Did you live with your dad much last year or 100% with your mom?
@Madison85 It was about 50-50. Probably 70-30 but effectively 50-50
@Madison85 His school requires the noncustodial Profile, so I think the mom’s household is always considered, right? Is the noncustodial household assessed at a lower rate, by any chance?
@AroundHere Do you mean does my dad make less than my mom? I don’t know. I guess I’d need to log into the CSS to find that info? Or see if I can get straight up numbers from my mom and dad? I have a 1040 and w2 from my dad from 2014 or 2015 that I had to give to some coaches when I was doing the football recruitment process if that helps
@fbislife The question I was asking Madison85 is whether the percentage of your mom’s household income (including hers and her new spouse’s income) a financial aid formula will consider available for you changes depending on whether she is the custodial or noncustodial parent. In other words, how does which parent is the custodial parent affect your aid eligibility at a school where they consider both households in a divorce situation.
(The fact that you have no relationship with your mother’s new spouse does not have any bearing on financial aid at all.)
I’m only familiar with FAFSA.
And only the fafsa would apply to the Pell and SEOG.
There is no 70/30, 50/50. You have to know which parent you spend the most time with, most overnights at which parent’s home? It’s important.
If your college required the non-custodial parent Profile, BOTH parents will need to provide financial information regardless of who is the custodial parent.
The difference is,if the lower income parent makes you eligible,for Pell and SEOG, you need to LIVE with that lower income parent better than 50% of the time to use them on the FAFSA…which is used for federally funded aid like these.
If you spend an equal time living with both parents, you use the parent who is providing the bulk of you suppport. This is almost always the parent with the higher income.
It doesn’t matter that your mom filed her taxes separately, or that you “have no relationship” with this stepfather. Fact is, he is providing income to your home. You are REQUIRED to provide his infomation if your mom is your custodial parent. And it DOES sound like your mom is your custodial parent from everything you have posted here.
Yes, if your mom is your custodial parent and she has remarried, it is REQUIRED that she provide your stepdad’s income and assets. REQUIRED. He is a member of your family…and the FAFSA calculates an expected FAMILY contribution.
The college financial aid department is required to make these changes. Your first FAFSA did not contain all of the financial information it should have contained.
This will depend on the college. Ask them.
No. Not for this academic year.
No. Your dad is NOT listed on your FAFSA. His financial information has NOTHING to do with the FAFSA EFC calculation…at all. Your parents are divorced. Your dad’s info doesn’t matter because your MOM is the custodial parent on your FAFSA.
Actually…if this college uses only the FAFSA, they don’t care about any of your dad’s issues…unless your mom is paying for them. Is she paying his medical,expenses?
If you are 18, or close to it, it’s too late to become emancipated from your parent. Plus you would need a mighty good reason. “My mom got married and including her husband’s income reduces my financial aid” is NOT a reason for emancipation.
By “primary” yourself, I assume you mean you think you can just declare yourself independent for financial aid purposes. No, that isn’t possible either…unless you are an orphan, veteran, over age 24, married, have a dependent child your support, are in guardianship (not with a oarent…and this needs to be a LEGAL guardianship). None of those apply to you…so you will need to use your parent on the FAFSA.
You are REQUIRED to reside with your dad better than 50% of the year for,the date previous to the filing of your FAFSA. Since you already did 2016-2017, I doubt that you can now say…oops I goofed. For 2017-2018, you can file your FAFSA beginning in October. Can you meet the criteria of living with your dad better than 50% of the time prior to completing your FAFSA? If not, you can’t use him. In addition, you have already been flagged for having incomplete info this year…so just be well prepared to document your residency with your dad. Well prepared. Your school might ask for,that information because you are changing custodial parents next year…for financial,aid gain.
Yes…kids DO switch which parent they reside with…it’s OK if you can document that. So…switch your driver’s license, voting registration address, mailing address, permanent address at your college…to you dad’s. And plan to spend most of your school vacations there as well.
Tax filing status has NOTHING to do,with this.
It is very possible this school is NOT affordable for you.
Oh phooey. The Perkins is a loan YOU can take in YOUR name only. The Parent Plus is a PARENT loan. One of your parents would need to apply for that.
How will you cover the dollar amount of the Pell, and SEOG you received? What is that amount?
For FAFSA (with divorced or separated parents) you are supposed to use the parent with whom you lived with the most in the prior year. If it is your mom you were correct to have her complete the form. If it was your dad, he should have completed the form.
If your dad makes less than your mom and stepdaughter combined, and the amount your dad makes would allow you to qualify for Pell and Seog, you may want to consider living with your dad more days next year, and having him complete the FAFSA. Your mom and stepdad’s finances would not be used on the FAFSA, in this case.
@KatMT
This posters school requires the Profile, and the non-custodial parent profile. The step dad’s income will be used anyway!
The student, in future years, might get the Pell, or SEOG, based on the fathers income…but as you note…the kid needs to change her residency to be better than 50% of the time with dad for,the year prior to,the FAFSA filing date.
If you are thinking you can change this FAFSA for the current academic year…think again.
It sounds like you were already flagged because your mom did NOT include your stepdad income and assets when she completed your FAFSA as the custodial parent.
If you NOW want to change your 2016-2017 FAFSA so that your dad is the custodial parent, this will raise another verification flag. You will need to provide the appropriate documentation for this residency change…and it is very possible that
- The school will not complete the verification process prior to school starting in which case, you will receive NO aid until verification is competed.
OR
- The school will deny your change in residency status for the 2016-2017 school year...because your info didn't support it.
@thumper – … my comments were about the FAFSA only. If he lives with his dad more than 50% of the time only his dad’s info will be used on the FAFSA, and depending on dad’s income he might qualify for Pell or Seog at his school. All parents… dad, mom, stepdad would be needed for the profile (if the school requires the non-custodial parent information).
Can a school deny a custodial parent change on the FAFSA if it is true? Meaning if he lives with dad more days than mom and stepdad for the 2017/ 2018 FAFSA filing period.
OP, now that you understand that you about the FAFSA for this academic year, how much will you owe per semester?
How is the school suggesting that you make up that amount? With the 8% school loan? With a parent plus loan? Are the offering a school -based grant to replace the Pell?
This information will help us advise you. I know with the start of school just around the corner this is extremely stressful. Is the head and position coach aware of your circumstances, what have they advised?
The burden of proof is on the STUDENT.
This student sounds like he has already been verified once because he didn’t include stepdad’s incime on the FAFSA.
When he responded to that verification request, it doesn’t sound like he mentioned that he “really” lived with his dad more.
In my opinion, the college will question this change if it’s made now…and want significant documentation that this student resided more with dad prior to the initial FAFSA filing for 2016-2017 school year.
What’s the total cost of attendace of this college? Before you started losing grants you needed $12k/year just for tuition. How much are the room and board costs? Unless you’re commuting, they’re not $2k. Will you be living at home or dorming?
Can you post the actual costs (tuition, room, & board) and the amount of each scholarship or grant that you still have? Can your parents contribute anything? You were talking about borrowing ~$50k over 4 years before the college removed the Pell and SEOG grants. If you have to cover a ~$15k or more/year gap with loans, the school isn’t affordable.
If the EFC increased enough for Pell and SEOG to be gone, is the Perkins still going to be available? The work study?
I agree you need to figure out exactly how much the college bill will be and how much you need for books and other necessary expenses.
@imwiththeband @austinmshauri I’m currently in limbo. I know the FAFSA had the issue. When I logged into my account, the 2 grants have been removed. I don’t know if they’ll be updated with with lower numbers or permanently removed, but there is a chance it might be permanently removed. They are reevaluating my financial aid package, so I don’t have confirmed, concrete facts about the updated numbers.
@thumper1 It sounds like you’re saying not to bother trying to change the FAFSA?
@KatMT You think I should try to change the FAFSA?
It was my understanding that you can not accept the federal subsidized loan without also accepting the un subsidized loan. Of the allowable first year $5500 the first $2000 is unsubsidized and the remaining $3500 can be subsidized. At least that’s how it was at my children’s schools. Are there other schools allowing otherwise?
Thank you, please update us when you know. While you are waiting, try to identify an adult either in your family or on campus who can help assist you as you talk with the university.
If you actually lived 70% of the time with your dad, and 30% of the time with your mom and stepdad (since you said earlier that you lived 70% of the time with one and 30% of time with the other), you could contact the financial aid office, explain your mistake, and see what they suggest that you do. Depending in your dad’s income it may not help you have the Pell and Seog reinstated (if he makes too much for you to be eligible), so it could be moot anyway. If you lived more time with your mom and stepdad then you have no grounds to change the FAFSA.
If your dad’s income is low enough for you to qualify for Pell, then in future years you may want to live more time with your dad than mom. As thumper said, you may still be flagged for verification, so you would want to make sure to do everything you can to document that you lived more time with your dad.
When you filled out the Profile did your mom include her husband’s income? If not, and any school grants were based on her income and your dad’s income only, those school need based grants could also be in jeopardy once your stepdad’s income is factored into the picture.
Are you close enough to the school to go into the office and meet with a financial aid director?