I am in a difficult situation right now. I want to go to college for Nursing really bad but i dont have the money to do so. Really interested in William Paterson if I could make it.
This is my senior year. My mom and dad divorced when I was young and then my mom remarried. I have two little sisters (from my mom and stepdad) as well. My dad has not paid FULL child support since he got laid off about 10 years ago and has been a bum since (he owes around $60,000 in child support) He is no where to be found and its making my college applications hell. I live with my mom and stepdad and we have this one argument that keeps coming up.
On the Fasfa form or some college apps, im confused on what to put down. It mentions about who is in my household and how much my household makes. My mom is a stay at home mom so there is no income coming from there. Then there is my stepdad who works and supports all of us so we live pretty comfortably (makes $108,000 a year). Im just running into some trouble because my stepdad is not willing to pay for my college because its not his responsibility and he is hesitant about me using his tax info for the fasfa form. He tells me if i use his info, it will only hurt me in a way that I wont be more able to get scholarships and grants from the government.. so i really dont want to use his info because its not fair.
Im basically on the poverty line.. with my mom not working and my dad no where to be found or heard of. What do I do when filling out these forms? Do i mention my sisters in my household, along with my stepdad.. or do I fill out my mother's information and my dad's information where we only have his social security number.. and thats pretty much it.
My mom and stepdad are leaving it up to me to figure this out and it is so overwhelming and frustrating because I dont know who to ask or where to start. It sucks that I was born and I have to deal with issues that shouldnt really involve me in the first place. Can someone please help me if you have been in the same boat or know any information in this direction? I dont know what Im eligible for since I live fine in my home now, but in reality I dont have anything from my mom or real dad.
is there anyone i could talk to about this.. im sure im not the only one who has been in this situation.
Please help. Im 17, from NJ, 3.4 GPA out of 6.0 scale, 1260 sats out of 2400 (I know, really bad score, i retook them but i dont think a change will be seen)