Families going through divorce need to get educated about their unique opportunities, he says. If a noncustodial parent refuses to provide income and asset information or is totally absent, the student or custodial parent can explain this on the CSS Profile form and in a letter, he adds.
Financial aid awards aren’t written in stone. The 2018-19 FAFSA requires 2016 income and tax information, although parents may have since split. Divorce/separation is one of the most common circumstances families face after filing for aid, says Karen McCarthy, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). She encourages students whose family situations have changed to contact the financial aid offices at the institutions they attend or have been admitted to.
Schools use “professional judgment” to re-determine the level of need after special circumstances arise, and they have a lot of leeway, she says. The schools often determine that students need more aid, she says, but whether they can provide it is less easy to say.
If it’s late in the school year, all campus-based aid funds (federal money allotted to universities for work study and other programs) may have been spent, says McCarthy. On the other hand, she says, “Pell money does not run out.” Pell Grants generally go to students with the most financial need. Schools set their own policies for institutional funds, which come from endowments.
Bishop, the CPA, says families who wish to appeal aid awards after financial circumstances change (something she has helped clients with) must have a good, persuasive argument. She told a client earning $400,000 a year, “They’re going to put your letter on a bulletin board so they can throw darts at it.”
She also tells clients to be realistic when selecting schools. “Even if it’s an academic fit,” she says, “it doesn’t mean it’s a financial fit for the family.”