What is required to qualify for financial aid?

Yale Financial Aid: What Would I qualify for?

• Greetings, I am eighteen and this is currently my senior year of high school. Having had a successful academic career in a dual-enrollment program, I was considering applying to Yale. With extremely high tuition rates at this University, however, I am naturally interested to know if my situation (as described below) might qualify me for financial aid and, if so, for what portion of tuition, room, and board. My parents are divorced, and I live with my mother. She is on disability and receives payments from the government totaling $24,000/yr. My father makes considerably more than this (enough to qualify him for 2011 tax hikes), but we have become estranged, and we haven't even spoken in quite a while. I highly doubt he would be willing to contribute to my college education. Would I still be required to report his income? If so, I almost certainly would not qualify for any financial aid. If not, however, and I was to gain admission to Yale, what sort of financial aid could I receive from the government/University? I appreciate your help, Zeke Reeves

• Answer:

  When you fill out your FAFSA form, you have to check that your parents are divorced, and from there on, you only need to fill out information about your mother (or the parent/guardian you depend on). The FAFSA form won't ask about your father, since you don't live with him. HOWEVER, Yale will most likely ask for additional documents before they can fully determine how much financial aid to supply you. And one of those forms would probably inquire information about your father. Also, FAFSA and Yale will ask you how much your parents (both mother and father) and any other relatives or connections will supply you money for your tuition, in which you will be able to put $0 in the question where it asks how much your father will provide. If you are in exceptional need of money, both the university and government will provide grants, loans, and work studies.