<p>I am trying to understand how it all works for your child to go to college free if one parent works at the college. My problem is my daughters father works for a college and he has not been in her life till about a little over a year ago. He offered for her to go to college for free. Now he wants to claim her as a dependent to show prove so she can go for free. I cant let that happen as I live on SSDI and he can not claim her. Why isn’t just a birthcertificate good enough as proof since he has not provided for her since she was born. What happens with families that divorce and they do not claim the child as a dependant and also do not live in the same state. I just don’t get it.
Her father is trying to tell her what she is to do and it is he way or no way. If I knew all this I would have never let all this come about. I am now trying to find a way that she is able to attend college without paying a fortune. We din’t have money. I have no clue how to go about finanical aid, scgorships, grant, etc. My daughter had a dream of being a neroscientist and now it has been ripped out from under her.
Does anyone know how she can go to the college her father works at without him claiming her as a dependant?</p>
<p>I don’t understand what claiming her or not claiming her has to with your SSDI. Also, does she WANT to go to school where her father works? If so, they probably require her to be his dependent in order to get this job benefit. And what does all this have to do with whether or not she can be a neuroscientist?</p>
<p>I can imagine this is very scary and upsetting for you.</p>
<p>Do you get more benefits from SSDI since you have a dependent and if she is not your dependent you will have less cash to live on? Won’t that go away when she turns 18 anyway?</p>
<p>This forum can be a very good source of information for you. I wish you and your daughter good luck trying to figure it all out.</p>
<p>First, talk to your daughter and find out what she wants to do. Sylvan is right on the money here. If your daughter is being pressured by her father then you need to help her step back and regain control of this process. I assume your ex-husband already went to college…he had his turn, now it is your daughters.</p>
<p>I would call the admissions office and ask to speak with the dean. You can find this information easily online. Explain the sensitivity of the situation and you would appreciate their discretion, that everyone’s ultimate goal is to help your daughter choose a university that is right for her. Along those lines let them know you have some questions regarding benefits for children of university employees. Ask specifically if these are limited to students who are claimed as dependents. You don’t need to explain anything further, in fact it’s probably better if you don’t. A fact finding phone call to someone who should be discrete and have knowledge to answer your questions is perfectly appropriate. If your ex-husband does find out you made the call, you have done nothing wrong. Make sure you stick to the facts and leave emotions out of the conversation, as difficult as that might be.
This is a very emotional time for students and parents. You have an added stress. Your daughter needs your guidance. Good luck to both of you.</p>
<p>Dependent tuition benefits at the school where I work are not contingent on a parent claiming the student as a dependent on his/her taxes. You can call the college’s human resources department to ask the general question: What proof is necessary for an employee to receive tuition benefits for a child … must that parent claim the child as a dependent on his taxes?</p>
<p>Does your daughter have good grades and scores? If she does and you’re low income she may be able to get excellent aid at many schools.</p>
<p>I work at a university. We don’t get free tuition, but we get half tuition for our dependents. I have to provide a copy of my tax form (1040) to the Financial Aid office showing my child listed as a dependent. This is required once a year. For example, for the 2011-2012 school year, I must show my 2010 taxes with my child listed as a dependent in order to qualify for my dependent tuition benefit.</p>
<p>At my university, this information is listed on the university website under employee benefits and also the instructions/downloadable form is on the Financial Aid page. </p>
<p>Is your daughter already a senior in HS? If so, to qualify for Federal Financial Aid, you need to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form will not be available to fill out until January 1, 2011 (for students attending college next fall). You can look at their website to see what kind of information you will need to fill it out.</p>
<p>Depending on the college/university, there may also be other forms to fill out, such as the CSS Financial Aid Profile from College Board or university specific forms. The college your are applying to will most likely have a deadline for the submission of these forms. There is also state aid available for some students (depending on your state).</p>
<p>If your child is not currently a HS senior, then you have a little more time to start researching scholarships and other forms of financial aid. </p>
<p>If your daughter is very, very bright, you may want to consider some top schools that meet full financial need. My D applied through Questbridge, which is another excellent program if you have very limited means. However, the deadline for seniors to apply through Questbridge has already passed.</p>
<p>Another potential resource is your D’s high school guidance office. In our area, our HS lists scholarship opportunities and their requirements/deadlines. Our HS also offers a Financial Aid information night every year in February. If you qualify (income), you can also get application fee waivers from your school guidance office.</p>
<p>Our public library has a section on Financial Aid with several reference books that explain the process.</p>
<p>My D is now a sophomore in college. Even though I work at a university, I didn’t know that much about the process until I went through it with my child. </p>
<p>Best wishes, and use this resource (among others) to find out the information that will help your daughter get the college education she desires.</p>
<p>Try to separate out the different things happening. First your daughter has a goal of neuroscience. Is the father’s college a college that will give her the basic undergraduate degree she needs? Secondly, you need to figure out if you can even afford to send her somewhere else and if that college would prepare her better than her father’s college, her GPA, her test scores, etc. can you help people here help you. Third you need to find out if he needs to claim her as a dependent in order to qualify for money (and this can be done very discreetly as others have said) and finally you need to understand with certainty what would happen if she takes advantage of her father’s college tuition program and that can probably be answered by SSDI office. This could perhaps turn out to be a very good situation for you financially and it is interesting that her father has extended that offer so I think the more you can figure out on your own the better prepared you will be to talk to your daughter. Have you talked to her father to try and figure out why he is “pressuring”…I can guess a multitude of reasons, but I’m wondering if you’ve talked to him at all.</p>
<p>I imagine this is really stressful and complicated. But if you can seek the information others are talking about, and try to remain objective (I know, hard in these situations!), it might really help you and your daughter. When you say things like ‘your daughter’s dream is being ripped from under her’ I get a sense there is a lot of emotional baggage her that isn’t going to help anyone. Easier said that done, but try to focus on what’s best for you and your daughter, not what feels fair/unfair etc. </p>
<p>Sounds like you need to find out some things that are factual:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does he have to claim her? It is wonderful you are starting to get this fact sorted out! </p></li>
<li><p>You believe your SSDI payments would change if you could not claim your daughter as a dependent. Do you know for a fact that this is true? And more specifically, how much money would you lose per month? I believe you can search the internet and get some basic information or also contact a social worker to find out. If you must, frame it around the question of simply “what happens to your SSDI when she reaches the age by which she can’t be your dependent?”. </p></li>
<li><p>If your daughter’s father claims her, and it costs you financially, would he be willing to sign an agreement that provides support to you that makes up the difference in income you would lose above?</p></li>
<li><p>Would your daughter prefer not to go to this school? What are the pros and cons (aside from financial)?</p></li>
<li><p>Are you willing to go through the financial aid maze to figure out how else your daughter’s education will be paid for if not at the ‘free school’? The huge extra cost of effort and uncertainty may not be worth it. </p></li>
<li><p>How much- if anything- would the alternatives to the ‘free’ option cost you? Is it more or less than what you might lose in terms of SSDI? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I guess my main point is to try to remove yourself from the ‘emotional stuff’ (e.g. your ex’s intentions, what you think of him, unfairness, etc. etc.- however justified!). Instead, try to focus on getting information that will help you come up with the best solution that a) gives your daughter a good education and b) minimizes the cost/financial loss to you. Start by getting all the facts down and thinking through the different creative possibilities. </p>
<p>I wish you lots of luck with this!!</p>
<p>At the university where I work the benefit is half tuition at our university or any other state university when employee has 6 or 7 years (I can’t remember) employment. It is not dependent on claiming child as a dependent on the tax return and no proof is required of anything other than familial relationship. It is even available to step children. I know of a case where the benefit has been claimed and the employee was not even informed, but found out by accident.</p>
<p>Different institutions have different policies, but this is usually considered an employee benefit and may be found on the Human Resources Web site or could be asked as a general question of the Human Resources office without revealing one’s identity. Financial aid may not always be aware of this, so may not be the place to start.</p>
<p>Thanks to all that pointed out this is a question for Human Resources, not Admissions. I was incorrect and apologize.</p>
<p>Tuition as a benefit of employment is governed completely by the employer. Just like your employer decides how much vacation you get, a university employer decides under what circumstances it grants tuition remission. My institution, for example, will grant tuition, after 2 years of full tome employment, to children or stepchildren claimed as dependents on tax returns. I am required to file a FAFSA. The university will keep any outside scholarships awarded and paid to the school. </p>
<p>Something to consider is that private universities often belong to tuition exchange groups. My dd is applying to colleges in that group. She can be granted free tuition at those schools under the exchange agreement. It’s a little late for a senior to be thinking about exchange as those spots can be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. However, if your dd is a junior, she might be able to consider more schools than just her dad’s employer. It’s worth asking about</p>
<p>The Jesuit colleges have some type of arrangement like this, but I am not sure exactly how it all works.</p>
<p>As ordinarylives stated, Tuition as a benefit of employment is governed completely by the employer. One of my sisters worked at U who gives free tuition from day 1 for children/spuses of employees at their school and any of their affiliated schools (undergrad level). They pay 50% tuition at all other schools.<br>
I have friends who work at colleges where they only give the tuition benefit from thier school. You need to find out what exactly is the benefit and how it is going to affect your child.</p>
<p>You definitely needs to weigh the pros and the cons of the situation. By the time your child attends collge in the fall, SSDI will be a moot point because unless her birthday is toward the end of the year, the benefits are going to end once she turns 18 and has graduated.</p>
<p>Run your numbers through a financial aid calculator. Your income and assets will probably give her a “0” EFC. the only thing that this means is that she will be eligible for the max in federal aid (5500 in pell, 5500 in loans and some federal work study). Most FAFSA only schools do not meet 100% demonstrated neeed.</p>
<p>At schools that meet 100% demonstrated need with large amounts of their own institutional aid, they are going to ask for the CSS profile, non-custodial profile or their own financial aid forms from both the custodial and non custodial parents. Her father’s income may end up putting some schools financially out of reach for your child. </p>
<p>Remember that financial aid is based on what the school believes the family can pay, not how much they want to pay. This may cause a disconnect as your ex may feel why should he have to pay tuition somewhere else, when she is eligible for free tuition.</p>
<p>If it is a large university where she can dorm, you will have to see if she is eligible for any kind of FA that will cover the cost.</p>
<p>Caringmom…</p>
<p>1) the school decides what their req’ts are. Do that school require your child to be named as a dependent on taxes in order to get free tuition? You can call and find out.</p>
<p>2) Do you get more SSDI money if your D is your dependent? Does that extra money end when your D is no longer 18? If so, then it might not matter.</p>
<p>3) You need to have your D apply to some schools that will be affordable because of either excellent financial aid or merit scholarships.</p>
<p>What are your D’s stats?</p>
<p>Caringmom—Could you post your daughters GPA and SAT scores so that you could be advised about other options your daughter may have in terms of applying to other schools?</p>
<p>The higher your daughters GPA and SATs the more options she has, and your original concern may not be a source of worry. You can also go on line and pull up the FAFSA so you could start working on that. Has your daughter applied to any schools yet? If money is a serious issue she can ask her guidance councelor about sending in her applications with a fee waiver. The GC may be very helpful right now and you may want to consider having a meeting with her.</p>
<p>On another note is there any documentation that your daughters father has not been in her life or financially supportive? Gather this documentation up because you may need to supply this to the colleges that she gets admitted to as proof that you need aid even if her father makes a very good living.</p>