Non-Custodial Parent and Spouse's income

ono1 · 08-04-2009, 12:32 PM

Sorry if this question seems redundant--I did search this forum for threads related to this question but I didn't get specific enough information.

I am wondering how those families fared with financial aid in general, and with Stanford in particular, when the income of the spouse of the non-custodial parent is taken into account. I do know that some schools take into account not only the non-custodial parent's income for financial aid purposes, but also the income of the non-custodial parent's spouse.

Here' the particular situation. I have full custody of my two kids and earn less than 60K in salary. I receive child support from my ex.

My ex has remarried and she earns about 75K. Her spouse also earns about 75K. Both pay child support.

When I go through financial aid calculators, both general ones and school specific ones, I get a doable amount that I will need to pay.

But when my ex runs a calcuation adding both her and her spouse's income, the amount she is expected to contribute gets very, very high and much, much higher than simply double the amount for her alone.

I am just wondering if schools took into account the entirety of the non-custodial spouse's income or perhaps a portion of it in determining how much to contribute.

So how have others fared in a similar situation?

Thanks

scottaa · 08-04-2009, 01:18 PM

The simple answer is to make sure your students include non-profile colleges in their application mix. You'll then be able to compare financial awards and see which ones are truly worth it.

Only about 10% of the colleges in the US want the Profile.

Erin's Dad · 08-04-2009, 04:29 PM

Unfortunately, Stanford requires the CSS Profile which means the other income will be considered. As Scottaa recommends, look at FAFSA only schools.

hmom5 · 08-04-2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Only about 10% of the colleges in the US want the Profile.

Quote:

look at FAFSA only schools

This sounds great until people do the research and realize FAFSA only schools are mostly state schools, lower ranked schools and schools that don't meet need.

So what you're really saying is that their kid should go to his state school. While that might be a good bet for kids in a few states, I think it's all good to point a kid looking at Stanford who can't afford it to the list of merit aid schools at the top of the page.

scottaa · 08-04-2009, 07:55 PM

There are only 300-400 schools that require the Profile. That leaves about 3400 colleges around the country, and probably 1000-1200 private colleges.

That's a whole lot of schools to choose from.

thumper1 · 08-04-2009, 08:44 PM

Schools that use the Profile...and Stanford is one of them...require income and assets from custodial parent and spouse...and non-custodial parent and spouse.

The question of how students 'fare' depends entirely on the total of all of that income.

hmom5 · 08-05-2009, 12:10 AM

On College Confidential, 90% of the people who post are interested in the same 100 colleges.

scottaa · 08-05-2009, 12:18 AM

Well if you are trying to mitigate the effects of non-custodial assets and income, that will be very difficult at those 100 schools. I am suggesting a logical alternative strategy.

It's fine to include those schools in the mix, but including alternatives would be the better part of wisdom.

hmom5 · 08-05-2009, 01:00 AM

I think it's just helpful to clarify that the types of school you're suggesting when someone is talking Stanford and they are pointed to FAFSA only schools. Certainly families should know about and consider them, but there are many posts answered this way for newcomers and if I were one I'd get the impression that I might find Harvard or Yale on the FAFSA list.

kayf · 08-05-2009, 09:19 AM

Hmom5 -- I think as has been pointed out, in terms of admissions, it makes sense that most people here are interested in teh same 100 or schools -- others generally have a higher admit rate, so less need for stress/comfort/info. OTOH, finaid is more relevant to a broader group of schools.

sk8rmom · 08-05-2009, 09:35 AM

Quote:

On College Confidential, 90% of the people who post are interested in the same 100 colleges.

Really? It seems the FA forum serves a much broader spectrum and more questions are posted about FAFSA than almost any other topic. The Admissions forum may be another story. I think that everyone who posts regularly here does try to alert people to the two different methods used to calculate EFC and encourage those who need financial aid to apply to a variety of schools offering both need and merit-based aid in order to compare offers. Those who choose to omit the "financial safety" often come back to ask about finding additional private loans and scholarships in May!

ono1 · 08-05-2009, 10:09 AM

Thanks for the replies so far.

It's not so much that I am looking for alternative options or ways to get around the Profile; I am just wondering what to expect. The on-line calculator says that it was not designed for students whose parents are divorced.

swimcatsmom · 08-05-2009, 12:06 PM

The problem is that each school use the information from CSS differently so it is hard to get an exact idea of what to expect. I would expect the incomes of your ex and spouse to have a fairly high impact on the 'EFC' as their combined incomes are high (and of course whatever assets they have may have an impact also).

You may not know until you actually see a financial aid offer, but I would be surprised ig the profile 'EFC' is not considerably higher than the one based on your income only. That is why people are suggesting you include some FAFSA only schools, so you have more affordable options, if needed, when it comes to making a final decision. Good luck.

hmom5 · 08-05-2009, 04:04 PM

Many colleges have aid calculators on their web sites. That's a good pace to start. If things are unclear where a divorce is present, call the individual aid offices and they'll answer specific questions.

Calreader · 08-05-2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

This sounds great until people do the research and realize FAFSA only schools are mostly state schools, lower ranked schools and schools that don't meet need.

These comments are very misleading, and they keep popping up.

No, FAFSA-only schools are not mostly state schools. There are more private colleges and universities (over 2000 of them) in the US than public colleges, according to the College Board. Only about 300 private colleges use the PROFILE; some others use institutional forms; and many use only the FAFSA. So the correct statement is that all public colleges use only the FAFSA, and most private colleges use only the FAFSA.

True, most FAFSA-only schools don't meet full need for all students. Also true: most PROFILE-schools (by a large margin) don't meet full need for all students. And thus...?

I'm guessing that the "lower ranked" reference explains the rest. It sounds like the schools you respect use the PROFILE; the schools you don't respect use only the FAFSA. That's fine, but please recognize that not everyone uses the same ranking system.