CSS Profile and Divorced Parents with Unequal Assets

thumper1
Thu, 03 Dec 2020 02:16:09 +0000

@srparent15

Your student has options.

1. It sounds like he is a strong student so hunting merit money is an excellent strategy. This doesn’t require filing financial aid forms at all in most cases, and incomes aren’t a consideration for either parent.

2. There are a large number of very fine schools that use the Profile but do not require the non-custodial parent form. Start looking for those. Look carefully at their financial aid websites. Some do have a school form that asks for non-custodial parent information. Others don’t ask for it at all. Some reserve the right to ask for additional information. Your student probably can find at least a handful of colleges that don’t require the non-custodial parent Profile.

3. Apply to colleges requiring the FAFSA only. Most do not guarantee to meet full need for all, but University of Chicago does meet full need and is a FAFSA only school. There is a short Chicago form, but they do not ask for non-custodial parent information.

4. I’m not sure how far our of college your student is, but have you discussed college financing with the other parent? Or has the student? As difficult as this might be, it might be beneficial to get a dollar amount that this parent will contribute.

5. You could take your former spouse back to court and see if you can get money for college from him. This is expensive and not always successful, but it’s an option.

6. Your student needs to cast a broad net. He also needs to understand family financial constraints. While he might want to attend a very costly college, that might be out of your budget. The kid needs to know this and understand it.

No one needs to attend a $70,000 plus a year college. Look at your instate public universities. Look at their honors college programs. See what they have to offer.

The way need based aid is calculated might not be your cup of tea, but it is what it is. Accept it and work within that.

If your kid isn’t a Senior right now…I would suggest he look at University of New Mexico, University of Alabama, and Arizona. All have auto scholarships based on stats and can be very very affordable for out of state students. They also have some excellent programs.