<p>Hi, my parents were separated about 8 years ago in a different country and my mom, my brother and I moved to the U.S. Ever since, I lost contact with my father and never got to talk to him. I was wondering how I was supposed to fill out the noncustodial css profile, if I do not know where he is. Please help, my mom is flying to korea tomorrow morning due to my grandmother's health and I need to get this done before she leaves. thank you!</p>
<p>Even if you knew where your father was, you still couldn’t fill out the non-custodial form; he would need to do it. You’ll need to contact each college and explain your situation to them, and start gathering documentation that supports your situation.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>Thank you so much, I am just wondering now what documentation I can get to support it…</p>
<p>You MUST contact each college individually. THEY will tell you what they want from you. Most will have a specific form, many will be similar in style, some will just ask for a letter. On the form, you will answer questions (when did you last see him, when was the last time you received child support), and you will be told what else to send. I found that, typically, you will need two letters from people who can vouch for your story (minister, counselor, doctor, etc.). They will ask if there are any legal/court rulings that speak to this issue (i.e. restraining orders), and ask that you include copies of anything you think is pertinent (example might be a child support report that shows the account is inactive).</p>
<p>Try not to freak out. You do need to stay on top of this and work through all the steps with the financial aid office as quickly and as completely as possible. This can be really challenging if you are applying to several schools and don’t know yet where you will be accepted. It can seem like a huge undertaking. </p>
<p>Please stick with it. Ask your mom about where documents are kept so that you can get copies if you have to while she is gone. Make sure she understands that time is money – you do want to be neat and complete with your forms as much as you can be. Please also let her know that this is going to be a tight year financial aid wise so she/you really don’t want to mess around with lost, locked, whatever documents. If financial aid wants it, it is in your best interests to make it happen. </p>
<p>This is going to be stressful – but do hang in there.</p>
<p>But do get GOING on this. Once you can find people to write your supplemental letters, the rest is easy. I had to KEEP asking for one of mine. I started out with “Oh, whenver”…this was last FALL! And I finally had to start begging in January. So DO tell your letter writers that you’re thankful for their help, but that you have a bit of a time crunch. Other than that, most schools will e-mail you their form. It gives all their instructions, it’s very quick. Just plod through them and get them done. My daughter’s school counselors did one of her letters, and sent them directly herself (because the school shows now record of a father, so that was easy to establish). I also send a copy of her birth certificate showing only one parent. You don’t need a lot of stuff. Just get on the phone/e-mail to get the forms…and start lining up 2 people to write confirming letters (“I’ve known this family for “X” years and have no knowledge of the applicant’s Father ever being involved in their life”, etc.) Though, if he pays child support they will still expect him to fill out the forms, I think.</p>
<p>Also- I re-read your Mom is in Korea now. Everything can be done via fax or e-mail. You e-mail and/or phone the colleges and get their requirements. You can fax the forms and letters back to them. Forms can be faxed to your Mom in Korea to sign. She can fax back to you…or directly to the schools. You ask your “people” (counselor, etc.) for their letters (get “generic” letters, not addressed to any particular school so you can use them for each one). This will only take them 10 minutes. YOu can write a sample letter for them if they aren’t good at that, then they can just sign it. Fax them in (and the form)…and you’re done .</p>