Financial Issues & Uncertain Future

Transfer Students
1

<p>Greetings,</p>

<p>I was unsure as to where this post would fit in, I apologize if I overlooked a category on these forums. I'll try to keep it brief and to the point.</p>

<p>I'm a 24 year old Philosophy Major, (I have recently returned to school) and I am in the final stages of finishing my AA at a local community college. My first college experience wasn't what I had anticipated, long story short: full time work, full time school, full time training, and to keep up with it all meant more or less committing to it for the remainder of my life. This in turn led to an incredible amount of debt. Like many students, I felt it wasn't for me, but with so many financial obligations, working overshadowed school. The economic crisis eventually led to me being out of a job, which was a double edged sword as I had the burden of crushing debt but was able to focus on school again.</p>

<p>I live in Florida, maybe 4 - 5 classes short of completing my AA, I'm open to transferring anywhere to continue my education but I feel that it would be best to stay in-state and avoid out-of-state tuition costs so I've decided upon FSU as my primary transfer school. Currently a 3.6 GPA, and my current program through the community college ensures that my credits transfer and that I meet all of FSU's prerequisites.</p>

<p>Financial aid, living at home with the folks, and a menial job to pay bills enabled me to get this far, but I'm worried that attending a 4 year university is out of my reach.</p>

<p>Current Detrimental Factors:</p>

<h1>1 My debt is paid minus a car ($11k)</h1>

<p>I am contemplating selling the car and eliminating all of my debt entirely. It's become an albatross, and would gladly get rid of it in a heart beat. I'm also unemployed in a state with one of the highest unemployment rates, and it hasn't been easy securing stable work. The only reason I need a car is to go to work, and the only reason I need to work is to pay for the car. Though I would be sacrificing a great deal of freedom / mobility, is having a vehicle necessary at a major school? Specifically Tallahassee.</p>

<h1>2 Poor Credit, No Financial Support</h1>

<p>My credit is sub par and I don't have any outside financial help (minus pell grant). Being on my own with these two problems makes the situation much more daunting. I also don't quite understand how the cost of living ties in with tuition / housing / books / food / etc. What type of assistance / loan(s) would I be eligible for with these issues in mind?
Would they enable me to go to school / eat / live / etc, without juggling full time work again?</p>

<p>I'd appreciate any advice,
Thanks for your time</p>

2

<p>You probably should write this on the Financial Aid & Scholarships board. If there is a FSU board here, you can ask questions about transportation, etc.</p>

<p>However, yes, it seems that if you can get rid of the car and manage your way around town via other cheaper methods, that seems like a good idea.</p>

<p>Being 24, you should be able to qualify for something on par with 7 - 9K of student loans (sub plus unsub) on top of the Pell Grant you have already been getting. Have you been taking out student loans already? You say you are debt free other than the car, so just verifying. </p>

<p>I don’t know if FSU has any other types of scholarships, etc. FSU should have a COA listed on their website. But note two things - first, you can live cheaper than what is estimated on the COA number and second, colleges rarely meet “full need” of the COA. At some point for many colleges, COA is far beyond what is available in the federal loan and grant programs anyhow.</p>

<p>Again, try this thread on the FA forum and see if you can get more specific answers.</p>