Not sure that I will be able to afford school….Help, anyone?

Sell your body to science

misswrite has a very good point. There are many ways you can control the cost of attendance for a school. One way would be to start off at a junior college first because the tuition there is cheaper then a university. when you do go to the university for the rest of your years look to see if you can find a public university that you like vs. a private one because they tend to have a higher cost of attendance. Going to school within the state you have residency in will also help control cost if you plan to attend a public university. Now for the funding. I see you stated you started with the Federal govt. by completing the FAFSA. Some schools use that form to also give you State Aid and/or Institutional Aid which is giving by the school themselves. Sometimes they may require you to complete another form so check with them to make sure there are no other forms to complete. There is aid like the unsubsidized Stafford loan that is not need based. Just will out the FAFSA early and the school will award you the loan based on your grade level. Good creditable websites for scholarships are www.collegeanswer.com which is owned/sponsored by Sallie Mae one of the nations leading paying and saving for college companies and the other is www.fastweb.com which is from monster.com you know the job search site. Also ask your school if they have payment plans. check with your employer if they offer tuition reimbursement. Hope this helps and your best source to help you fund your education is your Financial Aid Counselor

That’s the weird part of finance : you can’t borrow until you have enough money…

You have a few options:

– earn more (work 50, 60 hours) for a while and push back your school projects for a year. You’ll be able to save that 4000$.

– keep looking for a student loan or grants. Look if you can fit into a scholarship.

– spend less money : I know it may sound impossible to do, but there’s a few tips that helped me a lot :

– no more coffee at work. I bring mine.

200 work days X 2$ = 400$

– I changed my cable TV package.

Save 12$/month, 144$/year.

– I changed my cell phone package.

+12$/month for more minutes, -50$/month in surprise “over minutes”.

One year save : 38$X12= 456$

– I take my car 2 times a week to go to work. 3 days of bus.

3 X 12$ savings = 36$/week

One year = 1500$

– No more newspapers on weekdays.

52 X 3$ = 156 $

– I cut restaurants.

3 (days/w) X 7$ (savings/day) X 48 weeks = 1008$

– Home foods : I try to prepare my own meals. I do not buy prepared food anymore (soups, ready-to-serve meals, frozen meals, soft drinks, cookies, sauces, even bread crumbs). The truth is that you pay and incredibly high price for these. You pay a restaurant price to eat at home. You can do cookies, soups, creams, sauces, even bread if you are motivated. And it’s better for your health. I save a lot that way and it gives my family good reasons to hang together in the kitchen cooking food for everybody.

30$/week X 52 weeks = 1560$

Total :

400

144

456

1500

156

1008

1560

____

Total : 5224$ in savings due to my lifestyle change

Move on. Do your list and save.

Good luck !

I went to a community college for the first few years to save money, then transferred to a 4-year, where I was able to pay my tuition each quarter in monthly installments. A monthly installment option might be something for you to look into.

Going from a 2-year college to a university, I found that I was academically ahead of many of my peers (having already fulfilled my general ed, I was able to take classes within my actual major), and I only paid a fraction of what they paid to take their gen. ed. at a university. As most students change their majors mid-college career, the costs add up, so better to change your mind where it’s more cost efficient. If you have the option to go to a community college first and then transfer, this is something I highly recommend.

If you choose to go directly to a 4-year, a community college is still a great resource for information on scholarships. Usually each community college has a student or resource center – go to the front desk and ask them where they keep their scholarship info. I applied for and got scholarships and grants at my 2-year that really helped me out in my 4-year. Another money saving option is to check out some of your textbooks at the university library, then xerox the assignments – I did this, and it’s time consuming, but when you’re broke and need books, you do what you have to do :o)

Good luck to you. It’s been a decade since I went to school, but it seems like yesterday. I worked two jobs and took two buses to get through college. But it was all worth it.

Join the military