for a NCP waiver.” Each college has their own requirements for NCP waivers and some require more witness statements and supporting documents than others. Look this info up on each college’s FA web pages also to see if it’s really something that would apply to you. Many applicants don’t really meet the requirements. Better to apply to the FAFSA-only colleges and stick with the truth.</p>
<p>Even if they don’t use the CSS PROFILE, some colleges use their own separate forms to ask for financial info from both parent households. Beloit College and Univ of Pittsburgh come immediately to mind.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the help! My mom is still convinced that she can fool the world but I’m just going to secretly apply to FASFA-only schools to avoid conflict. Most things don’t get through to her…</p>
<p>Has your father paid child support or had contact with you? You may be able to get a waiver from PROFILE schools if he has not been in the picture at all.</p>
<p>THe problem with going with just FAFSA schools is that they do not tend to meet full need. If you have the stats to get into some selective school that guarantee to meet full need, a couple of them on your list might not be a bad idea. Your most important school on your list, is one that you can afford and is sure to take you, but once you have that taken care of, you can spread out and take some chances.</p>
<p>We’ve had contact with my dad which is why it’s such a big issue. My stats aren’t that amazing even though I’ve had an upward trend, only a 3.4 GPA, so selective schools may not be the best option for me.</p>