No money for school, must be a way

[vani1224]

Hi everyone, I am looking for some advice and suggestions on what I can do to help my current situation. I am 19 years old and I live at home with my mom, my parents are divorced and I rarely see my father. When I graduated high school I went to Cornell University for a grand total of two weeks because my father who originally promised to help pay for the remainder of my tuition that wasn't covered by scholarships decided he no longer wanted to because "it wasn't Harvard." So I went back home and lost a semester but applied to begin in January of 06 at Seton Hall. I stayed there for two semesters, my mom and I took on extra jobs to pay my tuition, but soon it became too much. This semester I am out of school and I cannot even transfer to another school come september because I owe seton hall 4,000 dollars and they won't give me my transcript in order to transfer to a smaller cheaper school. Most applications are due by March 1st. I have pleaded with my father to lend me the money but he refuses. It is too close to March to try to take him to court for the money. My mom and I have tried loans but she has bad credit and I have no credit at all, we keep getting denied. I have tried cosignin with my one other family member but she has bad credit also. There is literally no one who could help me besides my father. I am going crazy, I cannot miss another year of school. I love school, I need to go to school, I can feel myself getting depressed, I'm going crazy I believe just thinking that I won't be able to go back. I don't know what else to try. Does anyone have any suggestions please, it would be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the long story. Please help.

[renaissancewoman101]

Can you take out some Stafford loans through school? I know you probably can qualify for some school loans that are not dependent on your credit, but on if you are full time or not.

[vani1224]

i did qualify for some, thats how a portion of seton hall's tuition was covered, but they didnt cover it all.

[chantal]

oh man thats rough ,

maybe u should consider an aprentiship

[shikashika]

i don't know much about student loans in the States.. I work at a university here and while it can be tough... there is usually someone you can talk to.

 

Can you not get a student loan amount that would cover your tuition? Is there a student financial services office at that particular university

 

is your credit related to your mothers? Can you get a line of credit or anything?

[vani1224]

Ive talked to the university, Ive begged Ive pleaded. The only thing I can do is pay the 4000, get my transcript and transfer to a state school that will cover my costs...all before march 1st. I can't establish a credit history in 2.5 weeks. I even called a school I thought of applying to and explained the situation, asking them if I wished to start brand new with no credits would I need the old school's transcript and they said yes. I need some miracle loan.

[renaissancewoman101]

Is your mom or you getting any type of tax return back?

 

If so, you can file taxes right away electronically and get the tax return quickly.

[vani1224]

Concerning the tax return...we did that..maybe I should have explained that. Originally I owed 7,000 but we did the tax return thing and got around 3..leaving us at 4000.

[herenow]

Do you have a community college near you? That is often a very good option for getting started on a college education without all the associated cost.

[friscodj]

Ive talked to the university, Ive begged Ive pleaded. The only thing I can do is pay the 4000, get my transcript and transfer to a state school that will cover my costs...all before march 1st. I can't establish a credit history in 2.5 weeks. I even called a school I thought of applying to and explained the situation, asking them if I wished to start brand new with no credits would I need the old school's transcript and they said yes. I need some miracle loan.

 

Welcome to ENA vani1224, great to have you here...

 

Well, it sounds like you've done what you can here and this situation is what it is. There's no shame or demerit to your education by attending a state school or even doing so after taking a year off to get your finances in order. Actually, I think doing so might be the best thing for you given what you wrote about your "addiction" to school. That doesn't sound healthy to me.

 

What do you want to do? What is your state of residency? There are a ton of good public schools out east that don't cost nearly as much to attend as Seton Hall and will provide you just as good or a better education depending on what area of study you wish to pursue. I just checked their website and undergrad tuition (without fees, housing, etc.) for a year is $23,529. That's ridiculous! What do they do, teach you how to print money in your basement? You can go to Rutgers down the street for under $8K.

 

And what's with your Dad anyway? Have you applied to Harvard? Show him the admissions letter and tell him to show you the money. Otherwise I would consider every other possible source before going to him again.

 

At any rate, it sounds like you are getting too wrapped up in school. You might feel like you are "falling behind" or "losing time" relative to your peers and I understand as I felt the same way when my parents couldn't figure out how to pay for college after I graduated high school. I didn't start my undergraduate degree until I was 23 years old. And looking back on it, it was the best thing I ever did, a blessing in disguise.

 

So my point is going to school right now is not the be all end all. You think it is but it isn't I can assure you. You will always have an opportunity to go to school and doing so with less attachment and addiction to school, more life experience, and more direction and motivation bred from going through your situation here might make your educational experience much better.

[Locke2121]

Get a job, skip a semester or two and pay off the money. There's nothing wrong with skipping a half-year or a year. I had to do it because after about 8 straight years, I nearly burned out! I took a semseter off, reevaluated what I wanted to do, and got right back on the horse. It paid off and I graded from Austin Peay with a Bachelors!

 

I know that right now, you think that school is the most important thing, its not. Paying off your debt so you can transfer is the most important thing!

[Jetta]

Have you applied for fafsa.gov? Have you met with someone in the financial aid office? Why are you signing up and quitting classes after 2 weeks? Why didn't you at least finish the semester you paid for?

 

So your dad isn't going to pay and your mom wants to help but can't. You can get financial aid, get a part-time job, and work your way through school.

[rocio]

Get a job that pays well and doesn't interfere with your class schedule. Bartending is great for that. Take part-time classes if you need to. Study in Canada where tuition is only a fraction of what you'll be paying in the U.S.

 

If you really want to save money, study in Quebec, which has dirt cheap tuition.

[RelaxByWater84]

Why don't you try talking to a financial advisor at the school you to whom you owe money. You could see if you could set up a payment plan with them, usually when you have a payment plan they will send your transcripts. Thats the advise I have to offer you. Hope everything works out. Meanwhile if you want to keep your brain active go to the county library and check out books.

[RogerRamjet]

Get a job that pays well and doesn't interfere with your class schedule. Bartending is great for that. Take part-time classes if you need to. Study in Canada where tuition is only a fraction of what you'll be paying in the U.S.

 

If you really want to save money, study in Quebec, which has dirt cheap tuition.

 

Bartending can be a fairly hard job to get if you have no experience, unless you're hot and sexy Petrol station attendant might be a more realisistic option, security or crowd control can pay well and won't interfere with classes.

[charley]

Two suggestions come to mind right off. One is join the National Guard in Nevada because they pay for school. A friend of mine who was already in National Guard in CA just moved to Nevada for this very reason. However, you might find yourself shipping out to Iraq. So think about this option carefully.

 

Another option is to go to school in Alaska. They used to have this program, and I think they still do, where you can go to school in Alaska for free in return for signing a contract that you'll live and work there for X number of years after graduating. Not all of Alaska is cold. Southern parts of it near the coast are merely wet, just like WA and OR.

 

Ever watch Northern Exposure? Dr. Fleshman had gone to either college or med school (or both) on an Alaskan scholarship and thereforeeee he had to live in AK for X number of years after graduating. The comedy aspect was that he was always homesick for New Yawk. Eventually, he went insane. Good, funny, stuff. However, the reality is that it's a great way to pay for school, I've heard.

[amystar]

Have you tried applying for some scholarships online? There are tons of private scholarships out there for students in need. Go somewhere like link removed and register.

 

Also, I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a semester off and making some money to pay of your loan and start over at a public university, which are much cheaper. I've been to both and quite honestly, I didn't see any difference in the education. Good luck.