Does the financial situation of the non-custodial parent affect your financial aid award from colleges? My parents are separated, and my mother is my custodial parent, whom I live with the majority of the time. Our financial situation is very weak. However, my father, the non-custodial parent, makes a lot more money. I was wanting to know if he would decrease the amount of financial aid I receive.
It depends on the college. For schools that require the non-custodial parent information…you will be required to provide it either va a school form, or the non-custodial Profile…if the school uses the Profile.
For FAFSA only schools, you will list on’y yor custodial parent, your mother. You will also be required to list any spousal and child support you receive. But your dad’s income will not go on the FAFSA.
Are either of your parents remarried?
If they do use the Profile, does that mean my financial aid award will be affected a lot? Because when I used the financial aid calculator, I only put in my mother’s info. And no neither of them are remarried.
The net price calculators on the college websites will not be accurate for you because your parents are divorced. This will be especially true for schools that use the Profile and require the non-custodial parent form.
For schools that use the Profile AND require the non-custodial parent Profile, your dad’s income and assets will count.
If the school requires BOTH parent’s information…then putting only one parent financials in the calculator will not give you an accurate result…at all.
Well on the calculator it told me to put in the information for the custodial parent so I didn’t know… 
my heart just sank because my dad isn’t going to pay for anything at all…
which schools are you looking at?
Northeastern, Hamilton, Ohio State, Indiana U- Bloomington, University of New Hampshire
Check the school’s financial aid pages. If it needs only the FAFSA to apply for financial aid, or it specifically states that the non-custodial parent information is not used, then you can use the net price calculator with only your custodial parent.
However, if the school uses CSS Profile or other additional forms and does not say that non-custodial parent information is not used, include the income and assets of both parents (and new spouses, if any) when you try the net price calculators.
If your non-custodial parent is not cooperative with the financial aid forms, then you can forget about getting any financial aid from schools that require his information. If he is wealthy but won’t pay, you are much less likely to be able to afford the school.
You may want to look at merit scholarship schools:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
Of those schools, only Northeastern and Hamilton use the Profile. For those two schools, the NPC might not be accurate…as thy will ask for non-custodial parent information. I believe both require the non-custodial parent Profile. Check their websites to see.
The other schools only use the FAFSA, so they would not ask for non-custodial parent information at all. But OSU, Indiana, and New Hampshire do not guarantee to meet full need. Also, for the two,where you are an out of state student, it’s not likely that the schools will award you aid to meet the out of state costs.
In all cases, remember to include spousal and child support received.
If the schools had a way to indicate that your parents were divorced, then the net price calculators might be a better estimate than not.
Some net price calculators do ask if the parents are divorced.
In any case, if the school requires non-custodial parent information, including the income and assets of both parents and any new spouses they may have would be the way to try the net price calculator, if the school does not otherwise indicate how.
What is your home state?
You have OOS publics on your list. Even if they don’t use your dad’s income, they’re not going to give you a lot of aid.
Run the NPC for your OOS publics and copy/paste the results here.
If you have schools that require NCP info, don’t bother applying.
They are separated, not divorced.
For financial aid purposes, separated and divorced are the same.
@mom2coIIegekids but ive already sent my act scores to all of them…
So what. You dont have to apply to those schools just because you sent scores. there’s no law that says you have to apply to schools that got your scores.
What is your home state?
Don’t waste your app waivers on schools that won’t be affordable. The OOS publics and the schools that use NCP info won’t be affordable.
What are your test scores for each sitting?
Did you apply to any financial safeties? If your mom (separated from your dad since you were age 4) cannot work due to traumatic brain injury before you were born and your dad will pay zero for college and you have a 29 ACT, are you hoping you will get a full ride to these schools?
@mom2coIIegekids illinois
Ok…so none of those public univs will be affordable, so don’t apply there.
Is an ACT 29 your best score from ONE sitting?
How did you come up with your list???
You have NO affordable schools on your list.
copy/paste your results from the NPC for Ohio State and Indiana.
@mom2coIIegekids ok so I did some more research and I’m adding Susquehanna u, university of Virginia, and bucknell university. I have a superscore of 32 and Virginia looks at the highest subscores. with student loans and aid and my major of neuroscience, these are the most affordable.
No public universities in Illinois on your list?