<p>Look at schools that do not use non custodial parent info for financial aid. FAFSA only schools fall in that category, but there are some schools that use PROFILE and their own apps that also follow this method. They do not tend to give generous aid, however. The ones that give the most aid, tend to be more meticulous in all possible sources of money, and non custodial parents are not exempt even if they refuse to pay or even refuse to fill out the forms, both of which are very common scenarios.</p>
<p>Duke does have merit money, but it is very difficult to get. Merit awards are another source of money for you if you have strong stats, but schools like the ivies do not offer merit awards. What many parents say, is go for the merit money, eliminate those schools that won’t give it to you. NYU gives some merit money, and uses FAFSA only. There are a number of schools that give automatic, guaranteed merit money. Your state schools and/or commuting may be an alternative. If your dad won’t pay, then that does eliminate some possibilities for you.</p>