@hrrenee You are not elligible for the full 6k Pell grant. With your EFC of 1500, probably $4500 is what you are eligible for. Can someone please confirm.
Okay. So from what I’ve read online, the Medical Receptionist Certificate program should cost about 5-6k, minus costs of books. Since theres a chance im getting a pell grant for $4500, id only need to take out a loan of $2-3k? Is this right?
Can/will your mom cover all your housing, food, transportation, health insurance, clothing, technology, cell phone and incidental/miscellaneous costs while you are earning your degree?
@curiousme2 I know she would if she could, but she cannot. The $300 a month rent is so she can buy groceries, pay some rent, and some of my cell phone bill. I have my health insurance through her and the state still. More than likely i will take out a $5000 loan, so i can pay for the rest of my program, pay for books, gas, rent, and some school supplies. I will be giving my mom a chunk of the money (Like $900) so that can pay for rent for a few months until i can figure out a different way to pay her. She really doesnt want me taking out any student loans (shes been paying hers off for a long, long time) but ill need to take out this loan in order to pay for everything. So for only $300 a month and she pays for food, rent, phone, cat vet bills/cat food, i think its a pretty small amount. I do not have to start paying her rent until september ish. This $300 for rent only starts when we move into out new bought house, since we will be paying more than renting. So i have some time.
Assuming that you can get reclassified as a Washington resident, your yearly costs (assuming three academic quarters) will be something like:
$4,500 tuition (can vary based on number of credits per quarter)
$1,050 books (can vary based on type of courses)
$3,600 rent to your mother (who covers food, etc.)
$?,??? commuting costs
$9,150 + commuting costs = total
Looks like your Pell grant could be around $4,600. Check https://readysetgrad.wa.gov/college/washington-state-financial-aid-programs to see if you are eligible for any state grants. It is unlikely that community colleges have their own grant funding beyond federal and (if applicable) state grants. If you are not eligible for any state grants, that leaves about $4,500 + commuting costs that you need to cover with a federal direct loan (up to $5,500) and/or work earnings. But if you are eligible for state grants, that can reduce the amount you need to come up with from the federal direct loan and/or work earnings.
So what you need to do is:
- Get reclassified as a Washington resident, assuming that you are eligible.
- Assuming that you are a Washington resident, check what state grants you are eligible for.
- Otherwise straighten out the billing and financial aid situation with the college.
- Look for a job.
@ucbalumnus I do not need to pay $3600 to my mother for rent. Since the pell grant ($4500 covers the cost of the medical receptionist program mostly ($4600) I was planning on taking out a $5500 to pay for books, supplies, $300 rent, gas, and whatever else i need. Is that allowed? I read that once i take out a loan, that they apply the loan to whatever else i still owe (so for the program, like $200) and then the rest would be given to me to divide between books supplies and everything else. is this false?
Why does this college have you billed as an out of state resident? Get that question answered.
@hrrenee I think the $3600 was based on $300/month x 12 months.
You need to pay rent to your mom every month, right? How long is the program? You need to multiply the monthly rent x the number of months, to get the full amount of rent you’ll pay during the program.
I was planning on taking out about $900-$1000 out of the loan to pay to my mother for rent, so that can last 3 1/2 months while i can focus on school and look for a job at a normal pace, and not a frantic i-need-a-job-now-or-ill-die type situation. But my main question is after i receive the pell grant and it pays for my program, if i take out the $5500 loan, will that money be given to me so i can use it to buy books and supplies and pay for other things? Because that’s what i read online, so i want to double check and make sure that is the case
Is a qualification required to be a medical receptionist? Like the people that answer phones etc? Have you ever looked at just getting a job first? I think this is a real issue, don’t waste money or time on something that is about on the job learning. Look at job vacancies, phone practices. Get your resume together and drive around and introduce yourself. Have you ever had any job? If not, ask to intern somewhere over summer.
Yes, qualification is required to be a medical receptionist. Ive never seen a medical receptionist job not require experience and atleast a certificate. I have almost 3 year of retail sales experience, but thats not enough getting me a job in something almost completely different. So no, i cant just look at job vacancies and drive around and expect to get this kind of job. I definitely need schooling first.
…and more on subject, my question was about the loan and what exactly i can use it for / whats going to me, not how to find myself a job. I can find a job if i need, but id rather be in school full time and wait to get a job in the field Im going to school for. I also cant find just any job, since i cannot bend over, move too fast, or stay standing for long periods of time.
You can take out a loan…and maybe you will get a portion of the Pell Grant (you won’t know until verification is completed).
The money will go to the college to pay for their billable costs, and you will receive the balance in a refund…but the timing could well be a couple of months into the program before you get that refund.
Please answer these questions…the answers you get here will be more helpful if you do.
- What did the college ask for in the verification process?
- Why does this school currently have your cost of attendance at the out of state rate?
@hrrenee This site is made up of adult volunteers who try to assist college age kids. From the beginning, your post has been difficult to understand and many adults have tried to assist you, volunteering their time! It is not the place of the adult volunteers to beg you for information. We provide the best advice based on the information recieved and how it is presented to us. I spent HOURS working with you out of genuine concern for you and your mother. I beleive I was the one who identified that you were being miscategorized as out of state and eventually you confirmed this. Having had to take out loans myself and having received a Pell grant myself, I understand how precarious going to college can be. I know myself that I never posted sarcastic or rude comments intentionally to you at any time during this post. NOR do I ever do that here. I’m sure other volunteers will work with you on this in the future. I am disengaging from this conversation but my advice to you if other adults volunteer their time and continue to work with you is to be appreciative of the time they have given you.
Just to interject… Many doctors office will hire you and teach you as you go. If you want to be a medical receptionist vs assistant you might not need this expense. Anything close to $20,000 would not be worth it,especially if your not doing any coding etc which can be learned on the job. If you are pleasent, can use a computer and know how to get around Microsoft office like Word you should be fine. Each electronic medical record system is different and usually learn on the job. I do realize the problem is that most want at least one year work experience. Check on LinkedIn etc that can be customer service work also. Many Hospitals have programs to teach you these skills and would probably get better training.
When we hire for our front office medical we actually find someone without medical experience is easier to teach since lots of the trade schools teach one way and it’s hard for the students to break that mold. We tend to have to “reteach” everything right down to how we want the phones to be answered.
Going to college is great but if you do some googling and looking at hiring sites some jobs will teach you as you go. It’s at least something to look into.
@thumper1 thank you for answering my question!
@gearmom I do appreciate your help and time. What is not appreciated is outright accusing of my mother using me and my student loans to buy a house. Can you not see that comment was not only unhelpful, but also rude? No where in any of my comments indicated that my mother was using me for my student loans to buy a house. Your comment not only seemed rude and unnecessary, but also seemed to be posted out of frustration of answering my questions. You can excuse yourself from this post, but be rest assured, I have been thanking everyone who has been helping me throughout my comments. Have a great day.
@Knowsstuff Unfortunately, knowing my way around Microsoft word and being polite doesn’t work around my area . I’ve tried to apply to many doctors offices, but more of them require experience and/or some sort of education ;/ My mother, who is a phlebotomist and head of the lab at her work said she could possibly get me a job as a medical receptionist there, but still, I have no experience and no education for that job. If it makes any difference; my long term goal is to go into Mortuary Science and go through schooling later on a different time and date, and become an embalmer. Since this costs a good chunk of money and the only schools i can learn at are each and 1+ away, I was planning on going to get my foot in the door in the medical world via medical receptionist, work for a year or two and save save save, and then when i can comfortably do so, enroll in the embalmer program. If it were easy to just go to my local doctor office and apply and get the job with no experience or education, I wouldve done so a long time ago 
Thank you for the suggestions though. If i do decide to go into something different instead of a medical receptionist, it would have to be something similar in field (sitting down, office work, $25k a year once i get up to speed) and schooling would have to cost roughly the same, so I dont run myself into tons of debt.
@hrrenee I stated a genuine concern that your mother purchased a home with the expectation that you would be financially capable of contributing which you may not be. My genuine concern was that you would take out loans to help pay her debt and thus dig your family into a hole. I was not rude in any way but genuinely concerned by your lack of understanding of your financial situation and the difficult predicament that you may be in. I have not accused your family of anything. IT WAS A GENUINE CONCERN that your mother purchased a home with the expectation that YOU stated that $400 would be needed from you each month when you have not been awarded any financial aid and might need to take a loan so you would not lose your home! I am GREATLY offended that my sincere concern for your family has been dismissed as rude and sarcastic. We will no longer engage.
Thank you to everyone who commented on this post, helped me to understand what i was dealing with, and explaining what exactly the steps i should take are. I super appreciate it, and will be writing down everything that was said so i can bring up each thing to my FA office and make sure everything is correct on my file, and hopefully they can explains things to me in person. Thanks again everyone!
I was kind and very patient with you throughout and you chose to tell off and lecture the adult volunteers. My comment was certainly not intended to be sarcastic in any way. There is no audio tone to the written word but you certainly choose to take the darkest meaning and lecture us. U said that I WAS CONCERNED that you thought that money would be given to you and that your mom bought the house with the expectation that you could contribute. That is not sarcastic. I am off on vacation now but have never been as offended in the 5 years that I have volunteered here.
Also, i just realised i didnt answer @thumper1 's questions.
- What did the college ask for in the verification process?
A piece of paper that had my basic info, name, date, my last job info (w2), my moms job info (tax return 2017), and who was in my household.
- Why does this school currently have your cost of attendance at the out of state rate? No idea. The soonest i can go in the FA office and see someone is Monday, so Ill have to wait until then. I was a running start kid in high school at the same college, so i didnt have to reapply to EVCC. Just continue taking classes. I wonder if that has something to do with the weird OOS costs on my shopping sheet.