The whole Parent/Step Parent/NCP thing

Paying for College
1

<p>I am curious about a situation that is really none of my business, but for the sake of educating myself on all things FAFSA, I have a couple questions. If a student that is going to college, is living with their mother and their step-father, and those parents fill out the FAFSA, does the NCP (father) even get involved? Also if the Step-father also has a child that goes to college, and the child's mother is filling out the FAFSA, does that step parent (in the first example) have to fill out a NCP since his income is already being factored for a different household? My neighbor was trying to explain this one and it left me very confused. To to recap.</p>

<p>Student # 1</p>

<p>Lives with Mom
Lives with Step Dad (we will call him Bill)
Also has a living NCP</p>

<p>Student # 2
Lives with his mom, who is a single parent
But has "Bill" as his NCP</p>

<p>Can Bill refuse to fill out the NCP form all together?</p>

2

<p>The NCP is not involved in FAFSA. NCPs are only involved in (some) CSS Profile schools and schools that may have their own forms.</p>

3

<p>For student #1, Bill (his step father) would include his income along with his wife’s when FAFSA is filed. </p>

<p>If student #2 has limited his applications to FAFSA-only schools, then only the mother’s information is required; Bill doesn’t need to do anything. But if student #2 is applying to Profile schools or others which require NCP financial information, Bill should not refuse to fill out any required NCP forms because it will hurt his son’s chances for financial aid.</p>