<p>My parents separated almost 2 years ago and officially divorced this January. (They did their taxes together before the divorce for the last time.) I live alone with my mother, who has sole custody of me, but because she's mentally ill, she's unable to work and we live off of the allimony and child support she gets from my father, which is less than $40,000 a year. My father works at a university library making a pretty good income, but I no longer maintain contact with him for personal reasons and he would be completely unwilling to pay for college for me. Additionally, my mother is paying very expensive bills for my sister who has needed to be hospitalized for the last month and still needs several more months to recover, the cost of which is around $9,000 for every 4 weeks.
Because my parents did their taxes together last year (and it makes it look like we have a lot more money than we actually have), should I have my mother re-do her taxes before I turn in the FAFSA? Does it hurt me in applying for financial aid because of the fact that she doesn't work? Is there a way I can explain on the financial aid forms about my sister being hospitalized and how the cost is really significant? And most of all, is there a way I could be exempt from turning in the non-custodial parent form since I don't even have a relationship with him?
I've worked really hard in high school to get into a good college, and I'm applying to about 10 schools (all of which are private, except for my safety(which would be free for me)) in the hopes that I'll get accepted into a few of them and receive decent financial aid that would enable me to go. I want to go more than anything, but without significant financial aid, I'll undoubtedly be around here for the next 4 years. Please, if you have any advice or can answer my questions, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.</p>
<p>Cats;</p>
<p>My D is a senior who is going through the college selection process.
Sounds like you have serious challenges ahead of you.
If you are serious about attending college, you obviously can't depend on parental support.
You need to get the best grades you can in school. This will show your determination. If you have C's and D's, this will not help you at all.
Ask for extra help from teachers. Request a tutor, etc.
Take the SAT's. Request SAT tutoring from your HS.
These are under your control and, through hard work, you should make these the best you can.
Talk frequently to your guidance counselor. Their job is to help you.
Be friendly and nice. If you demonstrate a positive work ethic, you can get admitted to college and the best colleges will help you pay for it.
Get good grades, talk to guidance, work hard.
Sounds simple.
There's no easy answer.
It's all up to you.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you for your encouragement. I do work very diligently in the hopes that colleges will accept me and offer financial aid, by maintaining good grades and being very involved in ECs. I've already taken the SAT and scored a 2110, plus I have about a 4.34 weighted GPA. I'm really just very concerned where the money will come from if I get accepted to the schools I'm applying to.</p>
<p>Ask your GC how to explain your current family & financial situation. It's great that your grades & scores make you a desirable candidate. If you apply to schools where you're in the top 75% of the applicants they select, you increase your chances of getting merit aid, from what I understand.
I believe many schools & financial aid offices will consider additional circumstances, especially medical bills. You can contact the financial aid offices directly to discuss these matters.
Good luck!</p>
<p>HiMom is right.
You may or may not be able to get into your favorite college, but
you're obviously looking for , and need, a full ride, plus expenses. If what you say is accurate, you should be able to get a full ride to a college that is normally below your academic range, but still able to provide an excellent education.
Again, if everything is accurate, you have a great case to make your GC look like a genius.
Concentrate on that which you do best.
There may be other posts on this site that can help you select a college in your area.</p>
<p>You're on the right track. Do not let your parents problems take away from your accomplishments. Learn from their weaknesses. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The short answer is no, your mother cannot "redo" her taxes. If they were sent to the feds, those are the taxes for that year.They are on file with the feds.</p>
<p>For THIS year, your parents haven't done their 2005 taxes yet. You send them in when they are done, and they usually are not done before Feb. 1 2006, because their employers don't have to send W2s, and their banks etc don't have to send 1099s, til Jan. 31.</p>
<p>The FAFSA can be filed as early as 1/1. You can use estimates if you don't have the exact figures & you should have very low expected family contribution with all you have stated--high med bills, parent unable to work due to mental illness, etc. Good luck!</p>