Financial Aid, Divorced Parents?

I'm going to be a senior next year, and looking at some pretty prestigious (and expensive) schools, primarily Notre Dame, but also Michigan (out of state) and Northwestern. My parents are divorced, and there's a pretty serious difference in income (my dad makes about 250-350k a year depending, my mom pulls in under 75k (plus about 35k in support)). I know many people only are required to send in info about their custodial parent when applying for aid, but at a financial aid presentation at ND they said they "require info from non-custodial parents too." While I'm pretty sure my dad's income will get me about 8 bucks in financial aid, I know he's going to be a pain about coughing up the full 50k a year. How do colleges usually handle divorced parents with such gaps? I know my mom will just take him to court and he'll have to pay anyway, but I'd like to avoid that. So should I be expecting family difficulties over this or is the divorced situation usually put into consideration?

Thanks! I really appreciate the input. I know ND is crazy expensive, but having been to many schools (and I just spent 2 weeks at ND for summer class) I really really feel like it's the place for me.

When my sister was applying for financial aid to a public university she only put my mom's info down for FAFSA and everything and got a good amount (keep in mind the school was under 20k to begin with) so I guess it's a private school thing that non-custodial parents are taken into account. I don't know, I'm really confused, but I hope I can figure it out and my dad will be reasonable about it. I mean, I know 50k a year is a TON of money, but let's assume my mom (aka my grandpa) will have to pay about 10k, 40k isn't a huge chunk of his income. i don't know we'll see. Thanks again.

Since both of your parents incomes are above 75K, I don't think it's going to make a darn bit of difference either way. Keep in mind, Mom isn't exactly poor... no matter what dad makes. I hope you have a killer GPA and good test scores to earn a few merit scholarships... I am impressed by your thoughtfulness and intelligence btw.

Some expensive schools do require both bio parents info I suppose...
But to do the fafsa, you will need you keep in mind that you actually report a "Set" of parents. So if you put Dad's info down, you would need step moms as well. If you put Mom's income down, you will need step dads info as well. ( to calculate your EFC the school is looking at the family resources.

I would take a more proactive approach and save both parents the lawyer fees (your dad's not a lawyer is he?) and come up with a financial plan for college for yourself and include the cost for ALL FOUR YEARS. Include how much you will pay, your mom will pay, and dad too. You might want to make this for a couple of different schools if you don't get in... and you certainly don't want dad or mom to run out of money your senior year in college.

Since all you will likely get is Unsub Stafford loan to you (5,500) a year... you might ask if both parents can do their own PLUS loan for the remainder based on their respective income. It's just a thought . I'm not a lawyer, but a court MIGHT pro-rate to each of them what they are responsible for paying... example: Mom made 100K and Dad made 300K... so dad had 75% of the income and mom 25%. Dad would be reponsible for 75% of your 50K tuition and mom only 25%.
Did I mention I'm not a mathematician either?
good luck

PS: if you want to avoid the fight and resentfulness you might consider a reasonable costing school. (High price tag does not equal better job or better education, btw) In my world, a reasonable costing school is less than the 5,500 you will get in stafford loans. No fights, no courts, no parents, no cosigners, complete freedom..... :0) good luck.

When I filed for my fafsa, I put that my parents were divorced [which they are] and only put in my mom's income information. They didn't ask for my dad's info or my step dad's info. I didn't have to put in a penny.

Any school that isn't FAFSA only will require not only both parents, but if they have a new spouse they'll ask for their info too. Almost no private colleges are FAFSA only.

Unfortunately, your mom won't get too far taking your dad to court. Parents are not required to pay for their children to go to college. Your father can pay or not pay by choice.

I suggest you sit your parents down and determine what they will pay before applying. Every year tens of thousands of kids end up not being able to attend schools they applied to for financial reasons. It's unfortunate, but everyone can't go to their dream college. If dad won't pay focus on your state schools.