UChicago, Vanderbilt, USC(? thought they exempted NCP–have to check) do. I believe Duke exempts NC step income. Also some schools do not hit the NCP as hard. Just no clarity on any of the and NPCs don’t work for a NCP situation.
I thought University of Chicago went FAFSA only this year…with their new initiative…but they do have a short form of their own they use.
Vandy does sometimes. They can request NCP info later in the process. We know folks who applied there…no NCP form.
And yes…there are schools that require the NCP info but don’t use it the same way…and some actually do exclude NCP spouse in their calculations, even though it’s on the form.
UCh is saying that they will be more generous with students that have NCP situations. Since it’s the first year, no telling how it works in real life. They used to have draconian student contribution rules where they stuck the student with whatever assets reported the first year and kept them as a basis point, only adding if more assets came into the picture.
This is off topic…but U of Chicago has a whole new need based financial aid initiative this year. FAFSA only, with their own form. And early reports in from the EA kids…estimated awards have been good ones.
Appreciate the suggestions of schools to consider, but at this point there won’t be any more applications going out. I did suggest she apply to Vanderbilt, Chicago, and Bucknell, but she refused. So they are not options for her now.
For the record, she applied to 4 private schools. Only 1 of them (Princeton) did not require NCP information, they apparently do ask it if the custodian is single, but NOT if the custodian has (re)married someone else. I believe they are the only Ivy with such a policy. (Probably because they have the largest endowment on a per-student normalized basis.) That is why, if she gets offered admission, Princeton could possibly be within her financial grasp.
@FCCDAD: When I say parents should pay for their kids whether they have custody or not, I mean they have an ethical responsibility to financially support minor children so the kids have adequate food and shelter. Nobody should expect parents to dig up money they don’t have to pay for whatever college their child wants to attend. Don’t commit to paying more for college than you and your wife. can handle. If your wife isn’t working steadily now, I’d give your daughter the amount you can pay now. If that’s zero, then that’s what it is. If more turns up later, great. But she doesn’t want to be one of those kids posting in their sophomore year looking for options because her parents money ran out. Best of luck to you.
Chicago requires FAFSA plus either its own form or CSS Profile. Non-custodial parent information is not required.
https://financialaid.uchicago.edu/prospective-students/apply-for-aid/aid-application-guidelines
Yes! Princeton has that policy. That one would be a win/win…if your daughter got accepted!
^ Getting accepted first is always the issue, isn’t it? 
But I think she has at least an honest chance.