College

[Andrew Lynch]

Just throwing this out there. Need to vent.

I have no possible way of paying for college. I'm an entering freshman with no savings. My mother works a minimum wage job, but she just got re-married, and my stepfather's income gets sent to my college, as per federal regulation. I have no way of paying for college, other than loans.



If I was black, i'd be set.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do?


Thanks.

 

[whiteathlete33]

What college are you attending if I may ask? Is it a community college or private college? Why aren't you eligible for financial aid? You should be.

 

[waterbed]

Buy the cheap versions of a expensive brand ,you got always people that don't know much about it and pay alot.for example buy cheap Gibson guitars on ebay and sell them at another site were they only got expensive gibsons and go a little under their prices.where i live in europe you got a lot of this sites and it is easy.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Andrew, you should be eligible for Pell Grants and you can apply for scholarships as well. To get a Pell Grant you'll have to fill out a FAFSA form, which you can do on the internet. It takes a while for those to be processed so I'd take care of that asap if you are planning on enrolling in the fall. If you don't know exactly what you are going to do yet, I would recommend going to a Community College. You'd save a lot of money and it would give you some time to decide on what you want to do. Another option is to get a job for a year or so until you decide what you want to do, then go to college. Just throwing out some info here, since I don't know exactly where you are in deciding on your career.

 

[Andrew Lynch]

I filled out the FAFSA and got no Pell Grant money whatsoever. I was basically told my parent's income (over 80 percent of which is my stepfather's) didn't warrant financial need. I was going to be a Science major at Western Ill, but if I can't get money, now i'm not sure. I have no idea why the feds use step parent income when collecting earnings information.

 

[Menelik]

GI Bill payed for 80 percent of my college. If the military isn't an option for you I would look into any possible work-study programs your school might have. If you have to take a Stafford loan be VERY VERY careful with how much money you take out. You don't want to be saddled with student loans 20 years down the road.

 

[DWFan]

Andrew, I've known a few people in the same situation and unfortunately don't know of any advice for you. However, at some point (22, I think?) this idiotic rule will not apply to you anymore.

 

[chris371]

In many courses you can get the material and learn from that.
So you could minimize the amount of time you spend in the actual college.

I work as a night watchman in the evenings, a job where i do nothing. Nothing. I have to look at the monitors every now and then. So i can basically study 90% of the time. Try getting a job like this. You can print out the material and study whilst " working" at the same time. So im getting paid to study, as such. Maybe you can get someone to hook you up with a job like that through some friends/family.

Maybe there are partial scholarships that cover a part of the costs?
Maybe you can get a loan to pay for some of the fees?
And spend your holidays working to save some cash.

My point is that you do lots of little things that all contribute to getting the cash together. A combination of scholarship, loan, working.

Its a pain, but thats what i do essentially.Edited by: chris371

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Andrew, once you hit 25, you are considered an independent student and your getting grants won't depend on your parents income. Yeah, the Pell Grant is income based. Sorry you weren't eligible. I know what its like. Like Menelik said, there are work study programs that will help offset the costs, and you can always apply for different scholarships. They aren't impossible to get, believe me. I'd recommend trying the work study, scholarships, working at a regular job if work study doesn't work out, and then going for a SUBSIDIZED Stafford loan as a LAST RESORT. Never get an unsubsized loan, and never get a loan unless you absolutely have to. I managed to get a Masters Degree without incurring any debt but had to take out a few loans while working on a Doctorate. I'd still consider going to a community college to take your core classes. This can buy you more time to get help for attending Western Illinois.
Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[jaxvid]

Join the military. Pick the Navy or Air Force so you aren't dodging shells in Afghanistan. You'll hate it for a while but when you're done you will have school money and some other benefits for the rest of your life. It'll get you out of school for a while and you can see the world or at least some parts of it.