I am currently in School as a freshman. This is my first quarter, and I was hoping to be able to just attend continuosly, but I can't. I have to wait and see if I can qualify for any scholarships for the winter or spring quarters. I find it completely obsurd that you can find very little help with paying for school if you are a caucasian, middle class citizen. I believe that I am lower class because I am unemployed, but the government still considers me a dependent of my parents. I think that is ridiculous. There is no way for me to get help with school because of their income. So what does one do if they don't have parents who will pay for it, or if they can't get government assistance? I tried taking out a loan for school, but being so young and not having any credit, I can't even do that without a cosigner. Honestly though, who is going to be willing to put their own credit at risk? Not many people that I know. Also, not every parent has the best credit, and they always say "ask your parents if they will cosign for it." Not all parents are like that. Mine however, were willing to cosign, but did not get accepted because they had their wallets stolen and now have had to lock their credit. I find it to be ridiculous that not everyone can get help. Not all people really pay attention and do well in high school, I was one of them. I have a very low GPA but I am unable to get assistance. Therefore, I cannot get scholarships or grants or loans.
Tuition
By amberperrine - Posted on July 22nd, 2009
amberperrine's blog
• Login or register to add your review
• 244 reads
• by amberperrine
• Email this page
My parents don't make near enough to help me out in any way, but the government says they make TOO much for them to help me out. I applied to over 30 scholarships in a matter of 5 months and didn't get one. So I am totally in the same boat as you. What I found out just recently though is that there are some groups I can get involved with at school and they will HELP pay. I just got onto student government and they are now going to pay 50% of my tuition and book fees. I have heard of different clubs too but they were categories I really did not fit into. Maybe, just maybe you could talk to your school and see if there are any different activities you could get into that would help pay? Also you could ask about work study, I think you can do that even if you don't qualify for federal funding.
I'm a white girl, in my sophomore year of college. I totally understand where you are coming from, and unfortunately don't have a lot of advice. First, I'd think you'd want to downsize, if at all possible. If you are out of state, stay in state. If you're in state, go to community college (at least for a while). Community college would allow you to build up your GPA, and make you more eligible for scholarships.
While it will be hard, look into a job that you can work while in school. I work about ten hours a week at minimum wage and can bring in like $2000 a year. That will cover my tuition. I take it that when you applied for your FAFSA you didn't get a Stafford Loan? That's how I get my room and board costs (about $5000 a semester), and I didn't need a co-signer for mine.
Also, I have no idea what your major is, but in my search for scholarships I've seen a LOT of them for people who want to be nurses. There are also quite a few for engineering majors. You can call your state's Department of Education; they sometimes have scholarships that you can't find other places.
I'm a white, middle class girl, and I managed to get about 3/4 of my entire undergrad tuition paid for through scholarships. They are out there for people who take the time to look for them. FAFSA does not hold the key to your entire education.
"What a crazy random happenstance!"
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Read my Blog!
I know the feeling. I'm lucky enough to have parents who can pay a large part of my tuition, but my brother will be starting college in a year as well, and I'm in need of scholarships. I've got some sort of student loan and a single small scholarship from my school, but nothing else.
And trust me, it's not for lack of trying. I've applied for over 200 scholarships, and haven't won a single one. My GPA seems to be as much a problem as yours, because I graduated high school with a 4.0 but wasn't valedictorian, and nearly every scholarship I've found that asks for your GPA is aimed at people with around a 3.5. This makes me angry. I actually did well in school, and it's making it harder for me to continue my education.
So I'm going to graduate college poor, unemployed, and many thousands of dollars in debt. Joy.
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
--
Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
i know what you mean and it totally sucks... unfortunately minorities have more power than citizens who have lived in america their whole life... and the country wonders why were in debt like a trillion dollars. haha
Minority and immigrant are not interchangeable terms!
And not all Americans that have lived in the USA their whole life are caucasian. A very substantial portion of Americans that have lived in America their whole lives are minorities and a large portion of these even have grandparents (or even longer lineages) who were born in America.
Likewise, not all immigrants are minorities. While Latin America and Asia dominate the top spots for countries contributing immigrants for the last couple of decades, lots of immigrants are coming from central Europe and are completely caucasian.
Please use language carefully. If you mean minority then say minority and if you mean immigrant then say immigrant and if you mean minority immigrant then use both words.
I am totally on board with the idea that the racial/ethnic spoils system in scholarships and college admissions needs to stop. If we want racism to end then the government and our important institutions like colleges need to stop practicing racism.
I also would like to see a sharp curtailment of immigration. The melting pot is over-whelmed and with 10% plus unemployment and a decade of wage stagnation we really don't need to be expanding our labor supply. Every problem we have in America gets harder to solve as we add people and most immigrants tend to be at the low end of the economic scale and add to the problems rather than contributing to the solution.