One of the schools my daughter applied to has asked for a explanation and court order, police report etc. (due to domestic violence in the home) in lieu of non-custodial waiver. All of the requested documents were supplied to the school and the waiver was granted. I’m wondering if this will hinder her admissions? Is it common to request such confidential information prior to even being admitted? Is it a good sign that they requested all of the documentation, or is this common due diligence?
I do not know, but my best guess is that the school may worry about the non-custodial parent on campus trying to take the student without proper authorization, or resorting to violence. This is just my best guess as I really do not know.
No, this isn’t going to have anything to do with admission except if your need is high and the school is “need aware.” In cases where you are seeking a non-custodial waiver, the schools needs proof of the reason for the waiver. In this case, it was the court records, etc. In other cases, say the student has had no contact with the non-custodial parent, they ask for a letter from someone who knows the student well (pastor, etc.) who can attest to the fact that the non-custodial parent has had no contact.
Financial aid documents are asked for ahead of time and usually have no bearing on admissions. This is common due diligence. The FA office needs to be ready to go when admission results are released. If they waited until after results everyone (you and and them) would be in a scramble. I wouldn’t read anything into it good or bad. They are just doing their job.
@Publisher, the school does not keep track of protective orders or custody orders especially through the FA office. If the student has a need for protection, he’d need to file that paperwork with campus security when he arrives on campus (although I doubt it would do much good).
This should not affect admission at all. In fact, it is highly likely that this information is only seen by the financial aid office…not admissions. The financial aid office ismgranting a NCP waiver…and needs documentation that this is an appropriate request.
This information is confidential, and sensitive. If there is some protective order or the like…the FAMILY…actually the student because likely the student is over 18 years of age…would need to share this with the appropriate University personnel…not the financial aid department.
The financial aid office has asked for additional information to support the request for the non-custodial waiver. Yes, it is very common to collect the information at any school that requires the income and assets of the both the custodial and non-custodial parents and you would like to obtain a waiver of the non-custodial information. Especially in cases of domestic violence and abuse, the school would never put the parent or child in the position of having to collect the information from the person who has abused (or has been accused) of abusing them.
It will not affect your D’s admission as the Admissions department does not have the need to know and will never see the information.