My daughter wants to attend a top school but will be majoring in lib arts or education, neither has high career incomes and she may have a difficult time paying back loans.
She has decided that if she is given a generous aid package she will attend, otherwise she will stay in state.
My income is low and so is her fathers, but her step father (my husband) income is high. I contacted her first choice school and they said step parent’s incomes and assets are required but not factored in – i.e. they only look at the biological parent’s incomes and assets.
Her guidance counselor, who knows a few students that attend the specific college, said the opposite – that both step parent’s incomes and assets will factor into giving the school’s needs based scholarship.
I am not expecting any federal aid FAFSA, referring to the CSS profile.
I would be interested in knowing what school said this.
Your current husband’s income and assets will be included on FAFSA (assuming you and your husband provide most support for your D which is how FAFSA parent is now determined in cases of divorce), as well as CSS Profile.
I am not sure I know of any Profile school that wouldn’t require and use the financial info of the new spouse of the custodial parent in their calculations…at the very least they would use that info to ascertain the proportion of the bio-parent’s income/assets that could go towards college expenses.
@twogirls The net price calculator likely will not be accurate with these divorced parents, and at least one remarried parent.
I agree with above posters. I can’t think of any college that doesn’t count the step parent married to the custodial parent when computing need based financial aid.
The step parent and parent incomes most definitely will need to be included on the FAFSA. No non-custodial parent there.
I believe this will be the same for the CSS Profile…but to be sure, you need to contact the financial aid office at the college. You want to get this right…the step parent income WILL be on that FAFSA, and you don’t want to appear to be omitting it (if required) on the Profile.
When you call, ask to speak to your regional financial aid rep…don’t get this info from the person who answers the phone…which could be a student.
Pretty sure whoever claims her as dependent on their tax return is the one school will need to look at. Two sets of parents cannot simultaneously claim the same kid for tax purposes.
The parent who claims the student on their tax return is not determinative of which parent provides the most financial support in cases of divorce. The parent who provides the most financial support is the parent who completes FAFSA, starting with the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
In OP’s case if they provide the most financial support, then that parent fills out the FAFSA and would include the step-parent’s financial info as well. Generally, the financials of all three parents (four if bio-dad is remarried) will be required on CSS Profile.
What does “majoring in lib arts” mean? Generally, being a liberal arts major at a “top school” means having a specific major within a wide range of possibilities while pursuing a liberal arts degree. We’re talking about English, History, Economics, Psychology, Chemistry, French, Art History, Theatre, Political Science, American Literature, Geography, etc. Graduates from “top colleges” with liberal arts degrees are often sought after by highly respected companies, and well compensated. It’s about the entire well-rounded education, and not necessarily the focus on French (or History, or Geography, or whatever). A good liberal arts education (like one might expect to receive at a “top school”) introduces the student to many new ideas and concepts, and if done right teaches important critical thinking and communication skills which can be a great advantage in any professional career.
And most definitely the spouse of the custodial parent is considered by both FAFSA and Profile. Some Profile schools do not ask for non-custodial parent information.