Hi!
I am a College Prep Scholar through Questbridge, and I am currently applying for the National College Match. However, I have some concerns with the financial information I must provide.
I applied for the Questbridge College Prep Scholar Program last year and made it in (junior year) mostly on the basis of my mom’s income for a family of 4 (<$45k) with the qualification of the free and reduced student lunch form. This was during a period of my life where I had a restraining order against my non-custodial parent (father) because of domestic violence. Therefore, there was an extenuating circumstance where I excluded him from the financial information section because I had no contact with him, and I had no intention of contacting him for at least five years. If I listed his financial contribution, I definitely would not have qualified for Questbridge, as he makes around $100k for a family of 6. As well, my stepmom makes around $65k to supplement that. They live in California, so it is not by any means a high income for the area, but they are not struggling.
BUT
I just lifted my restraining order because we have had a lot of counseling as a family and I am ready to give him another chance in my life…but this really affects my standing as a Questbridge Prep Scholar. I am unsure what to do because he does not want to contribute at all to my college tuition, and I have a relationship with him that is very tentative. I feel like I disadvantaged myself by lifting the restraining order at this time because I know that this technically disqualifies me from being able to receive the benefits from Questbridge.
Of course, I am going to enter all the necessary information because I have integrity and legal obligation. But my real question is: will my extenuating circumstances and situation (described in the additional information section) be enough to still qualify me for the aid Questbridge could provide? I am also half-Asian and my dad did not go to college, so maybe this could help me? I feel guilty if this seems like a way to “cheat” the system. I honestly have gone without for most of my life, especially my living circumstances with my mom and two sisters.
I know there will be people that deserve this scholarship far more than I do, but I still want to give it a shot. I already have written my essays and have gotten letters of rec and my school report from my academic advisor before I got the restraining order lifted last month.
I will submit the National College Match application anyways, but I feel like I’ve done so much work to finish it for my efforts to go down the drain. Lmk if you have any input or have gone through a similar circumstance… I would love to hear it.
Thanks!
-Ramen Enthusiast
Your dad won’t contribute toward your education. What options do you have on the table other than QB? Pursue those too. Lots of students who are eligible theough QB still don’t get matches.
I am also looking to apply for the Gates Scholarship since I am part of a minority group. With my custodial parent’s income, I qualify for a Pell Grant (calculated with FAFSA4caster). But, the Gates’ scholarship app has a section for parents’ finances, and I am wondering if I need to combine my custodial and noncustodial parent incomes even though it is spread between two households? Sorry, I am a bit of a mess right now because my parents cannot really help me other than providing their W-2 and tax return forms from 2018.
My understanding is that the Gates scholarship is a last dollar award that kicks in to cover costs left that your college does not cover, and replaced aid that is self help like loans and work study.
I also thought that you have to fill out whatever form the school requires, including PROFILE.
It’s going to be up to each school, how your situation with your father’s financials are treated.
@cptofthehouse is correct, Gates is a last dollar scholarship to ensure your demonstrated need is met.
if your EFC is raised because of your dad’s EFC, and your dad refuses to pay his part, Gates is not going to pick that up. You and your mom will have to work that out.
You are correct in the fact that you are no longer eligible for a non-custodial waiver and must use your dad’s income in addition to your mom’s on Questbridge and any other financial aid forms that ask for income from your non-custodial parent (and spouse).
QB Match is such a lottery ticket anyways. Look at how few get it. It’s not like you are losing out on a reasonable chance endeavor.
At this point you really should be shifting your college search direction. Have you run NPCs for the schools on your list with your father and step mom’s financial info? Most NPCs are not accurate for divorced family situations, but by adding the 2 NPCs each run with a set of parents would give you some idea of what youneill be expected to pay.
If this is undoable , you need to be looking at some whole other schools. Places that may be generous to you using FAFSA only, like your state schools. Some of them offer their top students some great deals.
You also need to be looking at full tuition, full ride scholarships that some schools offer. .
UChicago and Vanderbilt should be on your QB list as they do not look at NCP in giving out financial aid. Even if you don’t get a Match (and getting one is highly unlikely ) being a finalist, being in QB could boost your admissions chances at partner schools. Getting fin aid from them when they require PROFILE is going be an issue, and other than those two schools, they all do
If your dad was abusive to you, I can’t imagine why you’d lift the restraining order, particularly because of the impact for your college aid.
the one thing you don’t want to do is try to cheat the system. You will have to submit verification documentation for all financials including any court and all court orders.
In addition you sign all applications stating that all of the application/financial aid information that you provide to questbride along with any and all information you provide to college is truthful.
Get caught, you get kicked out of school (or have your degree rescinded if it happens after you graduate, leaving you with a worthless piece of paper) and you will have to repay all monies that you have received .