<p>So you got into a liberal arts college, you would have had 4 years FREE of ANY cost? And you gave up that financial aid offer IN HAND to go to this 6 year program which is costing you $X in loans each year and $3.5K+ each year out of pocket? You are now having buyer’s remorse as you feel the pain of actually making $300 in payments each month. Yeah, it hurts, I can tell you, it almost always hurts when you gotta pay. </p>
<p>If you had given up a truly free ride to a liberal arts college, no loans, etc, yes, that was probably a mistake, IMO, but I doubt you got that. Most colleges, even those that guarantee to meet full need would be including loans, work study and a student contribution that needs to be paid, even with a parental EFC of absolute zero. Correct me if I’m wrong, by giving what your best offer IN HAND was from those schools that accepted you and gave you a merit/aid package. Just giving generalities without hard numbers is not useful. Are you commuting to University of Sciences, or are you going to have to move there? Does this $300 month you are paying include the room and board at the college if you move there when school starts, or are you going to have to commute and incur those expenses when school starts? Remember there are transportation costs going away to school too, as you have to get there, and back home on breaks (unless you find other arrangements) that usually comes out of pocket. You need to do a hard apples to apples comparison as to which arrangement is costing you the least, and keep the loans out of it, since you are going to be paying for those loans. Share what the bottom line cost will be at each school If you are living at home and commuting, your parent is providing something to you in that you have roof over your head, some food you can scrounge, sundries you can borrow or mooch off, but yes, there are expenses in commuting too. Seriously, figure it out.</p>
<p>But be aware, you might not have that offer that you had before May1 anyways from those schools. You are old business now. </p>
<p>You can borrow an additional $4K a year by having your mother apply for PLUS. IF she is approved, then you can take over her loan payments as a private deal with her. If she is declined, you get $4K more in Direct loans, if you haven’t already gone through this. And you can do this each year to get a bit more in Direct loans. When you hit the graduate part of the Pharm program, you will likely get completely different aid packages and you had better sit down with fin aid and the school and find out what they will be and when this happens. Grad programs don’t generally have grants, particularly Pharm programs. The way your school handles this is something you need to know. </p>
<p>If you had gone to a regular college, you would be taking premed, pre pharm type courses for 4 years and then looking for a Pharm program to get your advanced degree to become a pharmacist after getting your Bachelor’s and how that works, I don’t know. In general, you don’t get anything but loans for these programs. My son’s SO is doing this with some master’s in Health–she has a Bachelor’s, worked a few years, and took some science courses to meet the pre req for the master’s, and is going into her second year of this program for which she is a full pay, having to take out loans as the only aid she could get to help pay for the costs. But she has no under grad loans, and getting this master’s will enhance job possibilities and earnings. </p>
<p>You should have gathered all of this info earlier to see what the best paths to take were. But it looks to me like you are pretty much set since you’ve made your commitments and started your payments, and turned down other offers which you may not get next year if you give it another go. But if this is truly an impossible endeavor—like what are you borrowing and spending out of pocket in addition to the $300 gap a month you have that you might not be doing if you truly could get a full ride somewhere or took a less pricey alternative, your buyer’s remorse might truly be a warning sign that you are biting off more than you can chew or afford.</p>