<p>I am a 2nd year at Rio Hondo community college down in southern California. I currently live with my mother and step father. They both file their taxes together and make a total of $70k. My actual father has barley any income (works under the table) but I'm sure still does taxes. I barley qualify for financial aid at my CC, just enough for the BOG wavier to cover my tuition and most of my fees. I though, still have to pay for my books and parking pass which isn't a lot but still is costly. Also, once i get to the university level, I want to be able to get more assistance. My father owes $20k in child support over the last 18 years, but it's money I'm sure my mother and I will never see. I was wondering if i could go live with my father for about 6 months and use him on my FASFA to get some sort of assistance once i actually get to the university level. I know the 'System' would see that I am under his care and erase the debt he owes my mother. So is that possible? Can i live with my father and qualify for more government assistance? How do I go about doing that? I currently have a part time job which is enough to cover my own personal expenses, will that effect anything?</p>
<p>You should check this plan out with your father first. He may not be willing to give you his financial info for filing the FAFSA. You have to live with him for more than half the year. If you receive assistance from anyone else, you have to declare that. You will also have to declare your income from your job and any money saved. Do your parents help you with any of your college expenses now? Even if your FAFSA EFC was 0, at most you will be eligible for about 5500 from a PELL grant, and another $7500 for junior year and senior year Stafford loans. You could still find that you come up short on money for college. This happens to many students who do not have any financial help from family to afford college. If you have great grades, etc, you may qualify for some merit money, and private colleges/universities often have at least some merit and need-based grant money available. So, while living with your Dad may help get Pell, you may find that you still come up short and are struggling. Even parents who do help with college costs find that they struggle or make sacrifices during the college years…
Things like parking passes, books, and all the little surprise costs that come up will still most likely be yours to handle. That’s what jobs are for!</p>
<p>Do you work? A job should be WAY more than enough to pay for books and parking passes.</p>