From: Student Financial Services <sfs@wellesley.edu>
Date: On Tuesday, October 14th, 2025
Thank you for contacting Student Financial Services. Wellesley adheres to the principle that both biological parents, regardless of their current marital status, play a primary role in providing for their child’s education. Accordingly, we require financial information from both biological parents and expect each to provide reasonable financial support during their child’s time at Wellesley. Generally, neither a parent’s refusal to contribute to a child’s education nor a parent’s unwillingness to provide financial information is sufficient to allow a student to have parent information or contribution waived.
While Wellesley College policy requires financial information from both natural/adoptive parents to determine a student’s financial aid award, we recognize that obtaining this information is not always feasible or appropriate. Depending on your answers to the CSS Profile questions, we may not post a request for your CSS Non-Custodial Parent Profile. Otherwise, you may submit the Noncustodial Parent Waiver Request, which allows applicants to request a waiver of noncustodial parent information.
If you feel this process is appropriate for you, please complete all questions, leaving no blanks and answering “unknown” or “not applicable” as appropriate. Only completed petitions with third party documentation, a personal statement, and all appropriate signatures will be reviewed. Please then upload these items to the IDOC portal. Submission of the Noncustodial Parent Waiver Petition does not automatically ensure that non-custodial information will be waived. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will review requests on a case by case basis. Response time will vary based on our volume of requests at that time. Note that if your request is approved, the document request will be waived. Until that time, the requirement will continue to show on your checklist.
If you have questions, please call our office. You may also set up an appointment with our office. Our counselors are assigned by the first letter of your last name and their calendars may be found on our website here.
Best regards,