S
sarah a
Guest
I am 19, living in the Boston area currently. I got accepted into a college I've been dying to go to, but it's out of state. I visited the campus already and absolutely love it. The town is totally charming, small and cute, which is exactly where I'd like to be, the staff are nice, but they don't offer much financial aid service to students out-of-state. I could get a maximum of between 1,500-2,500 dollars per year to cover my expenses. Here's the problem: me and my parents have virtually no money to throw down on the bill. Including Room & Board, Tuition Expenses top at just over 22,000 a year - a price that's likely to go up as inflation continues to rise. So, what can I do? My dad and I have filled out the FAFSA - but no such luck. He makes a good salary, but unfortunately due to circumstances with my mother and divorce, a majority of his paycheck is spent dealing with past courtship and other legality issues. Since I am only 19, the government considers me as a legal dependent of his, even if I am living on my own, even if I am paying my own bills - until I'm at least 24 years old, or married, so their contribution package equaled Zero. He said that come September, he could afford to give me 200-300$ a month towards college, but not any more. Even if I applied that ~250$ a month to the yearly bill, it still leaves somewhere between $17,000-$17,500 of expenses. Now as it stands, I've only managed to save about 300$ towards college and it looks like I might be needing that money soon. I was just laid off (company downsizing) and unemployment might not cut the bills for the next 6 months or until I can find something better. So I've got practically nilch to contribute.
Here is my question. Being only a B student in High School, how can I find a way to afford going to the college of my dreams without sacrificing my life and putting me and my family in debt?! I really kind of fell in love with the school while being there, and just thinking about how great it would be to live on campus. So while I know I could probably find a school in Massachusetts for a lot less (state-based aid at least), I only want to take that option if there's really no way for me to go. I know 17,000 is a hefty sum to come up with - but it would decrease to 16,000, 15,000 and 14,000 by my senior year because I'd be applying for more aid. I realize that if I decide to go I will probably be in debt for a long time afterward. What I want to know is how long, and if I can even afford to pay it off or if the government will come after me because I can't make payments on my student loans.
I've even considered changing my major to part-time, and trying to find a full-time or fairly good paying part time job while I'm enrolled. I have no problem with working and going to college at the same time. But I would need a salary of at least ~mid 20's to cover my own expenses like food, etc. And finding a job in a different state will be hard. (I do have many skills with computers though)
Here is my question. Being only a B student in High School, how can I find a way to afford going to the college of my dreams without sacrificing my life and putting me and my family in debt?! I really kind of fell in love with the school while being there, and just thinking about how great it would be to live on campus. So while I know I could probably find a school in Massachusetts for a lot less (state-based aid at least), I only want to take that option if there's really no way for me to go. I know 17,000 is a hefty sum to come up with - but it would decrease to 16,000, 15,000 and 14,000 by my senior year because I'd be applying for more aid. I realize that if I decide to go I will probably be in debt for a long time afterward. What I want to know is how long, and if I can even afford to pay it off or if the government will come after me because I can't make payments on my student loans.
I've even considered changing my major to part-time, and trying to find a full-time or fairly good paying part time job while I'm enrolled. I have no problem with working and going to college at the same time. But I would need a salary of at least ~mid 20's to cover my own expenses like food, etc. And finding a job in a different state will be hard. (I do have many skills with computers though)