Advice on paying for school

[SouthernNikki]

I could really use some advice on how to pay for school.

I've applied to a public state university for the fall. I've done FAFSA, and I've looked into grants and scholarships. If I got approved to receive federal student loans, that would cover right at about $45k of my undergrad. However, that leaves a remaining $100k (approximate), and my intentions would be to go to medical school after I get my B.S. in psychology.

We have been struggling financially since about 2017, when my mental health started to deteriorate. I still struggle, and don't currently have a job. We were forced to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Sept. 2018 to avoid losing our home (we would've had nowhere to go). I'm having a lot of trouble finding someone willing to help me with student loans because of my financial history.

A cosigner is absolutely not an option. I have no friends, family or coworkers that would cosign (or that would have the ability to, given their own financial situations).

Do any of you have any advice? Honestly I'm starting to lose hope on becoming a psychiatrist, or even getting a Bachelor's degree.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TMP-SMX]

We need more information about your background. How old are you? Are you married? Do you have children? Is the home yours or that of your parents? Was this your own bankruptcy or that of your parents? What's your current debt situation and is there any income in your household? You are correct you are unlikely to qualify for plus loans if you had a recent personal bankruptcy without a cosigner. Could you go for a community college first while you get more stable financially?

 

[SouthernNikki]

We need more information about your background. How old are you? Are you married? Do you have children? Is the home yours or that of your parents? Was this your own bankruptcy or that of your parents? What's your current debt situation and is there any income in your household? You are correct you are unlikely to qualify for plus loans if you had a recent personal bankruptcy without a cosigner. Could you go for a community college first while you get more stable financially?

I'm 29 and married (my husband is also wanting to continue his education). We have a home in my husband's name, though our mortgage payment is included in our bankruptcy. We filed Chapter 13 last September and are paying a 100% plan. My husband brings in about $500 every week. Because of my mental health, I've had trouble holding a job since 2017, which is the entire reason we got behind. But, in order for us to attend classes we will need to go to the campus, so we would need to include living expenses into our student loans for our B.S. degrees and medical school.

I don't see a point in taking classes at a community college. Federal loans wouldn't cover the cost of continuing our education, even at a CC, as we would still be including our living expenses into the student loans. We need to attend courses on campus (as opposed to online) because most medical schools don't accept online coursework, and we don't want to limit ourselves and just hope that we will both get approved to the same one that does accept online coursework. And, in order for us to be able to attend our classes on campus, keeping full time jobs isn't an option. Part time would be useless because it wouldn't even cover our living expenses.

 

[TMP-SMX]

I'm sorry you are in this situation it might feel like it is hopeless but it is not. You need some solid advice to completely review your finances and what you are able to afford. I would contact your local county to see if they can assist. You don't make enough money to own a home from what you have said. I'd strongly consider renting until things are more stable. Your cost of living is way too high estimating 36k a year over 4 years but I'm not sure how much of that is tuition/fees compared to your bankruptcy and living costs. Assuming you qualify for Medicaid and potentially even SNAP to handle some of those living costs. That would handle healthcare and food. Living costs could be subsidized as well through government assistance. Community college would be a much better bet in my opinion than a 4 year university for now given the much lower costs. If you are able to do work study or part time work while doing your basic science courses and general education classes you could save a significant amount of money.

 

[SouthernNikki]

I'm sorry you are in this situation it might feel like it is hopeless but it is not. You need some solid advice to completely review your finances and what you are able to afford. I would contact your local county to see if they can assist. You don't make enough money to own a home from what you have said. I'd strongly consider renting until things are more stable. Your cost of living is way too high estimating 36k a year over 4 years but I'm not sure how much of that is tuition/fees compared to your bankruptcy and living costs. Assuming you qualify for Medicaid and potentially even SNAP to handle some of those living costs. That would handle healthcare and food. Living costs could be subsidized as well through government assistance. Community college would be a much better bet in my opinion than a 4 year university for now given the much lower costs. If you are able to do work study or part time work while doing your basic science courses and general education classes you could save a significant amount of money.

There's no assistance available for us. We wouldn't even be able to rent because of our credit, which has a repossession and a bankruptcy. It wouldn't matter, because if we rented a regular apartment without government assistance, we have 5 pets and I doubt they would let us rent an apartment with them. Either that or we wouldn't be able to afford the pet fee they would charge us, if they even allow pets at all. If we did receive government assistance (which would take forever to arrange because we don't have dependents), no pets are allowed in government housing where I live.

I ran the numbers for our local community college -- I still wouldn't be able to attend if I got the max federal loan of $9,500 annually. I wouldn't be able to work full time because I need to be able to take the classes on campus, and working part time would be pointless because it wouldn't even cover living expenses.

 

[NITRAS]

Be careful. You need to slow things down.

Don’t worry about med school at this time. You are a long way from there.
You need to figure out why you have money problems. Is income issue, a spending issue? Both.

Don’t paint yourself in a corner with no options. People make bad decisions when they feel they are forced.

You need need get this part figured out first. Student loans are not a blessing. You will pay them back even if you don’t get a degree or a high paying job. Also, the vast majority of chapter 13 bankruptcies fail because the issues of why they went broke were not addressed.

 

[SouthernNikki]

Be careful. You need to slow things down.

Don’t worry about med school at this time. You are a long way from there.
You need to figure out why you have money problems. Is income issue, a spending issue? Both.

Don’t paint yourself in a corner with no options. People make bad decisions when they feel they are forced.

You need need get this part figured out first. Student loans are not a blessing. You will pay them back even if you don’t get a degree or a high paying job. Also, the vast majority of chapter 13 bankruptcies fail because the issues of why they went broke were not addressed.

Primarily an income issue. In 2017, my mental health got substantially worse (bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety) and I haven't been able to hold a job since then. I've considered SSDI but I ended up finding another job because we can't go without the income (the process takes forever if you even get approved), so I don't end up applying because attorneys won't take your case (where I live) if you're working and trying to get disability benefits. And it's just been going back and forth since then.

We were forced into bankruptcy because we were going to lose our house, and we had nowhere else we could've gone if we let the foreclosure process continue.

 

[DoctHouse]

Why would you spend $100k+ on a 4 year degree ever? That's insane. I definitely suggest community college first ONLY if it's cheaper than a 4 year where you live. For people here in Cali, it's essentially free (super cheap to pay for CC). And from what I've read, you say that CC is out the window because you wouldn't receive federal aid? Look into local community colleges and their scholarships and grant programs and maybe you can find a way. I can't imagine ever going 2 years first at a 4 year uni and get in debt x5 the amount.

Before that though, I'd attack the anxiety problem and then I'd suggest finding a job and saving money prior to school. Med schools do accept online work for a SMALL amount classes, not all or most of the BCPM classes though. The M.S.A.R. has all the info on that, and saw my nearest med school accepts online work for Biochem, which was strange but good to know.

If you are to attend a 4 year for the financial assistance, you might want to have a back up plan, such as majoring in something more practical like Engineering in case you were to change your mind when graduating and would like to find a good paying job ASAP right out of college... because with Psych, that's almost impossible. Good luck.