<p>Alright, I have a somewhat unique situation, and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to help. My father makes about $300,000 before taxes and my mother makes about $25,000. They are divorced, and me and my two brothers (one at college, one planning to go to college in 4 years). In the agreement, my mother has to play 36% of college expenses, and my dad has to pay the rest. From this information, you would probably think we would be able to easily pay for college. However, this is not the case.</p>
<p>My town is unfortunately one of the richest towns in the state, and with this comes enormous property taxes and house prices and other taxes along with a very expensive style of living. Therefore, if you walked into my house, you would think that my parents combined made about a $70,000 salary. My father lives in a moderately sized town house that he could barely afford. We would seem like an ordinary family to anyone. In addition, my father does not seem to have a problem with paying for college, but my mother does.</p>
<p>I obviously realize that a financial aid office would probably not consider me for any need-based aid without any explanation. Why should they give us money when we have a much higher salary than the average applicant? So, I was wondering if there was any way I can talk to financial aid offices and see if there was anyway to explain the real situation. In addition, nobody around here knows too much about financial aid, so what would be the chances of me getting loans from a college like Cornell? I am applied early there, and I doubt I will get need-based grants, but would I be able to get loans? If so, how much? Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>You can apply for "special circumstances" and try to explain all this to the financial aid office, but I seriously doubt they will amend your financial aid package. Your parents chose to live there knowing that things were "high". If your parents are divorced you may only have to put down one of your parents on the FAFSA (whichever takes care of you the most).</p>
<p>As for how much you can get in loans and other aid refer to Cornell's financial aid web site and FSA</a> Portals</p>
<p>Your best bet will be to apply to FAFSA only schools, because only the financial info from the parent with whom you lived the most in the past year will be used. If this is your mom, you will be able to just use her lower income for financial aid purposes. Your parents' agreement won't matter to FAFSA colleges.</p>
<p>Schools like Cornell will look at both parents' info (Profile schools and schools with their own financial aid forms gather a lot more info than FAFSA only schools). The fact that you live in an affluent area where everyone wants to keep up with their neighbors won't matter to these colleges. You can certainly try talking to Cornell, but I'm afraid they won't tell you what you would like to hear.</p>
<p>As for the aid you might receive, it's hard to say. If you live with mom & only have to use her info, you might actually get some grants (but there's no way to say for sure, without seeing all your financial info). The maximum Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500. Some schools have limited Perkins loans to award, and some have their own loans. </p>
<p>I suggest you ask your parents how much they actually are willing to contribute. You can believe it and look at schools based on this info.</p>