<p>I’m in a similar situation, except that my dad is literally absent (we haven’t heard from him in the past two and a half years). My mom called each school I’m applying to and asked what we should do about the forms and stuff, and each one said something a little different but basically a variant of the same thing: they want a letter explaining the situation. The main difference between schools is who they want to write the letter. I forget what Barnard said so have your mom call the school. Good luck!</p>