My parents are divorced, and I’m living with some friends in order to finish high school. My Dad lives in California, my Mom lives in Iowa, and I live in Texas. I am estranged from my mother, but not legally; does this mean that I have to include both her’s and my Dad’s financial information when applying for aid at a College? For my own reasons, I’d like to distance myself from my Mother and her money, but I know that financial aid offices at most Colleges look at the income of both parents to determine what they can pay.
Would a College consider my situation unique and take this into account regarding financial aid?
This is a tough situation…i do know from reading letters here that financial offices usually just don’t care about personal relationships between kids and their parents…if the parent has X income, that income is counted towards the calculation of aid. That said, are you establishing residency in Texas? And what schools are you considering?
For the FAFSA, you will need to use the financial information of the parent with whom you live the greatest part of the year - if you spend one more day with A than with B, then you use A’s information. If you spend the same amount of time with each of them, then the one who contributes the most toward your care is the one whose information you use on the FAFSA. If there would be any question about that, then the one who has the greatest income would be presumed to be the custodial parent for financial aid purposes.
Some colleges and universities use the CSS Profile and/or their own financial aid paperwork in addition to the FAFSA. For the CSS Profile, both parents’ financial information would be necessary unless you manage to arrange a waiver for the parent who isn’t custodial. Getting that kind of waiver is not always possible.
So it looks like your best option is to only apply to places that only require the FAFSA. Check the Financial Aid section of the websites to verify that. Then make certain to spend at least one more day with your Dad in 2015 than you do with your Mom, and use him as your custodial parent on the FAFSA.
If I live with neither parent, is the custodial parent that I use for FAFSA simply the one that I spend more time with? I visit my Dad periodically during the year for example… Would that count? @happymomof1
I’m considering mostly schools that are not in Texas, both public and private (UC Berkeley, U Penn, CMC), but I’m also planning on applying to a safety school here in TX (UT Austin)… @SouthernHope
Pull up Section 475(f)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 USC 1087oo(f)(1)) for details of how to report custodial parent.
The custodial parent for federal student aid purposes is the parent with whom you lived the most during the past 12 months. (The twelve month period is the twelve month period ending on the FAFSA application date, not the previous calendar year.) Note that this is not necessarily the same as the parent who has legal custody. If you did not live with one parent more than the other, the parent who provided you with the most financial support during the past twelve months should fill out the FAFSA. This is probably the parent who claimed you as a dependent on their tax return. If you have not received any support from either parent during the past 12 months, use the most recent calendar year for which you received some support from a parent.
Since you don’t live with your parents, it is likely the one who contributed the most to your support. If that is no one or EVENLY, then it will be the one who makes the most money.
Note that if either is remarried, the step parent’s income is included in the household.
@trisherella If the OP is top 7% of their Texas high school class and has the funds for it how can an auto admit not be a safety? TX offers some pretty good FA including the “B on Time” loan forgiveness program. We don’t know the details of this poster, UT Austin can be a safety for some people.
If you have a serious interest in UCx, be aware that unless you are in-state in Cali, you will have to pay the $25K OOS surcharge out of pocket, no financial aid is ever available for this … So, that would mean spending summers with dad … actually you would need to figure out the logistics of getting in-state status now, it might be difficult since you are claiming TX residence to enroll in their public schools, I think. If you are serious about UCs or UTs, you better get your residency figured out.
Most full-pay schools are not going to let your mom off the hook because she is estranged … lots of moms would run rather than chip in 10s of thousands a year for a kid they don’t see much. Unless the estrangement is your fault, why don’t you want her to pay ?
How about some large merit scholarship schools, so you don’t need financial aid … Or a cheap in-state option - get that resolved …
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If you have a serious interest in UCx, be aware that unless you are in-state in Cali, you will have to pay the $25K OOS surcharge out of pocket, no financial aid is ever available for this
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To better clarify…the student/family will have to pay the OOS surcharge PLUS the FAFSA EFC. If there is “need” that need will be met first with loans and work study.
For example
$53k OOS COA for a UC
$20k EFC
$33k “need”
$25k "surcharge"
$8k that can be covered by aid
That $8k will likely get covered by student loans and work study…no grants.
If you spend absolutely no time at all with your mom, and at least a day or two with your dad, then you should be able to use your dad as your custodial parent.
Since your dad is living in CA, there are steps you can follow in order to be considered a CA resident for tuition and fees purposes in CA. But you and your dad need to do the research on that.
Even if you would qualify as a auto-admit at one of the public universities in TX, that still doesn’t mean that particular university will be affordable for you. Talk with your dad about how he expects you to pay for your education. You need to know now whether or not he can pay anything, and if so how much and under what circumstances. For example, he might only be willing to pay for a CA community college, and then only if you move in with him and keep a certain GPA in your classes.
Unless you have lived in Texas for 3 years prior to high school graduation, you are not going to be eligible for in state tuition there. Your domicile is presumed to be the same as your parents’.
quote The domicile of a dependent’s parent is presumed to be the domicile of the dependent unless the dependent establishes eligibility for resident tuition under subsection (a)(1) of this section.
(a) The following persons shall be classified as Texas residents and entitled to pay resident tuition at all institutions of higher education:
(1) a person who:
(A) graduated from a public or accredited private high school in this state or, as an alternative to high school graduation, received the equivalent of a high school diploma in this state, including the successful completion of a nontraditional secondary education, and
(B) maintained a residence continuously in this state for:
(i) the thirty-six months immediately preceding the date of graduation or receipt of the diploma equivalent, as applicable; and
Who is going to fund these schools? UPenn and CMC will require financial information from BOTH of your parents via the Profile. One will complete the Profile, and the other the non-custodial parent Profile.
Even IF you gain instate residency in CA for tuition purposes, you will not likely qualify for need based aid in CA.
No guarantee of acceptance at the schools above either…except UT-Austin.
You have significant financial considerations…with no real good way to pay for college that I’ve heard. That being the case, do not apply ED. You would likely benefit from the ability to compare net costs among several schools…which you won’t be able to do if you apply ED.