Any other poor students on this forum that are struggling? What is your experience and any success stories? I am honestly feeling down at the moment and a little discouraged. It is nice to know you’re not alone.
When I say poor I mean living below the poverty line and being a first generation college student is hard. I did my fasfa and my total household income was almost 9,000 from my wages. If it wasn’t for the internet I wouldn’t even know how to apply or do personal statements or even the process of transferring. My school advisers would give alot of false information.When I say poor, That’s means no assets, parent’s income is zero, and etc…
My EFC is 0
I am applying for in state universities and even paying for the application fee and the transcript fee is costly when money is tight. I have no support from anyone and most people are not supportive about me wanting to go to college. My mother is terminally ill and I’m estranged from my father (yes, my parents were married but later divorced and my mom went into poverty after not being able to work b/c of cancer.)
I attended community college and earned a 3.9 GPA and I hope to transfer to a public in state university if I have ENOUGH financial aid. The schools in my state dont t offer transfer students scholarships unless you’re attending a private college. Outside scholarships are hard to come by as a transfer student. I’m afraid the financial aid package won’t cover tuition,housing,books,etc and I won’t be able to attend school in the fall. I really need enough financial aid to cover on campus housing because I can’t afford off campus housing. I am currently living with different ppl but still not considered homeless. This makes it difficult to commute and I can’t afford the gas. The closest university is a hour drive one way. I would have to work multiple jobs and being a full time science major is a bad idea. People say you can work full time plus multiple part time jobs and save up the money during the summer. Any job I can get will not pay enough for me to save thousands of dollars and it is harder than it sounds. People forget a emergency may come up when you’re poor so it is not that simple. I don’t have a college fund or my parent’s didn’t start a saving account for me when I was child.
I read on posts online about people claiming all poor people are going to school for free and all minorities are getting free rides to college. Then, all they do is waste the money on partying and wasting their financial aid refund checks. This is not true because I know a lot of poor students/minorities with good grades and are well-rounded student who don’t. Honestly, most people at my school who received scholarships from the community college were high school charter students, children of people who donated to the school, or relatives/children of faculty members of the community college. I earned 60 credits at a PUBLIC community college with 4.0 until my last semester. Not once, have I received a need based scholarships or financial aid for being a black female. I am just venting because it can very be overwhelming with lack of support from family or anyone and lacking the income to pay.
Off campus housing can be cheaper than on-campus – they still only give you a certain amount of money, and the meal plans in particular are probably much more costly than when you cook for yourself. Regarding working full time, as you can tell, that isn’t really feasible while taking a full class load. Some students take a semester or year off to earn money – but if your EFC is zero, I can see how that money might not get saved for college. I have to say that I have not seen many posts out here on CC where people think that it is easy to go to college when you are low income, though. It is very tough.
You have a great GPA - have you considered applying as a transfer student to colleges that meet need? Your state university may not… transfer students don’t always get the best aid, but a couple of colleges you might consider applying to as a transfer are Smith, and Franklin & Marshall. Both good STEM schools. Smith has a reputation for helping out non-traditional students and low income women, and F&M gives only need based aid (not merit) so they can support students who really need financial help.
thank you for responding.
Yes, off campus housing is cheaper but I need money upfront for the deposit, application fee, and the credit score. I researched off campus housing in my area and they want your parent to cosign with qualifying credit and the deposit that is equal to first month’s rent. I am not specifically talking about CC but I have seen that on other websites.
No, honestly I haven’t because I didn’t think I would get in because I thought my ability to pay might be a factor in the admissions process. I will look into the schools but I’m not sure if it is past the deadline for transfer students. But thank you for the suggestion I will definitely look into those schools.
@collegegrl2270, there are a lot of extremely helpful parent posters who frequent the financial aid & scholarship threads - I suggest you post your current stats and situation and I feel certain that you will get some great advice on how to proceed. You are clearly a hard-working, intelligent woman and I wish you the best of luck.
hi Collegegrl…I wish you the best. I think your story is similar to many others even though we don’t often hear this. You mentioned that you are a black female… have you considered an HBCU? See if you can locate an HBCU alumni group or African American sorority near you. They may have suggestions or be able to provide some support.
If you want an apartment by yourself you have to jump through those hoops of deposit, etc. But if you sublet a room from someone who has already rented the place, sometimes you don’t. It depends on the landlord, etc. Sometimes people around campus just rent a room to a student, too.
I didn’t think about sublet that is good idea. I contacted various off campus housing apartments and they wanted rent, deposits, application fees, and other costs up front before you can reserve housing. I would have to take out a loan just to pay for this stuff because the financial aid refund check isn’t awarded before school starts. Then,on top of that I needed my mother to sign with me and pass a credit check. My brother tried going to college with 4 jobs and had to drop out because it was so difficult. Honestly it seems like the whole process of getting into college discourages poor people to attend or apply. I thought if you worked hard enough in school then , people might give you chance. But everything comes down to money just to eliminate certain people.
The point of charging students isn’t to eliminate people, but it does cost money to pay professors, own and maintain buildings, provide lab equipment, etc. A lot of students work and attend school on and off. Sometimes night classes are available to working students, too. It takes longer, but I have a masters degree earned in a night program from a flagship university.
I’m wondering if there are charitable organizations local to the OP who could help. Perhaps a church, or a group that helps usher foster kids into adulthood (we have one near us I think). Sometimes the foster kids get pushed out of the system and have very little guidance on how to get going on adult stuff. Not that OP is a foster kid, but if you don’t have a parent who can co-sign, etc., there is help needed.
I wish I could help you OP! You sound like an amazing student.
another thought…the right thing for you might be a reputable online bachelors’ degree. By reputable, I mean a not for profit college like SNHU. Better yet, the state institutions near you may offer online degrees. I know my state supported institution was part of a network that offered bachelor’s degrees through correspondence classes…a longer road but one that offered a lot of financial and time flexibility.
My community college has a program for the disadvantaged but not much help to be honest. There isn’t much anyone can do because I don’t have children or disabled. I’m just going to take a break from school until I can improve my financial situation and wait until im 24
I respect your decision, but by the time you have your life moving along at 24, it can be tough to carve out time for class. I learned a couple of terms from this site that might help. Try searching for need blind (meaning they determine whether to admit you based on your accomplishments not ability to pay.) And you need someone who provides 100% financial need. I found an older post suggesting the university of richmond meeting that criteria for transfer students. I’ve also seen posts suggesting private colleges might be able to support you more than state schools.
You are right that its hard (or not possible) making a commitment to college when day to day living is a challenge. Only you can figure out what is right for you.
I was a first-generation student and I really really struggled through college. I went to 3 different universities, 2 different community colleges, I lost scholarships and was placed in academic probation for poor grades, I changed my major 3 times and at one point I had even quit school for 2 years. After finally having someone in my life who understood the college experience and encouraged me to return to school, I received my Bachelors of Science in Biology last year. But this was not after many struggles and a lot of college debt.
I had a very similar financial issue that you have, and to be honest I had to quit school too because of finances. I went back to school once someone encouraged me to go back and help me through the process, but at that point I was 24 and finally able to receive decent financial aid because I could claim myself as independent…the whole FAFSA/financial aid system is horrible for people in our situations.
It may not be a bad idea to take a break, save up money, take some CLEP exams to test out of some basic courses (with having to pay less money than an entire course) and head back once you’re 24 and FAFSA can actually help you.