Hello, I am a student at a community college in Oklahoma. I want to apply to transfer to several colleges, but the issue is I’m not sure what colleges will help me out the most financially (I would love to attend a university in the northeast). I had a very rough upbringing and for those reasons I commit most of my time and focus towards family related issues.
I graduated from high school with a 3.4GPA while maintaining several different jobs to support my family.
My household consists of 6 people.
My father doesn’t communicate with my family any more.
My mother doesn’t work.
Only my older sister and I provide support for the family with a grand total of about 30k a year.
I currently have a 3.5GPA after my first semester and will most likely finish with a 4.0 in my second semester.
I have a 23 on the ACT from junior year of highschool but I am currently schedule to test again in a couple weeks.
I would greatly appreciate any and every possible piece of advice regarding what schools that I could attend that would essentially cost me close to nothing through financial aid packages or scholarships that I would qualify for. My family is really counting on me to make it somewhere in life so I’m highly motivated to attend a university and start a new chapter in my life. Thanks yall!
Please go me talk to,thentransfer advisor at your Community College. That person should be able,to give you some pointers.
If you have a two,year CC degree, find out if you need to retake the ACT…which is really designed for HS students…not college students. Find out if it is required timtransfer to a four year school in your state.
Find out about any scholarships for CC transfer students, or for low income students in your state.
Is there a four year public university you can get to from where you live now?
It seems that with your low income, you would,be eligible for a Pell Grant, and the $7500 Direct Loan you couldmget as a third year student.
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Only my older sister and I provide support for the family with a grand total of about 30k a year.
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My household consists of 6 people.
My father doesn't communicate with my family any more.
My mother doesn't work.
Only my older sister and I provide support for the family with a grand total of about 30k a year.
[/QUOTE]
If you go away to college, will your family lose your support? It seems like your income would go towards your new living situation.
Can any of those other 4 family members work?
Either way, unless you get into one of few schools that gives full aid to transfer students, you may not get enough aid to go away. Is there a Univ near where you live that you can commute to?
My family wants me to support them now, whereas I’m looking 10 years down the road. The instate colleges in Oklahoma give extremely poor Aid so I’d be paying about 15k out of pocket a year to attend OU. I understand I’m in a tough situation but there must be some sort of option out there, whether it may be a slim chance or not.
Where will you find a school that costs less than $15,000 a year?
If you can commute from your current residence…and have a VERY low income…your FAFSA EFC might just be $0. You would,get $5800 Pell Grant if that is the case…and $7500 in Direct Loans. That is $13,000. Add to that money from your job…and you could pay the bill.
Well, if you currently live in Oklahoma, you probably wouldn’t feel out of place at USD (I’m talking about the University of South Dakota) or some schools in the Nebraska State College system (not the universities). Check out Wayne State. They may have price tags under $15K, even for an OOS transfer. Pell and the Direct Loan may be enough.
@ordinarylives Wayne State College is a very good suggestion. @mo1128 if you can tolerate very cold winters, Minot State University in North Dakota is another school that would be affordable with full Pell grant and Direct Loan.
I just checked out some Oklahoma schools. Non-flagships such as Southwestern Oklahoma State are also quite reasonable for instate students. SWOSU is under $13000 a year for tuition, fees, room, board, and books.
I think this student is talking about good need based aid. The OK schools don’t have a lot of that…but some of those,schools are also VERY reasonably priced…as noted above.
Many college in the northeast are going to require the Non Custodial Parent information. You may want to start getting together information about when you lost contact with your father, whether or not child support was paid, and other things that the better minds here can suggest. You are doing very well in your community college while working. I wish you all the best.