Difficulty in Undergrad (Hopeful Post-Bacc)

[SoccergalGK1]

Hi All. I did not know where to place this conversation so here it is.

I am a student at a college in North Carolina. I also work full-time. I am working two jobs at the moment to support myself. I was classified as an independent student this school year. My father had a stroke during the second semester of my freshman year of college that left him bed ridden and he cannot walk anymore. He is currently in a nursing home. My mom is incarcerated. I rely on myself to ensure I can survive. However, I have noticed that I have dug myself into a bit of a hole. I currently have two D's. They are in history courses. The beginning of the semester, I was working a job that required long hours for little pay. I would get home at about 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM and worked five days a week serving. I noticed that I was unable to pay my rent and my insurance and more after 3 weeks of working. My question is: Does anyone have any better time management skills they can tell me about? I currently do not work there anymore since I was not gaining anything and I sacrificed a lot to work there. I am trying to get better grades now in my coursework. I also was wondering about sitting for the GRE and when I should do so. I would like to apply to post-bacc's in the Fall of 2016 as I am at junior standing currently but I am having some trouble keeping up my grades. Does anyone have any advice? Thank you.

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[SoccergalGK1]

bump? Anyone?

 

[SoccergalGK1]

Hello? Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Hailstorm]

It sounds like you were dealt a pretty crappy hand. At the end of the day though, the onus is on you to recognize your circumstances and find a way to overcome them. Whether that be through taking a break, attending school part time, or taking out loans so that you have the time that you need to be successful in your coursework.

 

[SoccergalGK1]

Thank you for responding. I am having some trouble with deciding whether to take out a private/personal loan now rather than waiting until after senior year to apply. I want to ensure that I can still attend a post-bacc or be able to study independently in a DIY with a private/personal loan rather than now. I would take a break but I do not want to be behind in my studies when I have made it this far already.

 

[thatkidavid]

I mirror Hailstorms thoughts, thats been a crappy hand. Now it is up to you to find a way to overcome this either through time management or help. I worked full time while attending full time and it was difficult to get home at 1-2am and doing homework and then sleeping a couple hours and then going to school. I found what helped was a calendar, either on my phone or a physical calendar. Also, with your employer, can you have specific days off? I would layer my schedule IE: Monday work, Tuesday off, Wednesday work, Thursday off and work Fri-Sun. That way I had those two days for sure to live in the library, catch up on homework/study. I was also lucky enough that my professors had their exams on predictable days IE: Exam Wednesday, well I had Tuesday off to study.

Loans can help, but they can be deadly if not handled properly. Especially private loans. If you do take them out, just ensure you handle them smartly and have a plan to repay once they become due. Luckily private loans can be deferred but of course they incur interest- So thats deadly.

Just take a second, breath and think everything through. You seem to be handling everything well to an extend thus far. Now its just time to find how to keep it going.

 

[SoccergalGK1]

At the moment my schedule is as you say and has been since the beginning of the semester. M/W/F/S/Su- I work and by work I mean I work two jobs. The other job I work on the weekends and they cut my hours to only Saturdays and I now have to find an additional job because I am not making the income that I need. Tuesdays and Thursdays I study and do homework but it is honestly very difficult because I have 8-10 page essays due basically each week and sometimes I just can't get it done. Between exhaustion and looking ahead at other homework, I feel burnt out a lot. I am hoping to work a lot during the next 3 weeks in order to take off for the majority of finals week. At the moment my second job cut my hours and I am struggling even more to make my bills. I will probably get a third job very soon. I have been looking into receptionist positions at hotels and am hoping to get a night audit position to help with getting control of my homework situation and have something that will pay a little more. My credit score recently got shot because I haven't been able to pay for my credit cards. I am just living paycheck to paycheck and haven't been able to put anything into my savings account since August. That is why I am really overwhelmed. I am not sure if taking a semester off will help but I am looking into it at the moment.

 

[SoccergalGK1]

Update:
I have finished finals but I noticed during the last couple of weeks I was still not doing relatively well. I believe that after dire circumstances (inability to pay bills-phone, car, rent, gas, credit cards) have taken adverse effects on my wellbeing. I was very stressed and as a result did VERY poorly this semester. I did so bad that I believe that I could be put on financial aid probation--even though they did not give me enough aid to live on campus and work less (approx. 12 hours per week) As I result I will more than likely be taking a semester off. In addition, I will more than likely be withdrawing from my institution because of the lack of aid I have received. I went from an above average student to mediocre student because of the stress of money to provide for myself. I am behind in my bills by approx. $1,500 and I know that I will have some difficulty with paying them in full if I do not work at least full time during this break. I will go to my state school in the summer term and return full time during next Fall to catch up.