<p>Hi,
I'm confused, frustrated, and defeated.
I am a 22 year old student who has completed my A.A. degree at a local state community college. I have not taken out any financial aid of any sort and have paid 100% out of pocket for my college costs.</p>
<p>I want to go back to school and get my Bachelors Degree. Now because I admit I am not the BEST student out there (lower 50% of my class) (2.9 GPA) I can't just get into all of these amazing schools that all of you are talking about. But I can get into some good schools. </p>
<p>The problem is, my very well MEANING but in my mind mis-guided mother is having a heart attack and giving me serious anxiety about considering taking out Financial Aid for my last 2 years of school. The program I want to go to will cost approx $15,000 for a year. The school has everything that I need in a school. It has support services for my disability that really are willing to work with me, both online and on campus courses, not too far from me, and a number of other things.<br>
My mom wants me to go to a school that costs $6,000 a year (which there really isn't such a thing anymore) and NOT go to school until I can pay for it all out of pocket. She wants me to work full-time while going to school.
I am at the point that I simply want to invest myself 150% into school and quit trying to juggle the work/school/family thing. </p>
<p>I am going to be majoring in Healthcare Management (Business Management with a focus in Healthcare). My mother is having a heart attack because she thinks that if I owe $30,000-$35,000 a year I will never ever get out of debt. She thinks that financially, going into this much debt for school is basically the biggest worst decision I could ever possibly make.<br>
She wants me to wait 5-6 years before I try and see if I feel better at handling the whole work full-time / school full-time thing but I really truly just want to get my degree and get on with my life. I want to just DO the program and get done with it, and deal with the $30,000+ in debt afterwords. </p>
<p>Should I take out a loan like this or am I basically doing something that will make my life absolutely horrible? Wouldn't I be better off getting my degree now and being $30,000-$35,000 in debt NOW than waiting 5-6 years and seeing if any of my circumstances are any better? (I don't think they will be at all)</p>
<p>Advice? Any other adults / parents out there willing to give a very lost, confused, frustrated college student some advice on this issue? I feel like I am doing something awful for doing something that will give my mother a heart attack if she sees the Financial Aid amount. :( </p>
<p>Did you fill out the FAFSA? Were you offered any grants or loans? Subsidized or unsubsidized?</p>
<p>If I understand correctly, you’d need to take out about 30K in loans, total, in order to get your Bachelor’s degree. That’s a lot, but it’s not unreasonable, particularly for an older student who saved by going to community college, and particularly if some of the loans are subsidized.</p>
<p>Are you living at home? If so, can you work summers, and part time during school, to offset some of that debt? And if you’re not living at home, why do you care what your mother says?</p>
<p>There are parents here who know alot more than I do about financial aid, but it seems to me that you would qualify for some significant grants someplace, which would help enormously. There may also be some scholarship money for someone with your disability and your drive. Have you checked into that?</p>
<p>I can understand where your mom is coming from. Back in the day, college wasn’t as expensive as it is now, and it’s a real shock for us old folks, and many of us have learned the hard way about debt. But you can tell her that the reality today is, almost everyone takes college loans to some extent; it’s a new world now. Obviously you want to keep debt to a minimum, but thinking you can get a degree with none at all is probably unrealistic.</p>
<p>I have to respectfully disagree with her about working full time while you try to pursue a degree. It will wear you out, and it will take forever.</p>
<p>Finally, I just want to applaud and support you. Follow your dream.</p>
<p>I haven’t filled out FAFSA yet but I know I can get it because I applied for it once before but my mother had such a heart attack about me doing it that I decided not to do it (last year) and decided not to do the program because she didn’t want me to use FAFSA. But I know that I can get it, I was approved for the full costs for the year. </p>
<p>I live at my aunts currently who isn’t requiring me to pay anything or rent so long as I help her keep up the house (I’m super handy for a girl) and do the yard work and stuff like that.
I can definitely work on the weekends but during the summer I will go to school full-time as well (I LOVE summer semester, nothing like short courses!). I could take the fall off of school and extend the program out to 3 years because the fall semester is my most disliked time of the year… but I’d like to just work weekends while finishing school.</p>
<p>Oh and I am simply one of those people who truly feel like I owe it to my parents to make them happy at every single turn and that if I do something that breaks their heart than that must mean I am a very horrible daughter. I feel like I’m breaking their hearts by doing something that they believe in their weird way of thinking is a terrible thing to do.</p>
<p>What you plan to study sounds like a sensible, in demand subject. The first thing I would do is get information from the school’s career services office on jobs and salaries of recent grads. If they are indeed employed with good salaries, then $30K seems reasonable.</p>
<p>When you file FAFSA, since you’re not yet 24 it will be based on your parent’s income even though you don’t live with them. If they are low income you should reduce that $30K by quite a bit.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’ve really done your homework, finding a school to work with your needs and thinking through the money. I understand your mom’s fear, but you should try to explain the facts and push forward.</p>
<p>Go for it. Particularly since you’re living with your aunt (will you be commuting to save $$?). You’ll need to fill out FAFSA, and you’ll need your parents’ tax info (income and assets) to do that. So you’ll need to make peace with them somehow.</p>
<p>I think your question and problem is more about keeping the peace with your parents while you pursue your life, rather than really a question about financial aid.</p>
<p>sblake7 yes however I wonder if it’s really a logical argument that my mother has about $30,000-$35,000 worth if debt right NOW in the economy really is a HORRID idea so bad worth NOT pursuing a degree over.</p>
<p>I guess that’s my question.<br>
Is the economy so bad that someone shouldn’t take out that much in financial aid ??</p>
<p>"Is the economy so bad that someone shouldn’t take out that much in financial aid ?? "</p>
<p>I guess that depends on what the debt is for, and what the likely earning ability of the debtor is going forward.</p>
<p>Take out 30K debt to buy a sports car, when you’re working at a fast food joint? Bad idea. 30K in credit card debt (for anything)? Bad idea.</p>
<p>30K do get a Bachelor’s degree that will likely help you land a job in the health care field in 2 1/2 years? Yeah, that sounds like an OK investment (a better investment if you can pare that 30K down to 20K by working part time along the way, maybe working in the health care field part time to get some experience). Better yet if FAFSA gives you an EFC that will result in some need-based grants, so you can borrow less.</p>
<p>Thank you
Yeah well I calculate if I work the weekend shift as a nursing assistant (which I am right now) I can make $700-$800/month
Saturday double shift (3:00 p.m. - 7:30 a.m.)
Sunday 3:00 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
That will give me 24 hours a week x 12/hr</p>
<p>That should give me enough to put even $300/month towards starting to pay back on federal aid.</p>
Is your disability the kind that will in any way limit or impair your ability to work? (I’m guessing “no”, since you now work as a nursing assistant and sometimes work double shifts – that’s hard work and you sound up to it)</p>
<p>The main reason I asked that question was simply to assess your future earning capacity. My rule of thumb is student debt should not exceed anticipated first year salary – but its reasonable to think that as a college grad you’ll earn $35K a year. So as long as there is no impediment to your working full time when you graduate, I think you are safe to take on the debt. </p>
<p>The fact that the economy is bad now is actually more reason to take on the debt and go to school. It is likely that things will be better in 2 years-- but college will only cost more then. So you can get your degree now while employment opportunities are limited, then graduate at a time when more jobs are opening up. Given the Obama agenda on health care, I think a health care industry job is a pretty good bet for employment in any case – you know that the government is pouring more $$ into health care now, which is going to translate into more jobs both now and down the line.</p>
<p>calmom, I am blind in my left eye and deaf in my left ear. I need things like transparencies printed out and basically no super small writing or bad writing on boards because I can’t read them. Also with the deafness I basically need for there not to be a lot of discussion going on at the same time or I wont be able to hear what’s going on.</p>
<p>Also sometimes when there’s too much going on in my life I tend to kind of panic so I need to be able to ask a teacher for a short extension on big assignments maybe once a semester while I get through the rough week and find my head again. (this is a documented disability, major depression, ptsd)</p>
<p>As far as my future earning capacity so long as I get in a place where people aren’t purposely nasty and rude, I work just fine. I’ve had 1-2 jobs where I had guys make jokes out of my deafness in my left ear and I didn’t last there long and one nursing assistant job where the nurse chewed my ass out every day even though I was getting ALL of my work done and working myself into the ground, so I kinda couldn’t take that forever… but otherwise, work is fine for me. :)</p>
<p>OK – I hope you weren’t offended by my asking. As I said, I was only considering earning capacity. If anything, I think that this really provides more reason for you to get the degree, because probably the higher the skill level, the less likely your disability would be a work impediment. (You are better off a few notches up the chain of command, where you are more likely to have assigned tasks and responsibilities, and less likely to be expected to respond to people calling out to you from 6 different places at once.)</p>
<p>They offer scholarships for college to those with disabilities (my son applied for one for this upcoming school year). It’s not much, but every little bit helps!</p>
<p>Maybe I missed something, but is your mother aware that some of the financial aid might be in the form of a grant (i.e. no need to pay anything back) rather than a loan? You really do not know your situation until you complete the FAFSA paperwork, file it and get an actual offer. </p>
<p>I agree with other posters that a thorough search for scholarships and grants for students with disabilities is in order.</p>
<p>Best of luck. I hate to argue with other parents, but I think your idea of getting on with school is better than your mom’s idea of waiting for 5-6 more years. The truth is, at 22 you are an adult and you need to make this decision according to your own needs and desires. Tell your mom you love her and appreciate her concerns, but this move is yours.</p>
<p>If you are 22 but turning 23 this year, then next fall/spring is the last year you will be considered dependent for FAFSA and will need your parents’ financial info. After this upcoming school year, it’s your own income only. This might factor into your ability to get financial aid, plus make the decision without needing your family’s financial input of info.</p>
<p>A $30,000 loan balance would only require payments of $345/month for 10 years. Not too much for most people. The amount of loans could be reduced if you file FAFSA and your state grant aid applications, work part time, and make sure you’re taking advantage of the tax credits and deductions offered. Do your parents contribute or claim you as a dependent?</p>
<p>Do you or your mother know a financial planner or accountant, or just some one who she respects who could lay out the financial aspects of the decision in a non emotional manner. She’s worried about you and your future, but your plan is reasonable. Find some one to help you show your mom that this is a smart decision.</p>
<p>Yankee Belle that might be the best idea yet. I can take her to her tax accountant who she really trusts and she can show her how a large investment now might be a risk (like any investment) but how it is far more likely to pay off in the end than even a typical investment elsewhere.</p>
<p>I’m calling her first thing on Monday. .thank you.</p>