How do you pay for college?

[ATexas]

How did you guys or do you guys pay for University and also for Medical School along with housing and every other costs beside small loans?
So basically, I am at Austin Community College and applying for transfer to UTAustin/Texas State/Rice this this Fall 2016. Currently I am working at a gas store full-time while attending full-time classes like CalcII, Org Chemistry, etc. I should mention that I had a bad 2.9 GPA at a previous community college that I went to for a few years in California but in Austin, I have a 3.9 GPA so far with almost all A's. I am also living on a paycheck-to-paycheck kind of deal basically because I am fully independent and take care of rent, food, tuition, etc.
So with all that background info, I was wondering what would happen if I applied for those colleges in Austin and also one in Dallas and one in Houston (UT's). How would I be able to pay for everything like I am doing now? Atleast I have a flexible fulltime work now near me and it's pretty stable for the journey in college.
Also, how do you guys pay for college and plan to play for Med School? Do you take lots of loans from college or work part-time during University and then just loans during Med School? Please help me with this financial decision which will help me guide where I apply for University this month aandd.. which will guide my life too. Thank you very much.

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[Pound4Pound]

Most people take out loans for medical school and expenses. You're very fortunate to be living in Texas. Med schools in the south are a lot cheaper compare to the rest of the country.

For undergrad, I worked part time during the weekends and went to the cheapest state university.

 

[GreenDuck12]

First off, nice work turning things around after a rough start in CA. Paying for college is difficulty, luckily in TX your state schools are reasonably affordable. I would not recommend attending Rice, as it is a private university and is significantly more expensive (unless they offer you a very generous scholarship or you see other opportunities that make the added cost worth it). UT Austin is one of the best universities in the country (great research opportunities in sciences).

As for paying for college. First step, submit FAFSA and apply for as many need based / merit based scholarships as you can. With your GPA, you may be able to swing some (this is how I paid for my tuition throughout undergrad). As for living expenses, all universities have residence halls and resident assistants. Resident assistants are usually given free room and board along with a (small) stipend (this is how I paid for living expenses for two years). Besides those things, I usually worked 2 to 3 part time jobs that were flexible with my schedule. You also will be able to take out loans from your university to cover your tuition and living expenses. This is an option that is available to anyone but be careful with accumulating too much debt. Keep your expenses in check and you'll be fine.

The big thing you have to remember is that your GPA is incredibly important for medical school admissions. Do not over extend yourself with classes and work commitments. If you need to, you can always go to school part time. Hope this helps.

 

[TallPreMed]

How do I pay for college

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I accelerated my life.

 

[cabinbuilder]

I took out loans and worked 2 jobs while in undergrad. It took me 17 years to pay off those loans.
I took out full loans in medical school and have paid on them the past 7 years.

 

[rangerdad]

My wife and I are both attending college using our 9/11 GI Bill benefits, BOG fee waiver, scholarships and Financial Aid (Pell-Grants and Loans). The plan is to only get loans when necessary. Additionally, I'm going to transfer to the Vocational Rehab program and hopefully they pay for medical school. My wife will have to get loans for medical school. Afterwards we will work either with the VA Department or the state to pay half of our debt, we'll see. As long as we don't quit we will be fine. It's a process and financial planning is paramount for success.


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