<p>I have an unusual situation. I have raised my 15 year old grandaughter because her Mother is a drug addict whos whereabouts are unknown, she’s never had a job and has warrants for her arrest. The Bio Dad is deceased.</p>
<p>I was told that as we have guardianship not adoption that our income will not be considered when it comes time for colleg.</p>
<p>She is an IB student with very good grades who wants to be a doctor, does community service, sings like an angel, is a cheerleader and an all around great kid.</p>
<p>Should we try and get her into the cheapest school possible locally? I am ignorant to financial aid and I dont know how much scholarships would really cover??? Is it possible to conceivably have college paid by scholarships or is that not realistic???</p>
<p>First, congratulations to you and your granddaughter. It sounds like you both are working hard to overcome a difficult situation…and well.</p>
<p>I believe it is correct that your income and assets will not be considered in the financial aid equation. The thing I don’t know is whether or not you will need some kind of statement about the status of her mom. If so, you would need to document that the mom is and has been completely out of the picture. It doesn’t sound like this will be hard to verify.</p>
<p>You have a lot of good questions that really can’t fully be answered without more information. What sort of schools is your granddaughter interested in? Is there any money at all for her education or will you need some financial aid regardless of where she goes? How strong are her standardized test scores (SAT or ACT)? </p>
<p>In any event, yes, you should have on her list at least one school that is very affordable to her just in case the scholarship situation does not work out as you may need.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!! It’s good that you’re researching this now so you have some ideas.</p>
<p>From past history on this board, every one should have a financial safety, so yes an inexpensive local would be good, but also a wide range of other publics and privates. It seems like the more difficult the school is for admissions purposes, the more financial aid that university has at their disposal, so go for some reaches. Maybe try half a dozen schools of various types.</p>
<p>You can go to finaid.org and try the calculator and also some of the FAQs, they likely address the guardianship situation; see what the EFC is both with FAFSA and Profile assumptions.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Providing More Than Half Support](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/halfsupport.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/halfsupport.phtml)</p>
<p>or maybe this?</p>
<p>You have a couple of questions to answer, one is how to properly fill out the forms, another is where she would get the best NET COST (some expensive schools may offer more money, so have a lower net cost) and where does she fit best academically</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Providing More Than Half Support](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/halfsupport.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/halfsupport.phtml)</p>
<p>or maybe this?</p>
<p>You have a couple of questions to answer, one is how to properly fill out the forms, another is where she would get the best NET COST (some expensive schools may offer more money, so have a lower net cost) and where does she fit best academically</p>
<p>Kudos to both you and your grandaughter.</p>
<p>Is she a ward of the state or of the court? I ask this because if she is, she might be entitiled to significant higher educational assistance.</p>
<p>We’re from CT, and son had a high school friend who was abandoned by his mother and “given over” to the care of the state in middle school. The mother had dependency issues, and literally dropped the kid off on the doorstep of the Department of Child Services.</p>
<p>The benefits entitled him to full academic support at a two-year vocational program or four year college, public or private as long as it was geographically within state boundaries, and if he could meet admission requirements. He had to agree to remain as a ward of the state, signing himself over to their auspices after he became 18 and meet other guidelines (working part-time, planning a budget, saving a percentage of earnings) to be eligible.</p>
<p>He was an exceptional musician. Social worker, guidance counselor were clueless and did not even know this talent existed; gc said community college was his only option. It wasn’t. He auditioned his way into a top notch conservatory, offered a full tuition scholarship and the state picked up the rest. </p>
<p>I urge you to check with the state’s applicable department where you reside if you are receiving any state benefits in support of your granddaughter.</p>
<p>The best of luck to both of you.</p>
<p>Come back to CC often in searching for schools, programs and other needs. It’s a great resource.</p>
<p>Also consider</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Dependency Overrides](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml)</p>
<p>This involves working with the financial aid office of schools where she applies, and I know you’re not that far along yet. If the conditions are met (in this case it would likely be “abandonment by parents”) the schools would consider only your granddaughter’s income (which is likely near zero), resulting in most costs being covered (she might have a small amount of work-study and loans, or not).</p>
<p>So, yes, first work on picking appropriate schools, with in-state financial safeties, but she should be able to find some good private schools as well. All the best to you both!</p>
<p>My most sincere congrats to you for your dedication. You’ve obviously made an enormous impact on her and she has a great future ahead of her. Everyone here is correct in saying have a variety of schools including state universities and safety schools. However, the private colleges have great endowments and often have much more money to give away to deserving students, so she should apply to several of those, also. I would also suggest looking at some women’s colleges where she will continue to have terrific role models and an atmosphere that promotes independent thought and makes smart young women become leaders. Good luck!</p>
<p>She sounds like some kind of foster child, so she should be able to get great financial aid.</p>