moving costs/financial aid

[meowkat444]

After taking a long hard look at my finances, I'm trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to pull this summer off, and I'd love to hear from people who have faced the same thing. I want to travel but I just don't know if that's going to be possible.

So... how the hell do you cover moving costs/security deposits etc? I'm self-supporting and no, my family is not a resource. Is there some sort of loan option? Should I be filling out a FAFSA? Talking to the schools?

Anyone else freaking out about this? I'm good with managing money, I just just don't get paid much and have spent thousands of dollars getting in.

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[jlamacc1]

I'm in a similar financial situation insofar as I have to fund my escape...er, relocation. As a safety net, I processed any unused Stafford loans I had access to this semester and got a 12 month 0% apr AMEX card. Needless to say, I won't be touring Europe this summer.

 

[BoSoxMack]

After taking a long hard look at my finances, I'm trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to pull this summer off, and I'd love to hear from people who have faced the same thing. I want to travel but I just don't know if that's going to be possible.

So... how the hell do you cover moving costs/security deposits etc? I'm self-supporting and no, my family is not a resource. Is there some sort of loan option? Should I be filling out a FAFSA? Talking to the schools?

Anyone else freaking out about this? I'm good with managing money, I just just don't get paid much and have spent thousands of dollars getting in.

Despite being accepted to a few programs, I stilled filled out a FAFSA for these schools, and I would recommend it for the reason you mention. You might need some money before your first pay check. Plus honestly 20 something thousand a year is not a lot, and it is very easy to conceive scenarios where heaven forbid you need to take out a loan. It would be beneficial to have the option to take out federally-sudsidized loans which you wont have to pay back until after you graduate, interest free.

 

[Neuronix]

After taking a long hard look at my finances, I'm trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to pull this summer off, and I'd love to hear from people who have faced the same thing. I want to travel but I just don't know if that's going to be possible.

Sorry to hear it, but I empathize. It feels like almost everyone in this game is still getting parent support, or at the very least could easily fall back on them if necessary, and that's simply not true for me. After spending that summer really broke the program kept my $100 deposit and I was really pissed about that because I expected it back.

So... how the hell do you cover moving costs/security deposits etc? I'm self-supporting and no, my family is not a resource. Is there some sort of loan option? Should I be filling out a FAFSA? Talking to the schools?

I did the summer rotation for the money. Then thanks to good ol beuracracy I didn't get paid a big lump sum until the END of the rotation. You can try talking to your future program, but it's not clear how helpful they'll be. I had these problems and was basically told sorry, we can't help you. I ended up living where I was for undergrad that summer while I did the rotation, which fortunately was only an hour each way away by commuter train.

You should fill out a FAFSA, because you may be able to get sub loans (this is program dependent) your first year. This will help defray your costs a lot. The problem is you STILL won't have that money to move in with. In the worst case you could always try living in student housing the first semester/year, as they're not going to be looking for the same credit checks/security deposit, and they know you're going to be getting the money from the school.

You may also have some luck (depending on the area) with just moving into a super cheap room/sublet for the summer and/or first semester until you can get some money.