My dream school is one of the less selective Ivies. I’m overall a pretty average applicant–99th percentile SAT/ACT, 3.9 GPA UW. My EC’s aren’t too strong though. I think that I would have a real shot if I applied ED next year, but I know that if they decide not to give me enough aid I’m in big trouble. My parents are divorced, non-custodial is unemployed and won’t pay child support, custodial makes under $50K/year. I’ve heard that the Ivies give very good aid to people in my income bracket, so is it worth the immense risk at all? Thank you in advance.
Run the net price calculator and discuss the number with your parent. If it is unaffordable, then I would not apply ED because you will likely have to break the offer or take on immense loans (some loans is fine and definitely discuss this option but make sure you and your parents understand exactly what is involved)
Thanks, I’ve done that and the result was more than easily affordable to me. A ridiculous amount of aid. Do you have any experience with how accurate those are? Just want to make sure that I don’t apply and find out that they’re going to charge me 5x as much as the calculator estimated.
Will both of your parents be cooperative with CSS Profile and Noncustodial Profile, assuming that it is required by the school? If the unemployed noncustodial parent does find work while you are in college, will s/he be willing to contribute money as expected by the college?
I.e. try running the NPC as if the unemployed parent found a job and seeing if that is affordable.
Some NPCs are less accurate for divorced parent situations.
Admit rates are a bit higher for EA/ED compared to RD. Even a “less selective” Ivy will have admit rates in the low teens overall, but this year a few schools were in the mid-upper 20s for ED.
Take time this year to visit some schools. If you have Ivy admittance level stats look at some schools that might give you merit money. There are a lot of schools out there beyond the Ivys. With such low admit rates Ivy (and the like) are reach/unlikely for almost everyone. Apply to one or more if you like them - sure, but create a balanced list.
It is good to be planning and asking questions early in the process.
If you have ANY doubts about affordability…apply regular decision. With RD, you will have the ability to compare financial aid and net costs amongst all of the schools where you get accepted.
I would strongly suggest you drop the “dream school” notion. Sure, you (like all others) likely have a number one choice college. There is a strong likelihood that that’s are many colleges where you can fulfill your dreams. Cast a wide net if affordability is considered.
@blountwil2 this family has divorced parents. Unless the net price calculator asks if the parents are divorced…AND asks for financials about the non-custodial parent…it will not be accurate.
IF…and I mean IF the info the OP has is the only financial income the family has…then the very generous schools could be affordable…could be.
To the OP…for the 2018-2019 school year, the 2016 tax year will be used for financial,aid forms.
Also, keep in mind, your non-custodial parent might not be working NOW but that could,change while you are in college. OR the custodial parent or non-custodial parent could get married. Those events would change your family financials for financial aid purposes.
All that being said…if you apply ED, and the aid is not sufficient, you can decline the admissions offer.
Your NCP has no income, right? BUT…more importantly…will he/she fill out the NCP info or will he/she refuse?
It doesn’t matter if your NCP has no income, if he/she refuses to fill out the NCP info. The school will give you NO AID if your NCP refuses to fill out the info.
It won’t matter if you tell the school that he/she has no income. They won’t take your word for that. They would need to see that he/she has no income…and then they would need to know how he lives/supports himself.
As people are saying here, your plan hinges on two things: 1. your non-custodial parent must cooperate by providing financial information for the school to verify. 2. you must be able to afford the school even if/after your non-custodial parent finds a job or gets married.
Also, your NCP may have assets that you don’t know about which could impact your net price. If possible, sit down with your NCP and talk about support for college. At the very least you are going to need their cooperation to attend a selective Profile school.
Looking at your other threads, it looks like you are making realistic plans and looking for good safeties. Your stats are solid so applying to an affordable dream/reach school is a good idea.
My post above was meant for the OP @abbidon
Sorry for the confusion
For your income bracket, Ivies and a few others are going to be the least expensive in the country.
Your noncustodial parent currently doesn’t work - if s/he did, would their income be in the same bracket (under 75k)as your other parent? How actively is s/he looking for work, is there a reason that may make it harder for them to find a good job?
In any case, it sounds like applying ED/SCEA/REA would be a good idea. At worst, if the financial aid offer is too low, you’d be allowed to contact financial aid and work with them, and if even then it was still too expensive young be released from your ED commitment. But for families in your income bracket (and up to 150k income), Ivies, Pomona, Amherst, Williams… Are going to be the cheapest universities for your family.
First, the student needs to find out if unemployed NCP will fill out the FA paperwork (each year, if required).
If he won’t fill out the paperwork, then make a new list of schools.
^ OP : specify that filling out the paperwork doesn’t imply he’ll have to pay.
However, if he later gets a job but still won’t pay, the reduced financial aid in future years could make the college unaffordable.
Mother or father could get married in future years, and then have to include spouse’s income.