<p>So, I am a junior this year looking at non-Ivy top colleges for next year. My familial status is:
Mother (primary caretaker, works as a hairdresser)
Stepfather (works as a sprinkler fitter)
Father (I see him on weekends, he works at Lowes).
I currently attend a private Catholic high school and receive financial aid/scholarships. I have a stepbrother in the same grade as I am, so I do not get any financial help from my stepfather (none is expected either). In the same regard, my mother and stepfather pool their funds which all go towards my stepbrothers education (catholic high school, no scholarships). I'm not trying to act like the neglected stepchild here, but my mom refuses to help with finances because she has a strong antipathy for my father. My dad's annual wage is about $30,000. </p>
<p>Heres my question:
When I apply for aid next year, if I put in my realistic parental income, it will be approx 30,000 dollars. If they ask for ALL of my parents (including stepfather), that will probs put me above the 100,000 mark. That would screw me for aid. I was just wondering what I could do to remedy this and get a good aid package, because I really need it otherwise I'm gonna end up at UMass (ewww).</p>
<p>First of all…UMass is a fine school and you could do worse.</p>
<p>Second…if you really don’t want to have to include your dad’s income, apply to FAFSA only schools. Do not apply to schools that require the Profile or their own finaid form. The Profile asks for non-custodial parent info and many school forms do as well.</p>
<p>Third…regardless…you will be REQUIRED to include your stepdad’s income on both the FAFSA and Profile (and school form if there is one). It doesn’t matter whether he intends to help you with college or not…he IS contributing to the family expenses.</p>
<p>Fourth…check the schools…Some Profile schools do not require the non-custodial parent form. BUT you need to CHECK THIS.</p>
<p>Fifth…you need to have a talk IMMEDIATELY with all the stakeholders (mom, stepdad, dad and step mom if there is one) to discuss college finances. You need to know what they are willing to contribute to your college costs every year. PLEASE listen to this discussion and find schools where your financial situation is compatible with your family expectations.</p>
<p>Make sure you include at least one financial safety school that you would be happy to attend.</p>
<p>You say that you are looking at non ivy schools. That just eliminates 8 schools. If your father were your custodial parent this year and you applied to FAFSA only or schools that don’t require the non custodial FAFSA (again, with your father being the custodial parent), you will likely qualify for financial aid. The problem is that such schools do not tend to meet a large % of need. </p>
<p>If your mother is your custodial parent, then your stepfather’s financials will figure in the aid applications.</p>
<p>You need to run FAFSA and CSS Profile calculators so that you can more accurately estimate your expected family contribution for school using those two different methodologies:</p>
<p>Until you know what your EFC is likely to be, you can’t actually compare it to what your family can afford. If you don’t know what they can afford, you can’t make a realistic college list.</p>