<p>Im applying for college as an international applicant, so thats already limiting my financial aid needs. However, my parents are divorced (One living with me in the US, and one in HK). My father, who lives in HK shows and has no financial contributions. </p>
<p>Heres the dilemma- My parents seeming combined income is over $200,000. </p>
<p>My mother, who is supporting all my financial needs, has an income of $35,000 after taxes (60,000 before). What should I do? The colleges will see my parents combined contribution and will probably offer me even less financial aid if I state my fathers income. </p>
<p>In some cases Colleges want to know about ALL of the income for both parents regardless of their marital status. In other cases they don’t use the on-custodial parent info in quite the same way as the custodial even if they ask for it.</p>
<p>You need to find out the policies for international students at the schools to which you are applying. If the schools require information from your father, then it will need to be reported. He is, after all, still your father. The schools don’t care IF he contributes to your schooling, they only care if he CAN do so.</p>
<p>Being an international student adds a “twist” to this as the financial aid forms and such for international students are not the same as for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.</p>
<p>Curious…what kind of visa are you here on now?</p>
<p>If you apply to private schools that require CSS Profile and both parents’ info, then you’ll have to include his info.</p>
<p>You’re one of millions of kids who has a parent (or parents) that won’t contribute even tho they could afford to contribute. Unfortunately, colleges have to give more consideration to kids whose parents do not have the means to contribute. </p>
<p>If parents could just say, “we won’t pay,” then all parents would do that.</p>
<p>FAFSA only considers the parent you are living with and provides the majority of your support.
International students may have different considerations. You should check the policy of the schools you are applying to.</p>
<p>The OP needs to find out IF his/her father’s information is required by the college(s) to which he is applying. MANY Profile schools do NOT require the non-custodial parent form. Some do.</p>
<p>The OP needs to look on the websites for every school he is applying to and find the necessary information for EACH school. </p>
<p>AND he needs to look for what is required for international applicants which is sometimes different than for those who are NOT international applicants.</p>
<p>^^ I’ll try contacting all the colleges except one (Which I’ve already applied) on monday, since they’re all closed due to the holidays </p>
<p>Too bad. Grinnell gave quite a lot of financial aid for ints. I included a statement in my financial aid forms though, explaining my situation. Hopefully they’ll understand and take that into consideration :(</p>
<p>It’s true that many CSS Profile schools don’t require NCP info, and you’ll have to look up each of your schools for what each wants, including what they want from int’ls. </p>
<p>Maybe I’m wrong, but from what I hear, the schools that give the best aid are ones that either require CSS’s NCP info or they require their own forms that ask for NCP info. Of course, there could be some exceptions. </p>
<p>Where did you hear that Grinnell gives “a lot of financial aid” to internationals? There EFC is $50k per year. What amounts and what kind of aid does it typically give?</p>
<p>Since you say that your mom only has $35k left over after taxes, it sounds like you need all of your costs covered. Does Grinnell do that?</p>
<p>What are your financial safeties? You seem to need all (or nearly all) of your costs covered. Unless you’ll get accepted by an ivy or similar that will pay for everything, I can’t imagine where that much of COA will get covered.</p>
<p>OP, Any chance you can talk your father into contributing? It sounds like he does have the means. If you are targeting the most generous schools, my hunch is that your parents’ combined income would put you out of the running for financial aid even if you were a US citizen. </p>
<p>Also, I see that you’re a Canadian citizen living in the US for the past 3 years. Have you checked to see if the public colleges in your state will allow you to apply for in-state tuition? That would be a good help. States don’t necessarily require you to be a citizen to receive instate tuition. </p>
<p>And you are also applying to Canadian colleges, right?</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my dad has a lot of debt problems, even with his salary…so hes not going to be able to help. And Im going to be looking for some Canadian colleges as well, before their Jan 15th deadline. Right now Im just praying Grinnell will accept me :D</p>
<p>well for colleges that require the CSS PROFILE you have to provide a Non-Custodial PROFILE (the finacial info from the parent you dont live with) UNLESS you can prove that you have no contact with this person. eeven if you have to fill out a NCP aid form, on the regular CSS PROFILE there is an area to explain anything unusual about the income your custodial parent earns(i.e. lots of medical bills, caring for an ill parent, # of kids in college when you will be in college, etc). </p>
<p>if you need to clear anything up about your financial situation, call the financial aid office at the school(s) to which you will be applying and find out if there is anything special that you should write in the PROFILE, or any other forms that you should fill out, etc</p>
<p>Grinnell gives an average of $22.5k to ints. At least according to this chart.</p>
<p>From website…
*Admission to Grinnell is highly selective and the competition for financial aid is more competitive as the applicant’s demonstrated financial need increases. *</p>
<p>COA for Grinnell</p>
<p>Tuition $ 35,976
Room and Board $ 8,536
Student Activities Fee $ 340
Health Fee $ 160
Health insurance $ 700
Books $ 900 </p>
<h2>Travel & Miscellaneous Expenses $ 2,200 </h2>
<p>Total Estimated Cost of Attendance $ 48,812 </p>
<p>So, if you get $22k in FA, how will you pay for the other $25k?</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids:We’ll have to dig into our savings I suppose, plus some loans. I think we’ll scrape up $25 grand/yr, if the school really requires we pay that much. </p>
<p>And yes, Canadian colleges are probably my only 100% financial safeties. I have several American ones as well, but I’m not entirely sure how well their financial aid and merit scholarship programs are. Any advice for a desperate senior? :(</p>
<p>*We’ll have to dig into our savings I suppose, plus some loans. I think we’ll scrape up $25 grand/yr, if the school really requires we pay that much.
*</p>
<p>Ahhh…I didn’t realize that your mom had a good amount in savings. Is your mom willing to take out loans? Have you discussed with your mom she will help you come up with the $25k each year?</p>
<p>You need to find out if you qualify for in-state tuition/fees at the public institutions in the state where you currently live. If you are, you may have found your financial safeties. Each state writes its own rules about this. Some will consider you in-state for tuition/fees since you are there because of your mom’s job, and because you will graduate from high school there. Some won’t. It might be that you are in-state only for community colleges, but not for four-year schools.</p>
<p>Your mother needs to write a letter to the financial aid directors of your colleges explaining your situation. Some will be helpful, some will not, but they do have the ability to use “professional judgement” in cases that are unusual. Has there been any contact with your father or is he completely out of the picture? If you have been out of contact for at least two years, that can be helpful.</p>
<p>So, you may be eligible for instate tuition in NY? I saw on another thread that you applied to Binghamton and Geneseo - two of the hardest SUNY’s to gain acceptance to and neither offers merit aid to freshmen. You might also look at UB where you might be eligible for a scholarship. </p>
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