<p>^^^</p>
<p>I wonder as well. The AOTC gets thrown around a lot around here with little mention that it is means-tested and many of us don’t qualify for it.</p>
<p>Both parents need to get together now and determine how much they will each contribute. If the dad has remarried and now has more kids (are they theirs? or hers?), that may interfere with his ability to contribute. If he has a few other kids to put thru college, then he (and his wife) may not want to or be able to contribute as much as the mom would like. </p>
<p>I would definitely get the dad on board early, and be involved with the college list. Each parent should provide a “parent pick”…each parent should give the D one school that that parent wants the child to apply to. The mom doesn’t want a situation next spring where the dad says, “well, none of those schools are the ones that I would have had her apply to. I would have had her apply to _____ and that would have been affordable.” The mom needs the dad to “buy into” the college process as soon as possible. </p>