Orphan Financial Aid

Paying for College
1

Hi there. I will be a junior next year and am trying to get a grasp on all of this college stuff early so it’ll be easier later on…especially because I have such a complicated situation. A bit about my situation:

Both of my biological parents are deceased. I am in the legal guardianship of my aunt and uncle. I don’t currently have a job (besides occasionally getting some money for working at my neighbor’s house or other miscellaneous things). I am not married and I do not have children. I do, however, have one biological sister who will be in 7th grade next year.

My current top school choices: Princeton, Harvard as top choices. Vanderbilt is my more safety school.

I have a 35 on the ACT and a 4.0 unweighted GPA (~4.1 Weighted).

Any idea whatsoever as to what I should expect to have to pay for college? And how do I go about getting all of the free money that I possibly can? Thanks!

2

FIrst, I’m sorry for your losses.

You got a 35 ACT in 10th grade?

If your parents are both no longer alive, and you haven’t been adopted by anyone…you will be considered independent for FAFSA financial aid purposes. Only your information will be required on the FAFSA.

For the Profile…some schools do ask for guardian information, but it’s unclear how they use it. If your are applying to schools that use the Profile like Harvard and Vanderbilt, it might be best to contact their financial aid offices and ask how you should complete the Profile form, and what information they use.

Princeton does not use the Profile. They use their own financial aid application in addition to the Profile. Again…contacting Princeton Financial aid is probably the best way to get a clear answer.

From what I can gather…most colleges will not require any financial information but yours. On th FAFSA, there is a place to clearly indicate you are an orphan.

TBH, I don’t know how the Profile deals with this…but perhaps someone else knows if there is a specific question about this.

The other thing…in addition to those tippy top schools, keep some guaranteed merit aid schools in mind. Any chance you took the PSAT and will be a NMF? That opens some doors for merit aid.

You also want to check the guaranteed scholarships at University of Alabama, and University of Alabama Huntsville.

By completing a FAFSA, you will get the $5500 Direct Loan, plus an additional $4000 in Direct Loan money. If you have no income Or assets and your FAFSA EFC is $0, you would also get about $6000 in Pell Grant money. That’s $15,000 which probably could cover room and board at some places if you could get a full tuition scholarship!

If you get accepted to Princeton or Harvard, I would think you would receive excellent need based aid. I honestly can’t believe they would want guardian info on the Profile…but do ask.

3

Vandy is not a safety school. I’m sure you will be considered independent for financial aid. Look for some other lower reach schools that will meet need. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-09-21/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

4

Here’s a question: Do you have any assets? You said you don’t have a job or income. But did you inherit money from your parents? Life insurance? Proceeds from sale of a house?

5

@brantly I have some assets…pretty much just ~100k (plus or minus a bit) in life insurance put away in an account that can’t be accessed until I’m 18. That’s about my only asset

6

Hi @bobby22356 You will have to report that asset. (I am assuming you will be 18 when you go to college, and therefore have access to the funds.)

Unfortunately, there’s no asset-protection allowance when it is a student-owned asset (parental assets have a certain amount “protected” from being counted because it’s recognized that breadwinners need to have a savings cushion).

For colleges that use only the Fafsa to determine FA, 20% of the asset will be expected to be used for college. For colleges that use both the Fafsa AND CSS Profile, the percentage is 25%.

It does seem that with your stats you will be applying to colleges that require the CSS. Within that group of colleges, there are a few that use something called the Consensus Methodology. That set of colleges counts student assets at only 5%. That group of colleges is called the 568 Presidents’ Group. Those are the colleges that will require you to use the least amount of your assets. Take a look at the list here:
http://www.568group.org/home/?q=node/24

By the way, Vanderbilt is not a safety for you or for anyone on earth. Every person applying to the colleges you are applying to has your stats or better. Your safety is your state flagship. What state do you live in?

7

As an independent student for FAFSA, if you are eligible to file 1040EZ or 1040A, or are not required to file a tax return at all, you would qualify for the simplified means test and your assets wouldn’t count all (for FAFSA). I have no idea how your insurance money is being held and if it requires you to use a certain tax form.

If you do qualify for the simplified means test, I highly recommend you include 2 or 3 FAFSA-only colleges when you apply. In that situation, there are colleges that would provide you a very nice FinAid package even though they don’t advertise themselves as “meeting full need.”

In our experience, CSS Profile colleges are going to want your aunt and uncle’s financial info.