<p>I got my financial aid letter:
College Work Study: 2500
Sub Stafford: 3500
Unsub Stafford: 2000
PHEAA Grant Fall: 1675
PHEAA Grant Spring: 1675
Fed SEO Grant: 800
Pell Grant: 5500
Perkins Loan: 2000</p>
<p>Total 19700</p>
<p>Stats:
Age 17, wont be 18 until november.
Parents = bankrupt.</p>
<p>what other costs are there besides books? On average, how much do students spend on books per semester? I also need to factor in personal costs.</p>
<p>I still need about 6000 more, what can I do?
My parents are bankrupt, is there anway to apply for more stafford loans? Are the stafford unsubsidized and subsidized the same thing? Or does each one have a separate limit?</p>
<p>For college work study, do I get paid as I go, OR is my total earning income that I can make 2500?</p>
<p>Keep in mind parents = bankrupt, and I won't be 18 until November.</p>
<hr>
<p>Here is what I'm thinking:
I go to community college (HACC) for 2 years (and save up) or just go for 4 years and get a degree, work hard, and get great grades.
One problem, I'm already 700 into the Pitt Education (i've sent the student enrollment fee and the housing deposit)...what should I do?
My parents can't provide me with any help/advice.</p>
<p>You could be eligible for an additional $4K in Stafford unsubsidized loans if your parents are turned down for a PLUS loan, which is highly likely. The problem is that your package already includes $7500 in loans, which would bring the total to 11.5K for one year!</p>
<p>The difference between sub and unsub loans is that the interest on subsidized loans does not start until after you graduate/leave school, which means your debt won’t “snowball” while you’re still in school. The subsidized Perkins have a 5% interest rate and repayment begins 9 months after you graduate. Subsidized Staffords have limits of $3,500 for freshmen, $4500 sophomore, and $5500/year for juniors and seniors. The interest rate next year will be 4.5% and 3.4% the following year, then is slated to go back to the normal Stafford (unsub) rate of 6.8%.</p>
<p>Book and personal expenses are variable and it’s possible to trim those expenses by buying online or used and reselling books you’ll never look at again. Look for a link to the school’s bookstore and it will probably list the materials for whatever classes you’d be taking next year. By law, schools must now post their course materials in advance so you can find out what you need before classes begin. Also try to find out if the prof actually uses the book before you invest in it!</p>
<p>I think the CC to uni plan makes alot of sense financially. Some schools will refund the deposits if requested prior to May 1st. Contact the admissions office and find out if they need a written request.</p>
<p>I think the CC route is best for you. Pell will pay for that. You need to minimize your loans. Work as much as you can (without hurting your EFC, which I think means you can earn up to $4500), and save for your last 2 years. </p>
<p>BTW…books can run about $500 per semester. Sometimes you can save by buying used, but sometimes new books are req’d.</p>
<p>Can you get your $700 back, by notifying them that you won’t attend and getting a certified letter to them by May 1? They asked for a $700 deposit? That is really very steep in my opinion!</p>
<p>I would follow mom2collegekids and sk8mom’s advice and go to cc for 2 years while working.</p>
<p>I just looked this up and apparently the tuition deposit is NOT refundable. I think it is unfair, but to get a refund, you’ll have an uphill battle. The housing deposit might be different.</p>
<p>tubguy, I agree with Balto. You have a wonderful attitude about this. Just continue to work hard and do well. </p>
<p>I’d suggest trying to contact someone and see if they can work with you about getting some of that deposit back. At this early date, you might have a bit of luck, but do not count on it. Give it a try because $700 for nothing is a LOT of money to almost anyone. Still, that $700 is not a reason to go to a school that you cannot afford. I would definitely contact admissions and financial aid, get names, and follow up with a written letter sent by certified mail. Hopefully, they will refund something on this. Best of luck to you, and let us know if any amount of the whopping $700 deposit was refunded!</p>
<p>No I do blame them, my parents never let me do any extra curriculars…said I should just focus on schoolwork, they had 6 children, never saved up any money for my college tuiton, Dad filed bankruptcy for himself AND my mom, he enrolled me in school a year early so I’d be in college when I was 17 and can’t take out a loan (under 18), for the last 4 years my dad has been cheating on my mom, he’s a bigamist…married a woman outside of the country without divorce, he’s injured himself (not been working for 4 months now), now he’s abandoned the family (not been home for 1 month now)…we’re immigrants so he never let my mom out of the house, learn english, get a career, you know so she could be independent if anything like this ever happened. My family has screwed me over in literally EVERY SINGLE FREAKING WAY POSSIBLE. There is no god.</p>
<p>I was hoping you guys could advise me in the right direction so I could ■■■■ of this house and this negativity. This is the reason why I didn’t get any scholarships, I’m not a dumb person, I just came from a underprivileged background and I’ve been cursed with a dysfunctional family. Do I deserve it, no…but I can definitely do something about it and make my situation better.</p>
<p>So Batlo, yes I do blame them for situation.</p>
<p>Also, I Contacted the office and they’ve said they can refund the housing deposit but most likely the will not refund the student enrollment fee.</p>
<p>Would you be interested in a Transfer Articulation Agreement? It’s something that many community colleges have; if you successfully complete two years at a community college, you are guaranteed enrollment in any public college in the state. This is a great way to get into some top schools in your state without having to worry about your lack of ECs or whatever it is you blame your problems on.</p>
<p>So if I go to a CC and work hard can I get into oh idk, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, Bucknell, etc?</p>
<p>And once again, thanks for all the advice you guys have given me, seriously my parents have never spoken to me about college seriously, today was the first day I talked to them and they paid even a LITTLE BIT of attention. In all honesty, they really don’t give a crap (except for my mom). Truth be told, my dad doesn’t even want me to go to college JUST so he can keep me under his thumb and I don’t get financial freedom from him…so I have to depend on him for everything.</p>
<p>It really pains me to see people on here complaining about not getting enough from Princeton or how they got into tons of great schools but didn’t get into their ONE DREAM SCHOOL or how yesterday I read about a poster saying he wants to bring burden and debt onto his parents just so he can leave the state, are you serious, there are people who can’t even afford college and you’re worrying about going out of state JUST BECAUSE you’ve lived there your entire life!?</p>
<p>People really are ungrateful. But thanks for all the help guys. Really appreciate it :).</p>
<p>No, tubguy. If you have a certain gpa you can get accepted to schools that have articulation argreements with the cc. They are often 4 year state schools. I do think that some private schools also may have agreements with ccs. To find out the specifics contact admissions at the cc, and search the cc’s website.</p>
<p>I spoke in error when I specified public colleges; any 4-year college – public or private – can negotiate an articulation agreement with a community college, including apparently Bucknell.</p>
<p>Okay so let me rephrase the question, can I go to CC and do well, get accepted into a state school and do well, AND THEN go to a great grad school (UPenn)? Or is that still not possible?</p>
<p>I mean I’ve read countless times that its NOT LOOKED DOWN upon to go to CC and transfer out. Or did everyone just lie to me when I asked that same question in various threads of mine?</p>
<p>CC is not looked down upon. Once you have a 4 year degree, I don’t think that schools care if you spent the first 2 years at a CC. That is not going to make your 4 degree worth any less.</p>
<p>All of those things you listed are possible and extremely common. It doesn’t even have to be a state school; some private schools like Bucknell are apparently partnered with community colleges in your area. If you are willing to use Google, you can probably find the articulation agreement between your Pennsylvania two-year college and the University of Pennsylvania. </p>
<p>Go back and look at my post at the bottom of the previous page if you have time.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone and Gardna, of course Ill look at it.
Thanks for your time everyone. I need to go make some calls to HACC, apparently they offer a deal for students in my school district (reduced cost of tuition, from 3000 to 1000 :D).</p>
<p>Oh one last thing, on my PITT award package, I was given a PHEAA grant of around 3350, a SEO grant of 800, and a PELL grant of 5500. Will these transfer over to HACC or will HACC most likely give me a new award package?</p>
<p>Lastly, since HACC will cost me around 1000-2000 (extra costs) also per semester cost of books is around 100. If I have money left over from grants, what happens to that?</p>
Really appreciate it :).</p>