Tuition

[Undecided94]

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I just got my financial aid package and basically I can't afford to go to school. It's the public state school and it's cheap but I can't afford it.

In scholarship money I only have 1,400 a semester. The school will give me grants (5,550), work study (about $2,000) and I have to take out loans (about $2,000) every semester. I can't afford what's left over. Some suggested getting a job but being a science major with work study already seems too much for me. I will have to be a part of some dental club and need to volunteer so i'm not sure if I can hold two jobs. It seems as if I have to study twice as hard as everybody else and it usually takes me twice the time it takes others so that's a problem.

My mom suggested I find an apartment (room&board will be cheaper) and take the CNA exam. I'm almost 17 so finding a job will be that much harder.

I'm stressed out right now & I don't know what to do. Is working two jobs really that bad? Any suggestions, experience, and/or advice is very much appreciated.

 

[astrife]

I just got my financial aid package and basically I can't afford to go to school. It's the public state school and it's cheap but I can't afford it.

In scholarship money I only have 1,400 a semester. The school will give me grants (5,550), work study (about $2,000) and I have to take out loans (about $2,000) every semester. I can't afford what's left over. Some suggested getting a job but being a science major with work study already seems too much for me. I will have to be a part of some dental club and need to volunteer so i'm not sure if I can hold two jobs. It seems as if I have to study twice as hard as everybody else and it usually takes me twice the time it takes others so that's a problem.

My mom suggested I find an apartment (room&board will be cheaper) and take the CNA exam. I'm almost 17 so finding a job will be that much harder.

I'm stressed out right now & I don't know what to do. Is working two jobs really that bad? Any suggestions, experience, and/or advice is very much appreciated.

Get your mother to cosign more loans for you.

 

[Undecided94]

She has bad credit & she's my only parent. I honestly don't want any more loans.

 

[Long Way to Go]

She has bad credit & she's my only parent. I honestly don't want any more loans.

Apply for outside scholarships and take loans in the meantime. Either that, or attend a community college for a few semesters and then transfer. Do you really have another option?

 

[Undecided94]

I guess there really aren't any options. Just hoping you guys had anything new to bring to the table.

I am earning my AA so I don't want to spend anymore time at a CC taking pre-reqs. I'll just get two jobs when I move.

I work right now and I guess two jobs won't kill me.

 

[circulus vitios]

Why do you only have $2000 in loans? I think all students qualify for FAFSA loans, which are $3500/4500/5500/5500 for freshman/sophomore/junior/senior years.

 

[Undecided94]

The school offered me that amount in loans because that's what I need to cover tuition. It is financial aid. I'll just suck it up & take the loans...

 

[anth]

I just got my financial aid package and basically I can't afford to go to school. It's the public state school and it's cheap but I can't afford it.

In scholarship money I only have 1,400 a semester. The school will give me grants (5,550), work study (about $2,000) and I have to take out loans (about $2,000) every semester. I can't afford what's left over. Some suggested getting a job but being a science major with work study already seems too much for me. I will have to be a part of some dental club and need to volunteer so i'm not sure if I can hold two jobs. It seems as if I have to study twice as hard as everybody else and it usually takes me twice the time it takes others so that's a problem.

My mom suggested I find an apartment (room&board will be cheaper) and take the CNA exam. I'm almost 17 so finding a job will be that much harder.

I'm stressed out right now & I don't know what to do. Is working two jobs really that bad? Any suggestions, experience, and/or advice is very much appreciated.

I have been very involved in the process with parents and am pretty familiar with your situation, I would need some more info though. I see you are from Florida.
What is Your EFC?
What school is it?
How many in household?
Did you apply anywhere else?
Mom Working?
Is there a father involved?
ACT or SAT Score?
GPA?
Class Rank?
Total Cost Of attendance?

 

[Undecided94]

Anth,

What is Your EFC?
0

What school is it?
I've been accepted to a few Florida universities and I am getting the same thing (loan offers). For FSU I would have to take out $12,000 in loans per year & for USF I'd have to take out $6,000. I'm not sure if i'm interested in UF, UCF or UNF yet.

How many in household?
7 including me.

Mom Working?
Yes

Is there a father involved?
My moms boyfriend but he doesn't work.

ACT or SAT Score?
V520 M510 W670 (I know this sucks but I only took it once).

GPA?
3.8

Class Rank?
In top 10%

Total Cost Of attendance?
about $19,000 for all of the schools.

 

[bucks2010]

I just got my financial aid package and basically I can't afford to go to school. It's the public state school and it's cheap but I can't afford it.

In scholarship money I only have 1,400 a semester. The school will give me grants (5,550), work study (about $2,000) and I have to take out loans (about $2,000) every semester. I can't afford what's left over. Some suggested getting a job but being a science major with work study already seems too much for me. I will have to be a part of some dental club and need to volunteer so i'm not sure if I can hold two jobs. It seems as if I have to study twice as hard as everybody else and it usually takes me twice the time it takes others so that's a problem.

My mom suggested I find an apartment (room&board will be cheaper) and take the CNA exam. I'm almost 17 so finding a job will be that much harder.

I'm stressed out right now & I don't know what to do. Is working two jobs really that bad? Any suggestions, experience, and/or advice is very much appreciated.

Don't do the CNA unless you know you can get a job with it. Otherwise you'll waste hundreds of $.

You need to meet with the financial counselor at your school. The point of financial aid is to make sure you can afford to go to school. If what you're offered isn't enough, meet with the financial aid officer and get something worked out. Maybe more loans or something.

Don't, don't, don't try 2 jobs, especially as a freshman. 2 jobs will NOT make up for a sucky GPA in the med school admissions process. Take out the loans and give yourself time to do well in your classes. I repeat, do NOT sacrifice your GPA for a couple thousand dollars per year. It's not worth it.

 

[absolutdokta]

I agree with whats being said about not taking extra work to offset the price. Take the loans, focus on busting your butt and doing well in school. Your hard will pay off when its all said and done.

 

[Undecided94]

Thanks for the tip with the CNA thing. I'm not sure if I would be more stressed about having two jobs or taking out over $10,000 dollars in loans a year. I will call financial aid today to see if there's anything they can do about it.

Thanks again!

 

[anth]

Well Unfortunatly we have a harsh reality here. It does not seem as though your stats qualify for any merit aid. Even if you were to go to a University that met 100% of demonstated need, that does not mean that it will all be in grants. The majority of need is always loans. College is a business and when they give out grants that means that they are giving away their money, when it is loans, that means you are getting money from somwhere else and giving it to the school.

There does seem to be some discrepancy in the totals though. you stated that the total cost of attendance is 19,000. All the schools that you mentioned have an in state tuition of about 5000.

Are you taking college courses now for an associates and where?
Do you have any money saved for college?
How much is room and board?
How much are Books?
are you URM?

many questions need to be addressed before we can come up with a plan of attack.
Can you commute?

 

[Undecided94]

Thanks for replying! I said about $19,000 because that's the estimated maximum total on the school websites. It includes everything. I considered staying home but there's no way I can drive three hours to go to USF (no license yet).

I will be graduating from Valencia CC this semester with an AA. I only have $2,000 saved up because I have a minimum wage job. I am URM.

If UCF gives me an estimated financial aid package soon, I will go there because it's a two hour city bus ride and I've done it a few times before.

A friend of mine suggested the National Guard and I set up an appointment to speak with a recruiter to see my options. That way I don't have to look for extra loans.

I really appreciate your help. Thank you🙂

 

[AHorseOffCourse]

Loans aren't the end of the world. I took out the max they would give me every year, and ended up with ~10K at the end of 2 years (I was a CC transfer and didnt have any from the CC). The payment is rediculously low, gives me one of the only writeoffs I have for my taxes, and the job I got/salary I'm making now MORE than made it worth the while to go to school and take out the loans. AND because I worked as much as I could without compromising my academic record and no more, I am in a position to attend vet school this fall - which will require even more loans, which makes what I took out as an UG look positively ridiculous.

My point in sharing all of this, is that it's easy to be sucked into the short term range planning of debt = bad, but with some care and planning, you could be better in the long term taking out the loans. This assumes you don't go overboard and take out more than you need.....but I don't think 30-40K is at all unreasonable for UG loans.

 

[jeremmed77]

My point in sharing all of this, is that it's easy to be sucked into the short term range planning of debt = bad, but with some care and planning, you could be better in the long term taking out the loans. This assumes you don't go overboard and take out more than you need.....but I don't think 30-40K is at all unreasonable for UG loans.

I completely agree with you. Remember, college is an investment in your future! Do the majority of people buy a home with cash? Of course not! I am going to be about 30k in debt by the time I graduate. If I remember correctly, the average debt is around 24k right now for undergrad.

If you choose to go the loan route, I would suggest you choose a major you enjoy, but also one that is also employable. I did not do that, so if I do not get into medical school I will be forced to continue reapplying while I work as a lifeguard. If you are ok with joining the national guard to avoid the debt, then go for it!

 

[Undecided94]

AHorseOffCourse and jeremmed77, thank you so much for sharing your experience! I really appreciate it. I am afraid to accept any loans and I guess that is short term thinking/planning. I'll reconsider.

 

[kansaskid]

Definitely go with taking out more loans. It's really your only option if you want to go to college now. Working two jobs will be super stressful and probably won't help that much in the long run if you're worried about grades and good ECs, etc for building a successful application to med schools. Loans do suck, but it's an investment for your future. Just think, you'll be taking out thousands and thousands of dollars in loans for medical school, you might as well get started early! Seriously, though, this used to stress me out, too, but school was the most important thing to me so I just sucked it up! And I also worked almost full time throughout college which was very strange at my school. You just find ways to make it work and it does😀 Feel free to PM with questions about working in college. I worked ALL the time and still did a lot of other fun stuff so I know this subject well lol