<p>I submitted CSS Profile in mid-October for Brown ED and more or less forgot about it afterward because I thought it was done. After checking my application's status over the weekend, I went to the financial aid website to see if a similar feature were available. I did not find one, but I did see that it was required of all "students whose birth/adoptive parents are divorced, separated, or were never married."</p>
<p>I belong to the third, my parents having never been married, but I live with both and entered information for both on the CSS Profile. I called the financial aid office Monday to see if I did indeed need to file it and they said I did and should do as it as quickly as possible. However, I see now that the noncustodial profile can only be filed out if originally the Profile sent a password to the noncustodial parent. </p>
<p>Because such never occurred, and because CSS does not allow for changes, suffice to say I am fairly confused. I am first-generation and have been mostly managing all of this myself anyway because my parents know nothing about it, so anyone explaining what to do now would be appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Do your parents live together, even though they aren't married? If so, I assume you provided all the necessary income & asset info on the Profile. If not, you may have overlooked including some info that was needed for the parent who doesn't have custody. That would be the info you will need to send on the noncustodial supplement.</p>
<p>I don't know for sure, but if you provided information for each parent already and you and your parents all reside together as a family, you probably will have given them the information they need already.</p>
<p>You could call the Brown financial aid office and explain the situation, telling them that the Profile won't allow changes and so you can't get the password to file the non-custodial form. Thing is, though, that your parents <em>are</em> both in custody of you effectively if you live together with both of them. What you may be able to do is just get your tentative FA award with your acceptance letter (hoping you get that!), and then work with the FA office at that point to make any adjustments that are needed. It may be that none will be, if you consider your parents as having something resembling a Common Law marriage in practical effect. I shouldn't think your tentative award would not be substantially different from your final award if you already submitted the financial information for each of your parents.</p>
<p>I live with both, yes, but as far as I know my legal custody is with my mother as my father pays child support to her. But I did indeed enter information for both parents on the original CSS. Is that all Noncustodial CSS is? If so, thank you to both you, you have saved me from what appears to be unnecessary angst.</p>
<p>I wouldn't angst over it. Just communicate with the financial aid office as you go along. It will all get sorted out eventually. Your situation is not exactly what the Non-Custodial Parent Form usually applies to. It's normally something that is sent to a parent who does not live with the student and the custodial parent, and consequently the student and custodial parent do not have access their financial information. It's a way to get that information directly from the non-custodial parent. Since you do have access to both parents' financial information and have provided it, they basically have what they need to make a tentative award.</p>
<p>Now the thing is, that offices, departments, the government, institutions... they all have their WAY things must be done, and I guess you didn't really do it that way. You may have to, at some point, go back and re-do it according to their protocol, but as long as you are communicating throughout with the financial aid office I'm sure you and they can get it sorted out.</p>
<p>I don't think you need to be angst-y over it, but do follow up on it just to make sure things don't get confusing later. The best thing might be to write the FA office a letter, perhaps in addition to calling. That way they will have a written record of the communication in your file. But ask them, they'll probably be sort of confused and not so helpful at first (they're swamped too), but it's good to stay in touch. It shows your good intention.</p>
<p>Their financial aid office doesn't actually list an email to write to, or at least didn't when I looked in the past. Do you think a mailed letter would be appropriate?</p>