Hopeless?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>Getting into UCLA has been my dream since I started high school four years ago. I was ecstatic when I find out that I had been accepted last Friday. However, as an OOS student, my parents say they will not fund me at all. No tours, no tuition money, no room and board, or anything. </p>

<p>The financial aid packet I was offered consisted of 11,780 dollars through the Scholarship Recognition Award, 1,500 in work-study, and 7,700 in student loans, which leaves 32,365 dollars in a Parent Plus Loan, which they will not do. They will not cosign any loan either. </p>

<p>UCLA has been the only consistent thing in my life. Through my battle with depression over the past four years, getting into and attending UCLA has been the only bright spot in my life. The small ounce of hope that I could attend UCLA has been one of the only things keeping me going for the past few years.</p>

<p>Is there anyway I could make this work, or is this just another one of those hopeless dreams? ANY suggestion would be greatly appreciated...</p>

2

<p>Hey I’m sorry for your situation…here are two great articles on the topic:</p>

<p>On parent’s refusing pay:
[FinAid</a> | Other Aid | What If No Help from Parents?](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>What To Do If Your Parents Can't or Won't Help Pay - Finaid)</p>

<p>On independent v dependent on parental income
[Dependent</a> VS. Independent Status | Student Loans : News, Updates and Blog Posts](<a href=“http://blog.studentloannetwork.com/fafsa/dependent-vs-independent-status/]Dependent”>http://blog.studentloannetwork.com/fafsa/dependent-vs-independent-status/)</p>

<p>From what I understand, declaring yourself independent from your parents is extremely hard. Luckily, your parents at least filled the papers so at least have some financial aid. Will they pay for any school for you? Or its just UCLA they refuse to pay for since its OOS? </p>

<p>Here’s an excerpt from the first article:</p>

<p>"What to do if your parents don’t want to take out loans to pay for your education.
Make a deal with your parents, where you agree to assume responsibility for the payments on the PLUS loan after you graduate and get a job. You’ll graduate heavily in debt, and will have to struggle, but at least you’ll be able to graduate. "</p>

<p>I think that might be one good option. Just remember that it’ll be over 120k in loans after you graduate. Which is HUGE. Regardless, assess why you want to come to UCLA and your future career plans. Maybe coming to UCLA for graduate school is more feasible? I don’t want to be a downer, but whatever future career plan you have, you have to make sure you will have the income able to pay off that debt. </p>

<p>If your parents will pay for a different in state school, maybe a better option is to transfer after 2 years of working really hard? You would save a lot of debt. The only problem is finding motivation to do well at the school you don’t like.</p>

<p>I’m not familiar with OOS and community college, but if its possible, a third option is go to community college in CA for 2 years and then transfer over in 2 years. (not sure if you could claim residency). I think the fees will be higher for OOS, but still cheap compared to a UC. Transferring it not bad as long as you have the GPA</p>

<p>TLDR: I think the most practical choice is to find a way to transfer, whether from a state school or a community college in CA. It would save a ton of fees. If both are not possible…see if your parents will agree to a contract to assume the loans. I don’t think assuming that much debt is feasible…regardless, If you still decide you want to come here, remember it WILL be a struggle, but at the end of the day, I hope your determination will be here will help you work hard/overcome it. </p>

<p>Good luck and I hope your situation works out</p>