So throughout my life I have lived in an emotionally abusive household with my mother and a stepfather. I never knew my father. He’s not in my life. Anyway, when I graduated, my mom pretty much came out of the closet as a lesbian, divorced my stepfather, kicked me and my twin brother out, who is also in college, and then moved far away (from PA to SC). So now for the past two years I have been attending a local CC while working full time. I slept in my car for a bit there, but now I occasionally sleep at two of my friends houses, and sometimes I sleep at my great grandmas house. I have no financial support. I have not thought about this till now as CC is very cheap. I plan on transferring to a four year next fall but I don’t know how I will be able to afford it. I need to go to college because I refuse to be like my mother, yet I don’t know how it’ll be possible if I can’t pay for it. Any advice along with the answer to my question is greatly appreciated.
Does your mother declare you as a dependent on her taxes and claim the AoTC? If so, it’ll be difficult.
However it seems that you meet the other basic guidelines - you take care of your living expenses by working full time, you aren’t dependent on your parents. @kelsmom is a financial aid specialist and may have actual, precise advice.
Finally, I want to send you a ((hug)) because this is a terrible situation to be in, physically and psychologically, yet you seem to hold it all together. You are strong and are showing much fortitude even after being abandonned. Do take advantage of your CC’s mental health center if only to vent, it should be included in your tuition and insurance coverage. It can’t hurt and you have to be angry.
Is your brother at a 4-year college? If so, can you attend the same, so you could share an apartment? Do you have any savings whatsoever (that your mother can’t get to)?
Thank you so much for your help. I am just trying to make the best of this situation. I am not depressed or anything, although I do have really bad anxiety. I tend to worry about how I will pay for school more than anything else. My brother is currently at penn state university and he is majoring in electrical engineering. I am currently at a community college but I plan on transferring to either pitt or temple to major in applied mathematics. I do not plan on attending psu as they do not have a BS in applied math, sadly. However, we would like to attend grad school together. My mom had claimed me on her taxes last year because she asked if she could and I said yes, but this year she will not most likely as I do not contact her much anymore.
If you are sleeping in your car and on friends couches, you are “homeless or at risk of homelessness” – that counts. Have the owners of the houses where you couch surf write you letters. You can also google your county name plus “teen crisis” or “youth services” and work with a social worker to document this.
Yes how is your brother affording Penn State, especially since your mother lives in SC and he is still dependent for FAFSA on her?
Are you at all interested in Cyber Security? Can you talk to someone at Pitt about the prerequisite classes you would need to transfer there to finish a degree and how you can apply for the Cybercorps Scholarship for Service Program?
Pitt is a participating school. You could get funding for two to three years, in return for working for the Federal Government in cyber security.
It might be difficult to get the FAFSA filled out and get instate tuition and funding from PA grant program if you are under 24 and your mom lives in another state.
You might be able to do an appeal with your school’s financial aid office, have you tried contacting them about this? They usually need letters of support from others who know about your situation… perhaps a counselor or a friend’s parent? I think you should contact your school’s financial aid office and ask if you can do an appeal since you do not have contact with either parent in years. They should have a procedure for you.
It sounds like you may qualify for independent status due to your homeless situation. That status has to be re-evaluated annually … but so does a dependency override. Talk to an aid officer at the school you want to attend. Larger schools often have a designated aid officer who is in charge of collecting information from students who claim they are homeless - ask if your school has someone like this. If not, talk to an aid officer - but don’t hesitate to ask for a manager if you need additional assistance beyond what the aid officer can tell you.