So here is my situation:
-Mother is disabled, receives small monthly checks
-Father laid off at Thanksgiving, currently unemployed
-Me working part time and going to school part time
-Younger sister full time student
-Parents filed bankruptcy due to medical bills
-House ready to be foreclosed
-Car ready to be repossessed
-No heat during winter
-Canned goods from food pantry throughout winter
And somehow FAFSA says I should be able to contribute $12,000 to my college education this year. It just boggles my mind because we are struggling to afford our house and only recently have been able to afford some food for the table (tax $). Apparently my father was only unemployed for two months in 2007, so it doesn't count for much, though he is still unemployed now.
I'm not even eligible for any grants, though my sister receives free lunch at school. I don't know, the way the whole system works is just insane! I called a man from FAFSA and he was absolutely no help, just said, "Well it appears as though you should be able to afford it". Wha? If I could afford it I wouldn't be calling him on the verge of tears. So he tells me to call the school I'm applying to.
Since I couldn't afford my dream school/career and had to drop the private institution for theatre, I'm trying to get into a nursing school to make some money and take care of my family. So, I call that community school and the woman tells me that FAFSA stands and no corrections can be made. Tuition for the year is $13,000 so I am supposed to be affording almost all of it on my own. Here's another tricky part: since my parents filed bankruptcy a year or so ago, they have no credit and cannot cosign on student loans for me. I am unable to get them myself because I don't have enough credit history. My relatives won't help because they all have kids of their own.
So where do I go now? Where are the kids stuck in the middle supposed to go? I have applied for numerous scholarships, applied for student loans on my own and been denied, written letters to the state representatives, contacted FAFSA and the school's financial aid department.....I really didn't want to resort to the lottery, but here goes nothing...
Anyone else have this problem?
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I'm practically in that same situation you are. My parents filed bancruptcy when I was a sophomore in high school. I was so worried I wouldn't make it through, but I did anyhow. Although my parents still work full time, they get paid about $50,000/year combined, my FAFSA won't qualify for me at my community college. I'm there on loan completely. Sucks to go there and pay back about $5,000 once you leave there. But right now, I'm going to Towson in the fall so I only need to pay back about $3,000 because I'm getting an institutional grant and a possible scholarship from the state education commission. (MHEC)
I think you're being offered less money because you're a part time student. If you're part time, you only have to pay less tuition. Same with going to a 2 year school like I am. I save money that way by going to a 2 year then transferring to a university. And besides, if you're on here, I'll bet there's a chance you can win money! Go out for other scholarships and save some money you earned for work. I hope that helps.
sounds like you are in a difficult situation. As for this upcoming year, you might not be able to pay for school. If you work for a year then file your fafsa as an independant student, using that year of work for your w2, the government should take care of most of the cost.
That's what I did. If you want to go to college bad enough you will figure out a way.
Good luck
"my first name must be, "He aint sh@t", cause everytime I come through, yall be like "He aint sh@t"!....I'll be dat" --Redman
"Anything that can go wrong, Will go wrong"----Murphy's Law
Yeah that might end up happening. It's just difficult because I went to school for theatre for two years and graduated, took a year off to work and save only to have to give my money to saving our house. Then I applied to a private school for theatre and was accepted. I took out a small loan for summer classes with my uncle, and when it came time to take out another one for the upcoming fall/spring, he backed out and I had to drop my classes two weeks before they started. So, I've been taking one class a semester so I don't have to pay back my first student loan just yet. Now, I absolutely can't afford the private school though I took out 5k in loans for it, and don't even know if I can afford a nursing program.
It's weird, I'm a independent on my taxes and yet I'll still be considered a dependent with FAFSA until I am 24. This past year the three of our combined incomes was about $30,000.
I know I want to go to school bad enough, but then you're put in the position of, do I save all my money and have our family living on the streets, or do I help with the bills and put college off again and again? I'm hoping at least to get some federal loans, but they didn't sound too promising. Thanks for the posts, they helped!
Times flies like the wind; fruit flies like a banana.
I'm a high school senior, I just went through all the motions with applying for financial aid and all, and I feel for you. Parts of your frustrating situation reminded me of mine: My dad is disabled and unemployed, he's on Medicare and basically lives off those SS checks/ has lots of medical bills, and my parents are divorced.
What gets me is, even though my dad isn't legally required to assist with my education costs, colleges assume he will. I'm expected to come up with 16 K's for four years straight to pay for college. It's ridiculous that the government or some college thinks it can tell ME how much I can afford to pay. I can't do that. I work a minimum wage job, and I did really well in high school, well enough for a lot of merit aid. Still not enough, though. I called all my schools to ask for more aid; they tell me they don't "negotiate" aid packages.
I've tried scholarships, but of course they're not guaranteed and I'm not counting on them. Besides, some schools will deduct from your financial aid if you receive significant outside scholarships.
I've always thought that education is the path to bettering your life, but how are you supposed to do that when you can't afford it? Your family gets stuck in this cycle, trying to better themselves but hitting their heads on the glass ceiling and falling down every time. Our government should help level the playing field and offer more aid for attending college.
Of course, that won't help us out any. I've seriously considered JEOPARDY.
PS, I'm sure you've looked into these things, but you're blog didn't mention them too much. Have you looked into community college or work study programs? Does your high school have a college guidance counselor, or any type of counselors? They won't solve your problems by a long shot, but a little relief is way better than nothing.
Yeah I've looked into work study...wanna hear something ridiculous? They said I am only eligible for work study programs if I am already a full time student, lol. Well that just defeats the whole purpose now doesn't it?
I'm going to my old high school this week to ask about some local scholarships. I was somewhat friendly with them so hopefully they can help out. The first college I went to was a community college where I got my associates. It's weird, because they basically gave me a free ride, and now we don't make that much more money and the gov won't give me anything. I'm just going to try to save as much money as I can during the summer and hopefully can find some sort of loan before September to cut the difference.
Jeopardy is a good idea! I tried getting on Deal or No deal, HAHAHAHA!
Times flies like the wind; fruit flies like a banana.
Keep it up with the work. You tried to get on Deal or No Deal? Wow. And now you're considering Jeopardy. My dad tells me you have to go through all these tests so you can answer as many questions as you can. They can sometimes be really hard, and there are other times where they're just normal stuff in the popular culture like The Beatles or movies.
Good luck!
I am in that situation myself. It is almost impossible to run a household and go to school. The best thing to do would be to write a personal letter to your school's financial aid office to see if they have any scholarships or grants they can offer you. I have never received anything by filling out my FAFSA forms, I think they are a complete waste of time. The best thing to do is to go and look elsewhere for scholarships. There are even work-study programs on college campuses that can help - I did this at one time.
I've been there, too. I was on my own during high school, and I had to write a petition to not submit my parents' info even though I had filed as independent for 3 years before I started college. I don't think you can legally force your parents to give their info, and you definitely can't force them to pay it. It's truly a ridiculous situation. Luckily, I did have the credit to get loans, but many do not. What happens when you don't have contact with your parents and haven't filed taxes? Some FA offices won't even process loans without a FAFSA on file.
F*** Religion. Read more here:
http://www.progressiveu.org/020528-f-religion