Getting Screwed Over By College

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So, right now I am literally screwed. FAFSA is giving me nothing. The college is giving me a $2k a year scholarship. 4/5 of that $2k is gas money to get to the college. I am no longer eligible for a subsidized loan I had. The price for a parking permit alone went up 25% and is now $125.

So, unless I accept a rediculous loan, I have to pay over $4k for tuition alone, $800 or so for gas, and probably $400+ for books this semester alone. Not to mention my payment of $450 for car insurance for 6 months is comming up and $300 worth of repairs to my car that need done.

I only have $8k in the bank and make less than $10k a year. I receive nothing from my parents and still live at home.

Post your stories on how you are getting f***ed by your college.

[Darkfinn]

Welcome to modern higher education. You don't get a diploma anymore, you get a Certificate of Debt.

[hidden]

Welcome to modern higher education. You don't get a diploma anymore, you get a Certificate of Debt.

I'm a senior this year so I am not a stranger to this. This will be the most I have had to pay out of pocket since I started college.

This is the worst financial aid year yet in terms of amount of aid for the total cost

[DailyDi]

I hope you get it worked out, you've gone too far not to finish now!

[Guest lilme]

I went to college for an electronic engeering degree for 3 semesters. I was a solid 4.0 student, 99.7 class average. At the end of the 3rd semester, I ran out of financial aid, nothing was any longer available for me. Tons and tons of grants and loans for minorities and interest groups, but not your average white joe.

Now I'm in debt $17,000 in student loans and I have no degree to show for it.

How's that for screwed? lol

~lilme

[abypk82]

Take the road less traveled, maybe I'm a little partial and maybe this isn't even an option I don't know... perhaps the national guard or military reserves...

[brain]

Sorry to hear that you're having a tough time with money, but you're not getting screwed. This is just real life.

[sarah_ab]

its why i got married, so i would get better financial aid. You may not qualify for a subsidized loan, but do you qualify for an unsubsidized loan? If you get one of these you can make your monthyl interest payments, which is usally around 18-20 dollars a month, and when you graduate its pretty much as if you had a subsidized laon as no interest accrued...

also, move out and fast. If you are not living at home, then when you fill out your fafsa you can claim on campus living, even if you are not living on campus, as long as you are not living at home you can claim it.

Also remember to keep all your receipts for every single purchase made relatiing to school - books, supplies etc... its all tax deductible, you get up to 400$ back..

in regards to affording text books, find someone else who is in the class and split the cost of the book and share, or find someone who is taking this semester a class you are going to take next semester, and who is going to take the class you are in next semeseter, buy the books for those classes, split the cost 50/50 then swap books next semester...

there are also literally 1000's of scholarships that are never awarded each year.... its a lot of work, but five 500$ scholarships add up.

[Crimson_Wolf]

Somewhere in the distance a man with the worlds smallest violin is playing with fake tears. Thus the life of higher education.

[Dougie]

I had to borrow over $28,000 to pay for two years of an Electronics Engineering degree. I got no handouts and worked 40-50 hours a week in a job while I went to school.

You're not getting screwed! You just ran out of handouts.

[belinda_sue_fox]

Getting givern $2000 by collage and have $8000 in the bank is is whinning. Get a grip.

[Crimson_Wolf]

Also scholarships is for school strictly not for personal use. FASFA isn't giving me anything either do some research to see where you can get money every college kid goes through this. Also are you going full time 12 plus credits a semester or part time less than 12 that also affects tuition and aid. Buy books used not new unless it's a book with a code for online work.

[adriansurley]

That is nothing - try going to medical school...then you can talk about debt ;-)

[Vermino]

ehh i found my trade and went with it.. I'm highly self educated and actually smarter than some of my friends that went to college. Unless you are getting a degree (ie doctor, dentist, etc etc) if it's just business and marketing to have better criteria and make a bit more - I don't see the point..

Best of luck to it tho. (one of my good friends went to film school, he is like $50,000 in debt because he has been traveling all around the world taking classes.. reasons I don't understand)

[curiositykilledthecat]

go to community college like the rest of us.

[PrincessDragonette]

It's par for the course in higher education I think. One of the reasons I chose not to go to college and went to trade school instead. Stinks that it happened partway through. I wish you the best of luck in finding a way to finish.

[Darkfinn]

For heaven's sake don't join the Guard or Reserves. They'll just ship your arse over to the ME anyways. Guard units are the worst supplied and worst equipped parts of the military.

Several friends of mine from high school joined the guard (we were all in JROTC together)... they all got deployed and hated it. They had to beg/borrow/steal supplies from the regular Army units just so they could have decent chow.

The National Guard is designed to be under the charge of the Governors of each particular state and is not to be deployed overseas. Yet Dubya thought it would be a great idea to send them anyways. Huge usurpation of power on his part under the John Warner Defense act of 2007 and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008.

The saddest thing is most people overlooked it.

[dprtodd]

I hope you get it worked out. I 100% self funded my education with private loans, none of which are federally backed (staunch believer that the fed gov has NO business in education so I felt I couldn't be a hypocrite and take others tax money - not trying to turn this into a political discussion only explaining why I did what I did) I worked while going to school and while it was difficult it is entirely doable. Yes the interest on private loans are almost userous - but if your degree is worth anything you will get them paid off in time. I'm 4 years past my masters and I have made significant progress on my loans, so I'm rooting for you.

Todd

[LawrenceWaterhouse]

I went/am going to trade school to get a business degree. Uh, yeah, heh.

I'm really credit averse - the one time I got a loan, it added stress to something that didn't need stress and I ended up dropping out. Returning to complete it without having anymore loans or lines of credit. Disability income should be enough.

[CDTMS]

That is nothing - try going to medical school...then you can talk about debt ;-)

Or go for commercial pilot ... which I'm considering after I finish my private.