<p>So most of the colleges I applied to require the non-custodial profile for financial aid but the thing is, I live with my mother and do not have not had any contact with my father for over 2 years. He sends court-ordered child support payments every month, and the divorce agreement says that he is not responsible for paying for my college stuff. So my question is, does my dad have to fill out a non-custodial profile form, and if so, how the heck am I supposed to ask him if I have no contact with him? :(</p>
<p>Yes he does. And someone obviously has contact with him if he sends child support. I would presume your mother can contact him for you?</p>
<p>My mom won’t. It was a very nasty divorce. There is no contact whatsoever, mostly because we refuse to contact him. </p>
<p>What would happen if I call each school and explain the situation to them? It probably wouldn’t change anything, would it? lol</p>
<p>AND, what if he refuses to fill it out?</p>
<p>YES, your father still must fill out the NCP, because there is child support (which your mom must include on the FAFSA). </p>
<p>It does not matter if your father has in his divorce decree that he is not responsible for paying for your college. The college believes that the first people in line when it comes to paying for your education is your parents. If your father does not file the profile, the college will not make up the difference in financial aid. </p>
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<p>Your mom’s unwillingness to contact your father is not grounds for receiving a non-custodial waiver. which means, you will not get need based financial aid for the part of the EFC that your father is responsible for paying.</p>
<p>Your best bet is to have your mother get in touch him and discuss filing out the forms (keep in mind that his unwillingness to fill out the forms will not give you a non-custodial waiver). Also remember that his unwillingness to pay will not be grounds for a non-custodial waiver and the college will not make up the difference.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already, please read this thread</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1258780-please-advise-ncp-wont-contribute.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1258780-please-advise-ncp-wont-contribute.html</a></p>
<p>Thanks for your help. :)</p>
<p>I will be going to see my guidance counselor tomorrow morning to figure this whole thing out.</p>
<p>OP - just a suggestion you may want to apply to some schools that do not require the noncustodial information. Most deadlines are 1/1 so you have a short window. Be forewarned however there are schools that do not require the Noncustodial Profile but DO require their own noncustodial forms (only can be found on each schools individual website). My experience is that colleges that require the Noncustodial will not award any FA (other than Federal) if you do not file the required forms. It may take a while to get your Dad’s cooperation so hopefully you have some backups. Good luck.
Double check your schools and see if they require their own form for any noncustodial info.</p>
<p>adam, you may find that your school guidance counselor will not be able to help you with college finances. At some places (my kids’ high school was one), the counselors were NOT permitted to discuss finances with students. They could tell the students how much colleges cost, and whether the student qualified for guaranteed merit aid…or if the school met full need. BUT they were NOT allowed to inquire about or discuss family finances as they related to paying for college.</p>
<p>thumper1- My guidance counselor knows my family situation quite well and I am hoping she can contact my dad (he has contacted the school before requesting information) and tell him to fill out the forms and such. However, my dad is legally blind, so I’m not sure how he’s going to fill it out…</p>
<p>NewEnglandMother- I do have a few backups, but I’ve applied to some Ivies and hope to end up going to one. So hopefully this situation will be resolved quickly.</p>
<p>Some people are legally blind, but they can still see how to write, fill out forms (my brother is one of them, however, he is not allowed to drive).</p>
<p>OP I do hope this is resolved for you quickly. I will again suggest that you double check your backups and make sure they do not have their own forms for the noncustodial info. For example Bucknell, Oberlin, Grinnell all have their own form but do not require the Noncustodial Profile.</p>
<p>*you will not get need based financial aid for the part of the EFC that your father is responsible for paying.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I could be mistaken, but I don’t think he’d receive instiutional aid AT ALL. The school is going to assume that the NCP might have a very high income, and therefore, award no aid at all…except for any federal aid he might get from filling out FAFSA.</p>
<p>From what others have posted, the schools won’t even process the aid request unless a NCP waiver is rec’d.</p>
<p>Make sure you have back up schools.</p>
<p>“I could be mistaken, but I don’t think he’d receive instiutional aid AT ALL. The school is going to assume that the NCP might have a very high income, and therefore, award no aid at all”</p>
<p>Wait a second?!? Do you mean that I’m not getting any aid at all or I won’t if my dad doesn’t fill out the form.</p>
<p>this could most likely be the case if your dad does not fill out the form as the financial aid office would have an incomplete picture of your financial situation. It is up to you to present your financial picture based on the income and assets of both of your parents.</p>
<p>If you fill out FAFSA you will be eligible for any Federal Aid (PELL for low income, Stafford loans). You will NOT be eligible for any institutional aid if you do not fill out the requested forms. I said this in a previous post. Also check EACH schools website - they may have their own forms that require noncustodial information. You do not want to be thinking you’re all set and then they request the noncustodial - seen it happen.</p>
<p>@OP - if your father won’t fill out any non-custodial forms, then you are limited to schools that require FAFSA only, or which you and Mom can pay for yourselves. Nobody can make your father fill out the forms. It seems a bit late, but your best bet would have been to step back from the nastiness…</p>
<p>*“I could be mistaken, but I don’t think he’d receive instiutional aid AT ALL. The school is going to assume that the NCP might have a very high income, and therefore, award no aid at all”</p>
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<p>**Wait a second?!? Do you mean that I’m not getting any aid at all or I won’t if my dad doesn’t fill out the form. ***</p>
<p>Think about it. How would the school know what to award you if it doesn’t have your dad’s info?</p>
<p>Since FAFSA only uses the mom’s info, if your Mom’s EFC is less than 5000, then you would get a small Pell Grant. </p>
<p>All you can get from your mom’s info is SMALL federal aid…not much!!!</p>
<p>But, the school would have NO IDEA of how much institutional aid to give based on CSS Profile. Your dad might be very affluent, so how could it award aid without knowing???</p>
<p>For instance…say mom earns $60k (too much for federal grants, but low enough for a lot of demonstrated need.) BUT…your dad earns $300k…so you don’t qualify for ANY free grants becausee of dad’s income. </p>
<p>So, if the school isn’t given your dad’s info, how would it know what to award? It can’t just “guess”. It can’t process your aid request. The school cannot just use your mom’s info because it may not tell the entire financial situation.</p>
<p>So, it’s very likely that all you’d get is a $5,500 student loan and, if qualified, a small Pell Grant of $5550 or less.</p>
<p>This obviously is a very serious situation. This is no different from when intact families won’t fill out FA paperwork. Schools don’t know what the student qualifies for.</p>
<p>*So most of the colleges I applied to require the non-custodial profile for financial aid *</p>
<p>Sounds like you need to quickly apply to some schools that don’t require your dad’s info and will still give you lots of aid. Otherwise you may end up with NO affordable schools.</p>
<p>I know that this is a disappointment, but many kids from intact homes find themselves in similar situations…parents who won’t pay.</p>