<p>You can pretty much guess my situation from the title. Also, I realize I have to submit FAFSA and the CSS profile, but there are some schools (e.g., Harvard) that do not factor in step parents' income. I can't find a list anywhere online. So does anybody have a list of schools that don't factor in step parents' income to financial need? </p>
<p>College Board’s website has a list of PROFILE schools and what information each school requires under “PROFILE Online 2015-6”. I’m assuming you know that FAFSA-only schools don’t ask for noncustodial parent and noncustodial stepparent financial information.</p>
<p>Boston COllege and DUke once did not consider step parent’s incomes under certain circumstances. But these thing can change from year to year. You have to check NPCs or call fin aid offices and ask directly. </p>
<p>Nick…</p>
<p>First of all, condolences on the loss of your mom.</p>
<p>I don’t think that you are going to find schools that will not consider your dad’s wife’s financial situation since I think schools that the few schools that are excluding step-parents are doing so because they are solely focusing on the two bio parents (which is why they mention “divorce” in their wording). </p>
<p>In your case, your step-mom is part of your custodial household and therefore her income means that your dad is not solely paying for living expenses. To solely use your dad’s income would wrongly suggest that only his income pays the rent/mortgage, utilities, food, etc…which would then mean that his income can’t contribute much to your education. The truth would be closer to the fact that your dad’s income is only paying for a fraction of the household costs, therefore more of his income can now support your college costs.</p>
<p>You may find a school that may not look at SM’s income 100%, but I doubt you’re going to find a school that will only use your dad’s income in a way that suggests that he alone is supporting the entire household when your SM has a good income.</p>
<p>Either way, you need to protect yourself by also applying to a few schools that will give you enough merit for your stats…just in case your schools’ compute a family contribution that it will not pay.</p>
<p>Since this is your second (or third?) thread about this issue, I’m guessing that SM earns enough that her income will substantially raise your EFC…maybe enough to mean no aid at all? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that even if you find a school that doesn’t include SM’s income on their CSS form, they will still see it on your FAFSA. So, if her income is substantial, I can’t imagine a school pretending that only your dad’s income is supporting the household and give aid accordingly.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thorough, honest answer. I’m just really confused about what I should do now; there are no public schools in my state that are in the top 100 and out of state publics would cost just as much as privates. At the risk of sounding arrogant, a good education is definitely a high priority for me. At competitive privates, I’m looking at about $0-$15000 dollars of aid my first two years and about $20000 my last two years, which (if I assume correctly) would make them about as expensive as out of state publics, assuming I get no aid there. I am applying to in-state safeties where I can get a full ride, just in case. I’d probably get about $50000 if my stepmom were not in the picture, but I’m hoping they’ll at least weigh the situation against the fact that she’s only known me for a couple years, but that’s probably being overoptimistic.</p>
<p>So in terms of my future, I think I’m either doomed to substantial loans or forced to accept a sub-par undergraduate education (which, if I’m correct in assuming so, is not very good for somebody going into engineering and not planning on grad school immediately after college). At this point, I’m leaning toward attending one of my top picks and just accepting the loans that come with it. I have no idea whether this will be a good idea (as many different people have told me many different things), but I really could use some informed advice. My parents will contribute about 1/4 the price of a private education, before considering aid, etc. Thanks </p>
<p>@nickchan1 , condolences on the loss of your mother. </p>
<p>I don’t know your situation, but wonder if the topic of college finances has been discussed with your parents?</p>
<p>I re-married right before one of my children began college at an expensive private, and my wife cut me considerable slack so that I would be able to fund the expense without undue hardship. </p>
<p>In any case, I wish you lots of luck in charting a course through the next few years. </p>
<p>You seem very hung up on the rankings. Why don’t you look at the individual offerings of the schools in your state. One of my daughter’s friends chose Central Florida, ranked at about 170 I think, over UF, FSU, or any of the other schools she was admitted to. Money was not a factor. UF is actually closer. She just wanted UCF (I don’t get it either).</p>
<p>You can also concentrate on merit awards rather than FA. My daughter is going to an engineering school with not one cent of need based financial aid. What state are you from that has not one decent college? Is there an exchange with a neighboring state?</p>
<p>While it might seem unfair that a woman who has known you only a few years is going to be considered responsible for paying your college bills, that is the reality of our system. I just looked at your other threads for background and I can understand why you want to look at high ranked schools. The stats that I saw were pretty outstanding. There are lots of threads on CC about merit aid for high stat kids. I think instead of focusing on finding a way to qualify for financial need, you need to look at schools that give automatic merit for those stats. I don’t know much about engineering schools ( my son was liberal arts all the way) but it shouldn’t be difficult for you to find lots of options. </p>
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<p>So in terms of my future, I think I’m either doomed to substantial loans or forced to accept a sub-par undergraduate education (which, if I’m correct in assuming so, is not very good for somebody going into engineering and not planning on grad school immediately after college). At this point, I’m leaning toward attending one of my top picks and just accepting the loans that come with it. I have no idea whether this will be a good idea (as many different people have told me many different things), but I really could use some informed advice. My parents will contribute about 1/4 the price of a private education, before considering aid, etc. Thanks</p>
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<p>Ok…tell us more and we can help you…</p>
<p>Home state:</p>
<p>intended major and career goal: Engineering (which discipline)? </p>
<p>SAT include breakdown:
ACT:</p>
<p>GPA include weighted</p>
<p>YOU can only borrow $5500 for frosh year, so you can’t borrow your way thru. Your parents aren’t likely going to cosign add’l loans…and they shouldn’t.</p>
<p>So, your parents will contribute about 1/4 of a private…so is that about $15k per year? </p>
<p>OOS schools do not necessarily cost as much as privates since some will give merit for stats.</p>
<p>As for “top 100”…that really isn’t relevant for most/nearly all career goals…ESPECIALLY engineering.</p>
<p>Any engineering program that is ABET accredited will NOT be subpar.</p>
<p>You may not realize this but this country has over 200 very good engineering programs. The state of Calif ALONE has over 25 very good eng’g programs. Virtually every state has a vested interest in having at least a few good engineering schools. There are just too many qualified engineers needed in this country for a smallish number of schools to crank enough out. Therefore, this country takes it seriously to have a high number of schools qualified to produced needed engineers. </p>
<p>That said, if your stats are strong enough, there are top 100 schools that will give you enough merit to have a net cost of $15k or less.</p>
<p>Ok…found more info…</p>
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<p>Alright then, so chance me at:
Vanderbilt (ED), University of Illinois @ UC, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Northwestern, Rensselaer PI, Washington University at STL. I’m also applying to Cornell and Harvard, but I think we all know that those are basically 50 dollar lottery tickets.
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<p>Yes, it is a waste to apply to H, and likely C, but if you have the time/energy…</p>
<p>PSU, UIUC and GT won’t give you money, so why bother applying there? They will all cost you full OOS costs.</p>
<p>You have Missouri S&T (or whatever its latest name is), and that is a fine school. Likely would cost you only R&B and books to go there…is that right?</p>
<p>My son was a Chemical Engineering major at Alabama. He got free tuition plus 2500 year for similar stats. Although he went onto med school, his ChemE classmates were immediately hired into $85k per year jobs…so going to a top name school is soooo unnecessary for your career goals. Alabama has new and state of the art engineering facilities. You would get free tuition and 2500 per year for ChemE with your stats…remaining costs would be about $12k per year.</p>
<p>Since you know German, it might interest you to know that Bama has partnered with German companies (Mercedes, Daimler, Bosch and Behr):</p>
<p>""Students in the program will first complete two years of engineering and German language course work at The University of Alabama, as well as an internship the summer before their sophomore year with Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Vance, Alabama.</p>
<p>The students will then travel to Hochschule Esslingen for one semester of course work and one semester of professional practice during their junior year.</p>
<p>Mercedes-Benz is not the only consumer in the program. Other industries in the Esslingen area include Daimler, Bosch and Behr.</p>
<p>Balasubramanian said the mission of the exchange program is to prepare students for the variety of German and multinational companies in the southeastern United States.</p>
<p>“The students work as interns in a German automotive company or supplier,” he said. “They get a deep insight into how a German company works, and we hope that when the students come back from their year abroad that they then go to work for a German multinational in Alabama or the Southeastern region.”"</p>
<p>What other schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>Vandy will definitely use your SM’s income…that is for sure.</p>
<p>My parents strongly encouraged me to get loans and said they’d cosign and/or consider PLUS loans if necessary (obviously with my monthly payment approaching $200-400). But if you think I’d achieve the same outcome by going to a MO S&T as I would by going to UIUC, GT, or Vanderbilt then I think the answer is really clear. I’d get excused from tuition at MO S&T. After all, it definitely doesn’t seem worth it to take 100k in debt just to make 8k more per year. </p>
<p>The thing is, though, everybody I’ve known throughout my 4 yrs in HS who’s been in the top 1% has gone to a top school (3 ivy league kids, 1 who have gone to stanford, 2 northwestern, 1 WashU, and 1 vanderbilt). So you see where my mindset is coming from at least. I guess I’ve just identified as one of them for 4 yrs, so take that for what it is I guess (apologies for sounding like a brat). </p>
<p>I truly don’t know what other schools would give me in terms of a price, so I’m all ears on this subject–I haven’t decided where else to apply for safety schools. Also, a big part of this is how important going to grad school is. I’m still unsure of whether or not I want to get a grad degree. Will it be worth it? Also, transferring from Mo S&T my junior and senior years could be an option. Should I try to transfer to one of my top picks as a compromise? . I’d also really like to hook my future family up with legacy connections at a good school and (hopefully) reap the career benefits from going to a school with a name. Is that sort of stuff worth it, or am I just being dumb? The UIUC, GT, PSU, H, and C apps are just to see what they’ll offer. I’m fine with doing the extra work. </p>
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After all, it definitely doesn’t seem worth it to take 100k in debt just to make 8k more per year.
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<p>You wouldn’t even make $8k more. Where are you seeing that? A company is NOT going to pay a Vandy grad more than a MO S&T grad. They would get hired at the SAME pay. (BTW…my nephew graduated from Vandy with a ChemE degree in 2013 and his pay is the same as my son’s friends’ pay…no difference.)</p>
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I’d also really like to hook my future family up with legacy connections at a good school and (hopefully) reap the career benefits from going to a school with a name. Is that sort of stuff worth it, or am I just being dumb?</p>
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<p>That is silly. Legacy connections are meaning less and less these days.</p>
<p>And people don’t care where you went to college.</p>
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<p>lol…well, either their parents paid or they got great aid. You aren’t in that situation. I know it is frustrating, but really it is up to you to succeed wherever you go to school. Those folks aren’t going to be more successful than you if you do your best.</p>
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My parents strongly encouraged me to get loans and said they’d cosign and/or consider PLUS loans if necessary (obviously with my monthly payment approaching $200-400).
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<p>???</p>
<p>Your parents need to “do the math”. If they pay $15k per year and you borrow $45k per year (to have $60k to put towards a private), then your monthly payment would be about $2000 per month. For you to have a monthly payment of $200-400 per year, you would have to keep your borrowing to a much smaller amount.</p>
<p>Sounds like your parents are being impulsive out of guilt…trying to give you what you want w/o looking at the consequences</p>
<p>Haha I think you’re 100% correct. They’ve been extremely unhelpful and ambiguous about what they want. That’s why I’m asking all these silly questions </p>
<p>Your Q’s aren’t silly. They actually are quite typical for someone with an unaffordable EFC. </p>
<p>Apply where you want, BUT…be sure to have 2-3 schools that you know FOR SURE will give you HUGE merit (like full tuition or more). </p>
<p>And do not go down any extra loans routes w/o figuring out how much debt you’d have upon graduation and figuring out the monthly payment. And, be aware that the debt will be growing while you’re in college because of interest. </p>
<p>One thing to also be aware of is how much is it reasonable to pay towards debt. This often confuses young people. They think, "oh, I’ll be earning $50k per year when I graduate so if I have to pay $24k per year towards student debt, I’ll still have lots to live on. First of all, as a single person, you’ll be paying a good bit towards taxes, FICA, health insurance, 401k, etc…so you won’t be seeing $50k…you’ll be seeing much LESS as your take home pay. Then rent, utilities, cable, internet, car, gas, car insurance, food, cell phone and entertainment will take a huge chunk of your income. </p>
<p>Your monthly student loan payments should not be more than 10% of your income. So, if you are earning $50k upon graduation (if you’re lucky), then your annual loan payments shouldn’t be more than $5k…or about $400 a month…which YOU WILL FEEL THE PAIN, even at that amount! That is like an extra car payment that lasts for TEN long years.</p>
<p>I coincidently ran into a parent whose student went to BC and a step was in the picture. Though at that time BC did not use Step financial info, (this was more than 10 years ago), they do not give more any aid more than the need defined by FAFSA EFC and the FAFSA uses both custodial parent and spouse, so that wasn’t a huge bonus. </p>
<p>Given all this information I think I’ll probably just take the full ride to MO S&T and transfer my 3rd/4th year to Vanderbilt…parents have said they’re willing to contribute 64,000 in total and grants (since my brother will be in college) will be about 40,000 over the course of two years. The rest (26,000) will have to be borrowed via loans I guess, which is way better than 156k for four years at vanderbilt. </p>
<p>Thanks so much for all your help guys, especially mom of two college kids. </p>
<p>Nickchan, do apply to schools like Vanderbilt that have merit awards, just in case. I know some kids who got money from top 25 schools, including Vanderbilt. You just don’t know if it’s not on the table. Just make sure you have a back up if it doesn’t so pan out, which you seem to have.</p>
<p>Oh I definitely am still applying. </p>
<p>Here are some schools that offer goo merit money: <a href=“Colleges and Universities That Award Merit Aid - Graphic - NYTimes.com”>Colleges and Universities That Award Merit Aid - Graphic - NYTimes.com;