Non-Custodial Parent Waiver

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I have applied to Harvard, Brown, UPenn, UChicago, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Tufts, and Wesleyan. These schools all require the non-custodial parent to fill in the profile on the CSS.</p>

<p>I need to apply for a non-custodial parent waiver. Will my situation be enough to warrant one?</p>

<p>I am a Malaysian and my parents have been divorced since I was 3 (I am turning 18 this year). I have not had contact with my father for 7 years and he has not being paying maintenance or child support for 3 years. He went to court to petition not to pay and the Malaysian court granted him his request. The court documents are in Malay. </p>

<p>The last time I saw him 7 years ago, he had remarried and has a son with his new wife. He lives in Singapore now and is a Singaporean citizen. When my father left us, my mother went into a depression (clinical) and therefore prohibits me or my sister from tracking him down in Singapore as this issue is extremely fragile with her. </p>

<p>Is all this information enough to warrant me a waiver? I will be emailing colleges this week to request for a waiver although I need to know how to prepare first. Do I mention the court documents or do I not mention them and only say that he has not been paying maintenance? I fear the court documents will be too much of a hassle and only cause more problems. Plus, they're in Malay. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>You can explain the situation just as you’ve explained it here. I doubt you’d be asked to provide the court documents. However, you will need the declaration of a non-family member to support what you’ve said. The declaration should be from a social worker, therapist, clergy person - someone who can attest to your father’s absence and your mother’s order prohibiting you from contacting him.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much!</p>