<p>So my parent has not been involved in my life pretty much since birth. We've had inconsistent contact over 17years, the last time we "spoke" was in 2009 and the last time I saw them was about 11years ago. The waiver asks me to describe the situation and provides a space to do so. I'm not whether or not I should be filling that section out or my mom and what information I should include. Also, it asks for an attached letter for a third party and must not be from family. Since I'm filling it out short notice, I am not able to ask my guidance counselor until school is back in session (I asked before the winter break but I was told that I would have to wait until we got back in school). It's due on Jan 1 so I figured I would ask a family friend who has known both my parents before I was born. I'm not sure if it counts as a valid third party. I will still send my counselors statement when I get back in school.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any advice?</p>
<p>I think you need a custodial parent in order to file the Non-Custodial Parent Waiver.</p>
<p>Often they want it from a “respectable professional” (clergyperson, etc). I don’t know if they’ll “trust” a family friend or not. All you can do is try, meet the deadline, and be prepared to send in something from a GC or clergy soon.</p>
<p>Do you know where the non-custodial parent lives? Does your mom have contact with the NCP? If so, you won’t be able to get a waiver. Just be prepared. You may think there is no contact, but if your mom has received any financial help ever from the other person, or sends a holiday card every so often, that could be enough to say there could be contact if you worked at it…Colleges are looking for any glimmer of financial help for you from that “parent”.</p>
<p>@4kidsdad Yes, I have a custodial parent. I just wasn’t sure who should be writing the information, my parent or me. It would be a difference of perspectives. </p>
<p>@mom2collegekids I was thinking the same thing but I just don’t want to miss the deadline.</p>
<p>The college will extend a professional courtesy to the GC/ school official i would recommend sending an email to the GC that you will be seeing them first thing wednesday about the waiver and if there is aAnything that they need from you now to get the process going. Have you contacted the financial aid office of the schools in question to request a the paperwork to apt for a non-custodial waiver. Different schools have different requirements including who the will take a third party letter from ( most of the time it will not be family members or friends). It may need to be a neutral third party; guidance counselors, clergy, social workers, (courts if there are no contact orders in place or if the non-custodial parent has lost their parental rights).</p>
<p>@sybbie719 I’m aware of that and that’s the case for the majority of colleges, that is, if you’re not applying Early Decision. I am absolutely certain the deadline is Jan 1 for financial aid (CSS Profile and Non Cust Profile) for this specific school. I haven’t been able to get in contact with them during the holiday season. I got the form from the college’s website. It only explicitly says, “Typically, these letters come from counselors, ministers, and other professionals close to a student’s situation. Letters from family members are not acceptable.” </p>
<p>I’m not a member of any church and my parents were never married so no court orders are in place regarding my situation.</p>
<p>I will have my guidance counselor send a letter when I get back to school (Jan 2).</p>
<p>Dazedstudent, make sure you send the GC a copy of what is written in that waiver, and add as much background as you can. Remind the GC, that the NCP has never been at your school, and is a totally unknown entity to the school, if that is the case. You want to make it as easy as possible for the GC to come up with information and sound knowledgeable about the situation. Dont’ just send a brief “remember to send letter about NCP Waiver” email to your GC.</p>
<p>That’s a great idea @cptofthehouse! I will do so, but I still don’t think she will be able to send it before/on Jan 1. </p>
<p>@teachandmom There currently isn’t any contact and hasn’t been for a couple years. There has never been any child support unless you count a VHS Tape of The Little Mermaid when I was 6. I don’t know where he lives, like a specific address but I’m pretty sure it’s outside of the country (which it always has been). That family friend I mentioned earlier has had more recent contact with him but that is now very inconsistent and out of the blue kinda thing. I don’t know if that counts. Efforts to contact him in any way have prone to be futile in the past.</p>
<p>As Sybbie says, the colleges will give your counselors leeway for their statements as they do for recs and other things that go with an application. Just make sure your part is out tomorrow. And as I was saying, make it very easy for your counselor to write the thing.</p>