What to do when colleges require two parents to apply for aid and I only have oneAnswered
Recently, I've been filling out net price calculators to find out if the colleges I'm looking at are affordable. When I was trying to fill out Princeton's, I noticed that in order to apply with only the financial information of one parent, a form must be completed to exclude the non-custodial parent. Previously, I have simply marked down that my parents were never married and said the non-custodial parent would not be contributing. However, I cannot do this at Princeton and I think this might become more of an issue down the road. I have only one parent. I have never met my biological father, my mother does not know who or where he is, and he (legally) cannot be found. What should I do when this non-custodial parent simply does not exist? I need as much financial aid as I can get but don't know how I will be able to fill out the necessary forms without this information.
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2 answers
If your dad is not part of your life and had abandoned you, then you just have to indicate that on your financial aid forms like FAFSA and CSS profile. Most colleges will require you to fill out a form to exclude the financial contribution of the non-custodial parent regardless of whether they are in your life or not. Princeton and all the Ivys and top colleges have their own version of the form. So if you need financial aid to attend, you are going to have to fill out 1 per college.
The other thing you should get is someone besides your mom to write an affidavit that states the facts about your parents. In that affidavit, they would have to indicate how long they know you and what they know or don't know about your biological father. If you get this letter done ahead of time by a school counselor or family friend or person your mom works with, that would be very useful because you are going to need to submit that which each of the non-custodial parent forms. Make sure they create a blank document where you can just replace the school name, school address, etc each time you re-use it.
I would stick to the facts in your responses and not have you or the person writing on your behalf speculate on where they are are or any other circumstances that can't be substantiated. I understand that you are a bit upset by this from your tone but all colleges have dealt with these situations hundreds of times before so they will understand and work with you.
Good luck.
This process varies from college to college, so you may need to contact the financial aid office directly for guidance on how to proceed
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