Applying for Financial Aid When Parents Are Divorced

I have a daughter applying to college this fall and we just completed the financial aid application process over the weekend. I happen to be divorced, and as someone with a background in financial aid, know that there are additional things to understand about applying for financial aid for students who have divorced or separated parents. To help other families in my situation, I thought I'd share some things to keep in mind.

Filing the FAFSA^®

If a student's parents are divorced or separated, then the student and "custodial parent" will complete the FAFSA. For financial aid purposes, the custodial parent is the parent the student lived with more in the past 12 months. If the student lived equally with both parents throughout the year, it would be the parent who provided more financial support. The student's other parent, designated as the "noncustodial parent", will not fill out any part of the FAFSA. However, if the custodial parent is remarried, then that parent's current spouse will also be reported on the FAFSA.

Filing the CSS Profile^TM

If the student is applying to one or more colleges that require the CSS Profile in addition to the FAFSA, the custodial parent (and current spouse, if there is one) will complete the CSS Profile with the student. However, many colleges that require the CSS Profile also require the other biological parent (the noncustodial parent) to supply information. In those instances, the noncustodial parent will submit his or her own CSS Profile. If the noncustodial parent is remarried, he or she will include information on the Profile about his or her current spouse.

Here is How the Process Works

When the student and custodial parent complete the CSS Profile, they provide the name and email address of the noncustodial parent and can request that the noncustodial parent receive an email with a request to complete a separate Profile. When the noncustodial parent receives the email, he or she will follow a link to the CSS Profile website, click the button for the appropriate application award year, and then click Sign Up. In order for the noncustodial parent to fulfill the requirement to submit a separate Profile, that parent will need to create a new student account. So after clicking Sign Up, the parent will complete the form to create a new student account, but (and this is key!) the parent will create the account using parent information, even though the form asks for student information. It may seem strange but this is how it's done! Once the noncustodial parent has created the new account, that parent (and his or her current spouse, if there is one), will complete the application.

The Profile provides further instructions for families with divorced or separated parents on its website here.

When the Noncustodial Parent is Not Available 

If the student knows information about the noncustodial parent (such as full name and address) but is not able to have that parent complete a separate Profile (for example, due to a court order of no contact), the student may request that the colleges requiring a Profile from the noncustodial parent waive that requirement. The student should contact each school's financial aid office to find out the waiver process.

If the student is not in contact with the noncustodial parent, and not able to supply name and address information, the student should list only the custodial parent in the parent section. The student will be asked to provide a reason that he or she has only supplied information for one parent, and should select the Parent is unknown response. When asked to provide full name and address information for the noncustodial parent, the student can type "Unknown" in any field asking for information not known by the student.

Have further questions about applying for financial aid with divorced or separated parents? We're happy to talk through your personal circumstances with you. Call us at (800) 449-MEFA (6332).

Listen to the Filing Financial Aid Forms with Divorced or Separated Parents podcast episode