Chance/Match me! T30s, Northeast/mid-Atlantic schools [History Major, 4.6 GPA, 33 ACT (superscore), <$40k, divorced parents]

I suggest you reach out the financial aid office at GT and make sure that you have filled out any of the necessary paperwork the way they require. Simply saying you don’t have contact with your non-custodial parent isn’t going to be sufficient at most schools. I’d also re-run the NPC with only 2 students in school and with your other parents income (estimate if necessary) - I don’t believe they count students in graduate programs when calculating financial aid - that may give you a better sense of what you can expect. Better to be prepared in case financial aid comes in a lot lower than you imagine.

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Thanks for the info, I’m going to check on all of this asap. My college counselors never even mentioned that CSS is a thing so I’ve kind of had to figure it out on my own. I had no idea about any of this so I really appreciate you taking the time out to explain everything!

Will do, thanks for the advice! I’m submitting the non-custodial parent waiver right now and will call Gtown later today or tomorrow.

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You can calculate unweighted GPA easily.

With 2 AP and 11 honors out of a total of probably 18-21 academic courses, a 4.6 weighted GPA using the described weighting system seems impossible.

Did you include both of their income and assets when using the NPC?

My school uses a “+” and “-“ system. A+ (97-100) is worth 4.3, A (93-96) is worth 4.0, A- (90-92) is worth 3.7 and so on. Then honors adds 0.5, AP adds 1.0. And the 4.6 gpa includes my trimester 1 grades from this year when I’m taking 4 APs.

No, I couldn’t include both because I literally have no info on my non-custodial parent. And it didn’t ask me for info on them separately either, even after I said they were divorced. I feel like Georgetown’s NPC isn’t the most accurate for this reason.

UMD College Park has a by-invitation honors college that appears to include a merit scholarship. I am a big fan of honors colleges for several reasons. FIrst, they foster a closer sense of community, and at some schools have their own dorms. Second, honors college students get first dibs at class registration, which can be very helpful in programs where pre-reqs fill quickly. Third, honors students are tracked into classes that are taught at a higher level then the corresponding classes for the general student population, and these classes are likely smaller. Fourth, honors students generally get more face-time with professors and research opportunities than general students. And fifth, many honors programs include generous merit awards.

I encourage you to research honors programs at College Park and any other schools you are thinking of adding to your list.

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I hate to say this but…there is an old saying “garbage in, garbage out”. I know you did your best completing the NPC, but do keep in mind…this just might not be accurate for you with divorced parents.

Did you have your parent 2022 tax return to get info when you completed the NPC? And when did you complete it? Some have only recently been updated for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Before you call…run that net price calculator again…and I would suggest only using the sibling in undergrad in addition to yourself.

And remember…you don’t need to have close contact with your dad. You simply need to know where he is…and with a recent divorce, it’s likely your mom knows how to find him.

I wish I knew where to find him… but the divorce started in 2014 and dragged out til 2018. I haven’t interacted with him since probably 2016 or 2017.

I did the NPC a few days ago and had my mom’s 2022 tax return. I’ll redo it with just 2 kids in college.

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Does he pay child support?

Nope. He was ordered to but never did.

The inaccuracy likely comes from it not being clear that both parents’ financials are required, so many users fail to include their non-custodial parent’s financials. Only a few colleges that require both divorced parents’ financials make it absolutely clear on their net price calculators that both parents’ financials must be included (e.g. Princeton’s NPC).

I agree 100% about the benefits you’ve cited about honors colleges, but (for OP’s knowledge) specifically regarding UMD: acceptance into the honors college does not necessarily come with merit money and honors students don’t get priority registration.
But yes, they have wonderful honors programs with lots of great opportunities and outcomes.

Unfortunately, Georgetown is still a reach, since you need to apply for an NCP waiver, which is unlikely to be given. All of your other reaches are double reaches, because you need to get admitted, and you need the NCP waiver (unlikely, although each school decides independently of others). The other possibility is if your NCP cooperates and does not have much income or assets to adversely affect your financial aid, but that seems unlikely given what you described.

George Washington University also requires NCP information or NCP waiver, so it should be moved to the reach category for this reason.

Unless you are a resident of the state, public universities are unlikely to offer much, if any, FA, so your chances should be based on getting large enough merit scholarships to afford them, not admission.

For safely / likely / match schools, consider your in-state publics that are affordable without FA.

If you want to add prestigious single-reach schools (i.e. no NCP issues for FA), see if Chicago and Vanderbilt NPCs show affordability.

Has every grade you earned been some kind of A?

If so, then a basic unweighted GPA (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, … without +/-) would be 4.0.

Why do you say that? Do you have experience w/ GT and NCP waivers?

If this kid hasn’t had contact w/ bio-dad for 5+ years there aren’t many schools that wouldn’t grant the waiver, IME. OP should be ready to have a third party verify lack of contact w/ bio-dad, such as high school counselor, attorney, psychologist, etc.

Because NCP waiver granting is not transparent and seems unlikely to be granted in general.

Consider it like getting a competitive merit scholarship.

This!

Would my mom’s attorney in the divorce count as a third party? Or would a best interest attorney appointed by the court be better?