Back in 2009 my mom moved out to live with my grandfather two hours away because he wasn’t taking good care of his health. That transition put a strain on my parent’s marriage, and by 2011 we came to know that my mother was having an affair with another man. Up until 2012 my mother was employed, but then my grandfather died. My mother has been mentally unstable for years with her bipolar disorder and depression, but her father’s death hit her hard and she went insane. She adopted about a dozen dogs, and she let them run free all over my grandfather’s house. They ruined it because she never took them outside. It was really unsanitary and putrid whenever we went up there. She was still living in her father’s house which was being foreclosed. It took the bank two years to actually force her to move out which she did to a already rundown apartment an hour away from where she’d been living. In January of this year, our phones got shut off and we hadn’t heard from her in months. I got called to the office one day at school and she was on the line. She’d been admitted into the mental ward of a hospital in Randolph county. My mom was talking gibberish and the nurse told me she was really unstable. After she was kicked out of there, she was dropped off at a shelter. She then moved to The Salvation Army shelter. And the last I heard she was in an old folk’s home in Winston Salem. My mother is very unstable, her moods are ever changing. She can’t handle money, she’s lazy when it comes to being clean/organized (to an extreme) and she’s been unemployed for three years. She won’t divorce my dad, and he can’t afford it since he works at Sam’s Club on the night shift. My mom has no taxes to go off of since 2011 and my parent’s aren’t even legally filed as separated. I’m worried about being able to afford college because I fear FAFSA won’t make an exception for me despite these extreme conditions. Is there anyone I can contact or talk to who may be able to tell me otherwise? I know I can hope for scholarships and student loans, but I don’t want to graduate from college with $30,000 in debt if I an help it.
FAFSA is just a form you fill out (Free Application For Financial Aid) for federal aid. Federal aid only goes so far.
What exception where you seeking? Exception to what?
For fafsa purposes your parents don’t need to be legally separated to choose the separated option for parent marital status. From the info you’ve given you should be able to choose separated. Only your dad’s financial info will be required. For schools that use profile or their own finaid form you should be able to get a non-custodial parent waiver if you can document what you’ve posted.
What kind of exception do you think you should get? Your mom has no income…so including her $0 income on the FAFSA is not going to make a speck of difference in your need based aid calculation.
I gather you live with your dad. If so…since your mom and he are separated, you can complete the FAFSA with your dad only in all likelihood. You would use only your dad’s income and assets as he is your custodial parent.
The FAFSA doesn’t award money. It is a financial aid application form.
Re: debt. If you take the maximum Sirect Loans, you would less than $28,000 in debt for the four years, which is not unreasonable if you get a job. This would be about $300 a month repayment for about 10 years.
What year in HS are you? What is your GPA? What is your SAT/ACT score? Is your family considered low income? Do you qualify or receive any means tested benefits such as free or reduced lunch? Does your state have any grant aid for low income students?
Is there a community college within commuting distance from your home?
For Profile schools, you could try to get a waiver. OR you could have your mom complete the non-custodial parent Profile. If she has no income and isn’t required to file taxes, you would indicate this on the form. She would need to complete a non-filers statement verifying that she is not required to file taxes. Her $0 income won’t affect your need based aid calculation.
FAFSA is an application for fed aid. It’s not much aid ANYWAY.
Your mom has no income, so what does her situation matter??? Your dad needs to list his income on FAFSA, and ZERO will be put for your mom. ZERO. Many families only have one wage earner.
Besides, your parents are separated, so your mom need not be mentioned AT ALL.
If you apply to any CSS Profile school that requires NCP info, then I’m not sure if it’s wrong if your dad didn’t put down on FASFA that the parents are separated (since mom has no income anyway). Then on CSS, he’d do the same.
The Profile and the FAFSA should,be consistent. So…if the father lists himself as separated on the FAFSA, he should,also do so on the Profile (unless the situation changes between when the FAFSA and Profile are filed).
If the father lists himself as married, and includes the mother, he should do so on the Profile as well…unless the marital situation changes after the FAFSA has been filed…and before the Profile is filed.
If the parents are listed as married, and the mom has no income…and doesn’t file…she will still need to file a non-filers statement with each college.
By fafsa definition the parents are separated. I don’t think married is a valid choice. The mom can’t be counted in family size and if the OP is an only child, a family size of 2 with married parents would be an issue.
I agree with annoyingdad. The parents are separated per FAFSA definition.
OP, I am sorry for your situation. You have a lot to deal with at a young age.
I agree that the mom’s info is not needed on the FAFSA. You should indicate separated as marital status for dad, and you will not need to include info for Mom.
The issue here is that even with just Dad’s info - and even if you end up with a 0 EFC (this amount would indicate that you should receive the best possible need based aid) - you may still not receive as much as you need to go to school, because most schools do not guarantee to meet need (Need=Cost - available aid). You will want to choose your college wisely, taking costs and possible aid into consideration. Using the Net Price Calculator for schools is a really good idea - it will help you understand what your actual costs may be after all aid is awarded.