Need Access application with single parent?

[mrusiku]

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Does anyone have experience filling out this application with a single parent? The application is forcing me to fill out information for my 'non-custodial parent' (IE the parent who does not list me as a dependent), which would be my father. Unfortunately my parents separated before I was born, and I have never met my father. My mother has not been in contact with him for 20+ years. But as far as I can tell, it's not possible to submit the application without his personal and tax info. Anyone who has done Need Access in the past have experience with this kind of issue? Thanks.

 

[Espadaleader]

I am in the some boat. You have to consult with you institution. Yale is the only school I know that does not require non custodial info without petition. Every school I interviewed at has a petition process.

 

[surely]

Count me in, too. This is really surprising - How does this application not have allowances for children of single parents? The FAQ for Need Access just says "Oh, list it in the Special Circumstances section!", but I can't submit without filling in the required fields for my non-custodial father.

 

[Amygdarya]

Me, too!
I've called NeedAccess multiple times today only to receive an automated message asking me to call back (I was not even directed to voice mail!). I also sent them an email, and haven't heard anything yet.

 

[Amygdarya]

You have to consult with you institution. Yale is the only school I know that does not require non custodial info without petition. Every school I interviewed at has a petition process.

The OP's (and my) problem is not with our institutions but with the fact that NeedAccess won't allow you to submit your application without filling out the non-custodial parent form. You may not have tried submitting your NeedAccess application yet 🙂

 

[Espadaleader]

I spoke to a needs access person on the phone and they said enter zeros for everything and call the school. This was like Jan 1st before I had tax info etc. I'm going to call again. We all need to call ASAP and repost. Also, I am not looking forward to calling each school for the petition...

 

[surely]

I've called around to a few of my schools. The people who answer the phone at the financial aid office, for the most part, didn't know what to do with my situation - They've mostly had to escalate my question up the food chain in order to research the issue. Evidently children of single parents getting accepted to medical school is a rare event, because this question apparently doesn't come up often.

So far, it's been a mixed bag, with a couple places asking for a degree of documentation that I think is unreasonable. For instance, one place said "Just write NA for his name and 0 for the dollar values, that's fine," only to email me the next day saying, "Actually, no, we need you to write us a letter explaining your family circumstances and have a third-party professional such as a lawyer, clergyperson, guidance counselor, or social worker write us a second letter attesting to your situation." Eek. I don't have anyone that's known me my whole life, much less a professional third party. Called them back and explained that I don't have anyone who can function in that capacity, and asked if I could just submit my father-less birth certificate. They're looking into it for me and I'm stuck waiting to hear back. I'm getting the impression that proving an absence is going to be tougher than I'd like.

To be fair, some schools have been VERY considerate of my situation, and I am so, so grateful to them for not making me feel like a second-class citizen for coming from a fatherless household! In fact, one school was like, "Are you kidding? Of COURSE it's okay to just send us your mother's tax forms! What school's giving you a hard time about it?? That's just crazy." What a sweet woman. I legit wanted to hug her.

(Before anyone starts defending why it's important for schools to have a clearly-defined, "fair" appeal process, let me just say that I definitely understand where the schools are coming from. I'm just blowing off steam because the process, in my opinion, imposes some unrealistic expectations on the applicant. Regardless, I'm sure everything will be just fine. Breathe in, breathe out, repeat as necessary.)

 

[Amygdarya]

Thank you for reporting back to us surely. Well, I guess we should feel very very special as children of single parents accepted to medical schools

A third-party professional my ***😡 (Now imagine coming from a different country...) This starts looking like a discrimination against people who already have a disadvantage of being raised in a single parent household...

Gosh, this process is so frustrating even *after* you get into a medical school...

Anyhow, I will let you guys know if I hear anything from NeedAccess.

 

[jeffs office]

I'm going to have to write petitions??? Ughhhh

 

[Espadaleader]

Oh much feels!!!! Okay, I am in the same boat. We're using our tax preparer as our 3rd party.

 

[surely]

Oh much feels!!!! Okay, I am in the same boat. We're using our tax preparer as our 3rd party.

If only I could do that. "Yes, hi, TurboTax? Can you do me a huge favor? ..."

 

[Espadaleader]

If only I could do that. "Yes, hi, TurboTax? Can you do me a huge favor? ..."

No, no. LOL!!! We're poor so my mom goes to free tax prepares from the state. We will use someone from that office. I personally use TurboTax too.

 

[Pose]

I am in the same boat. No contact with a father that left before I was born.

 

[Amygdarya]

Got a response from NeedAccess by email which pretty much repeats what Espaleader has said above:

... It is possible that you may... receive a red error message saying “Your parent form is not complete. Please complete all of the required sections before submitting.” If this is the case you will need to enter the parent form and complete all fields marked as required with a red asterisk. You can enter a 0 or n/a for these questions. The process should only take you a few minutes. Note in the special circumstances your personal situation and that the school does not need your parental data.

 

[Amygdarya]

Addendum: NeedAccess won't accept 00/00/0000 or anything like that for Date of Birth, so I called the company - and reached it! - and was told to put just any acceptable date, like your date of birth or something. Basically, fill out the form with some values it will accept and specify in Special Circumstances that in fact you don't have a non-custodial parent.

This is as far as NeedAccess is concerned. Documentation required for individual schools is a whole different can of worms...

 

[surely]

Update from my part: I don't want to go into too much detail here, lest I jeopardize my anonymity, but the financial aid departments look like they're working with me. Yay progress!

Posting this a) to reassure other applicants, and b) because I don't want to unjustly paint the financial aid folks as unfeeling when they're actually being pretty flexible with me. Fingers crossed, this might all work out fine after all.

 

[Leoz M Jiliums]

@surely @Espadaleader @Amygdarya

Hey Guys,

I'm using a family friend as the deponent for my letter, and we're not exactly sure what to include on it. Currently I have:

-State of my mother's relationship with me.
-How long/well my friend knows me.
-Date of my parent's divorce.
-Dad got full custody. Paid for education, living, etc.
-Date of last contact with my mother.

Did you guys include anything else? I've never had to do anything like this before, so I wanna be sure to get it right. Also did you guys include your AMCAS number or anything on the letter?

 

[surely]

@surely @Espadaleader @Amygdarya

Hey Guys,

I'm using a family friend as the deponent for my letter, and we're not exactly sure what to include on it. Currently I have:

-State of my mother's relationship with me.
-How long/well my friend knows me.
-Date of my parent's divorce.
-Dad got full custody. Paid for education, living, etc.
-Date of last contact with my mother.

Did you guys include anything else? I've never had to do anything like this before, so I wanna be sure to get it right. Also did you guys include your AMCAS number or anything on the letter?

Ooooh, deponent. Great word.

I think you're covering all the bases. In my case, I have *never* known my father and wouldn't be able to tell you his name under threat of physical harm, lol, so I couldn't include as much detail as you have. It made for an awkward letter, lemme tell you.

I would put the AMCAS ID in the first sentence, where it's like "My name is Blah and I'm writing with regard to Leoz M Jiliums, AMCAS ID 1455555." They probably don't need it, but it's nice to be thorough.

So far, schools have been very receptive to my situation, so I hope they are for you as well! Feel free to PM me the name of the school you're writing to, and I'll let you know if they're one of the schools I had to contact.

 

[Amygdarya]

I haven't had anyone write a letter in support of my story yet. To be honest, I'm kind of waiting to see what the schools tell me/what kind of information they request once they receive my forms. My situation is also complicated by the fact that I come from a very different, non-English-speaking country, and I recoil at the thought of having to look for a witness to corroborate my story back in the old country which I haven't visited in almost 8 years.

But, for what it's worth, @Leoz M Jiliums I think your letter sounds good 🙂

 

[Leoz M Jiliums]

I haven't had anyone write a letter in support of my story yet. To be honest, I'm kind of waiting to see what the schools tell me/what kind of information they request once they receive my forms. My situation is also complicated by the fact that I come from a very different, non-English-speaking country, and I recoil at the thought of having to look for a witness to corroborate my story back in the old country which I haven't visited in almost 8 years.

But, for what it's worth, @Leoz M Jiliums I think your letter sounds good 🙂

Thanks for your feedback Amy, best of luck to you.