<p>I also would not discourage a student asking for a NCP waiver</p>
<p>I agree. Never hurts to ask/apply.</p>
<p>Ack!!! my post above should say, “WERE there any support payments.”</p>
<p>I would only have a GC to do it- and I don’t receive any significant support from my father other than that I sometimes get a check on my birthday? Nothing more than like $200 and it’s not child support. Kenyon College told me a guidance counselor would be fine, but I was curious about other schools.</p>
<p>ifoundalaska - a significant number of students who apply to college through Questbridge do the NCP waiver because they often have a single parent situation and no real contact with the NCP. Looking at the discussions on the QB facebook groups, it’s clear that most students use a guidance counselor or even the college counselor at their school. In fact I didn’t see any students using anyone but a school counselor or other school official. Unless you have a social worker or mental health practitioner who knows your family situation intimately, a school counselor is often best situated to know about a student’s life and is the most objective witness available. Most families don’t have another good choice so I’m sure your GC statement will work for all your schools.</p>
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If I were the college this would not rise to the level of estrangement.</p>
<p>In questionable cases the school will ask for more documentation, make their own inquiries and investigation, and can contact the NCP if necessary.
If you believe you qualify for the waiver, make the strongest case you can from the beginning, with the best documentation, while being scrupulously honest. The school will take it from there.</p>
<p>OP, I happened to be on the Dartmouth Net Price Calculator today and saw something that may be of interest to you. I realize it’s a very different school from Wash U but their Net Price Calculator specifically says: </p>
<p>“If both custodial and noncustodial parents have remarried, federal regulations require that information be completed only for the custodial family unit (parent, stepparent, their dependents) to determine federal eligibility. However, Dartmouth institutional eligibility requires a second calculation for the noncustodial parent (information from the noncustodial parent’s spouse does not have to be included in the calculation). Please note, the Financial Aid Office computation may vary from this approach in determining eligibility for Dartmouth scholarship assistance.”</p>
<p>[Widowed</a>, Divorced, or Separated Parents](<a href=“Home | Financial Aid”>Home | Financial Aid)</p>
<p>If you think you might be interested in Dartmouth, it may be worth a call to verify this which would be quite beneficial to you.</p>
<p>2college…I believe Princeton has a similar policy.</p>
<p>I find it interesting that the Dartmouth policy states that the financial aid office might deviate from this when considering Dartmouth scholarships (which are need based awards). Does that mean they could ask for the NCP’s spouse income?</p>
<p>But I believe WashU requires everyone. And that is what the OP was concerned with.</p>
<p>thumper, I wondered the same thing which is why I included the full quote. However, since the OP has never even met the step-mother, it seems to me that it may be worth a phone call. I haven’t seen this policy before although, frankly, I’ve never poked around looking for it. I believe Wash U’s policy is the norm for schools that require NCP Profiles-- but if there are schools that are willing to exclude a stepparent, those schools might be worth serious consideration. </p>
<p>I would not discourage the OP from applying for a NCP waiver at Wash U but, frankly, it does sound like he/she has contact with the biodad but, really, he doesn’t seem to be the problem. The problem is the step-mother’s income and the OP hasn’t had contact with her so maybe part of the consideration should be including schools on the list that have financial aid policies that work in favor of an applicant who has Wash U worthy stats.</p>
<p>The OP certainly can try. But the reality is…her stepmom contributes to her dad’s family income…and that is what schools like WashU care about.</p>
<p>Which is why I’m suggesting adding in schools that <em>don’t</em> seem to care as much about that. I don’t mean that in a snotty way. It’s just that one problem we see all the time is people (whether students or parents) who get set on a certain school and refuse to follow a strategy that works for them. What the OP wants is an exception-- well, sure, he/ she can try-- but a comparable school that meets full need and has financial policies that work in the OP’s favor is a good school to consider.</p>
<p>The OP says that the $90k income of her stepmom makes the total income WELL above $200k. So…subtract $90k and you still have more than $110,000 in income.</p>
<p>Does her father plan to help her with college costs! If not, can her mom pay what WashU doesn’t cover. Her family contribution on $110k could possibly be north of $30,000 a year. </p>
<p>Of course with her stepmom’s income…she would be a full pay.</p>
<p>While I do think it’s unlikely that Wash U will work out, I do want to point out that the calculations don’t just combine all the incomes, like the OP did. The figures I’ve seen take into account that there are two households, so the total is closer to running the Net Price Calculator twice, with each households’ figures, and adding the contributions. If a school didn’t count stepmom’s contribution (like Princeton or Dartmouth) it may be doable. Plus, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that if stepmom is going to contribute to her d’s college tuition, dad will contribute to OP’s.</p>
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<p>This means that Dartmouth and schools with similar policies are going to look at this in context of the family make up. </p>
<p>Why they may not look at stepmom’s income if she and dad were making 30k a year, however, I do believe that while the college may not take into consideration, stepmom’s whole 90k salary, they also are not going to turn a blind eye to the fact that her income does contribute to the running of the house freeing up $ for her dad to contribute to the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>Sure…Princeton or Dartmouth MIGHT be doable…if the student is amongst the 5% or so of students who are accepted!</p>
<p>Sybbie, maybe, but we don’t know if dad is going to contribute some money. Thumper, yup, admissions rates to all of these schools are low. That’s why high-need students need safeties and shouldn’t apply ED. But if the student has solid safeties, then there’s no reason not to include some schools with beneficial financial aid policies. That’s much more realistic than choosing a school with a low admissions rate that is unaffordable under financial aid policies.</p>