<p>My schools require this, but even though my parents are separated, I don't know the whereabouts of my father. What do I do?</p>
<p>You need to make a good faith effort to locate him before saying it is impossible for him to fill out the forms. Do you know where his relatives live, where he works, things like that? If you truly have no idea, ask the financial aid office for each school what you should do. Unfortunately, it is a common problem!</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat, I just contacted my schools and they told me to file for a noncustodial parent waiver. You just need to explain your situation and have an impartial 3rd party letter confirming it. Fill out the forms and submit it. The schools will decide if you qualify for a waiver.</p>
<p>The exact policy/procedure is slightly different for each school, but it's basically the same thing. They understand that not everyone has a nuclear family.</p>
<p>Also, be sure to explain your father's financial contributions to your life. If he pays child support or claims you as a dependent for taxes, it will be much harder to get the waiver.</p>
<p>Also submit official documents, like a divorce decree, that will support your case.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Suggestion:
(I have no idea whether this helps with colleges, but from a practical point of view, it seems to be working in my house):
Use certified mail and other documentable ways to contact the missing parent's parents or siblings (your grandparents or aunts or uncles, if you can find them as well) and explain what you need from the missing parent and why you need it. They might be able to exert some influence to get forms filled out. If it doesn't work out, you can document your efforts.</p>
<p>Some kind of effort certainly seems in order if the divorce/separation is within the last five years. I suspect colleges look a little more closely at households where a parent recently went awol, especially if it seems to help make the financial numbers look better for financial aid. It's unfortunate, but it's certainly an attitude that appears to be out there, probably because those colleges have been burned in the past.</p>