I was accepted to the School of General Studies for this fall, and I’m trying my best to figure out how to afford it, and I don’t have many options. I know that vets have GI bill that covers their tuition, some people are just rich so tuition isn’t a problem for them, but I just don’t have even close to the amount of money I would have to pay. I also don’t have any US co-signers and my credit score is low so I doubt I’d be able to get private loans. I only got a 12k grant from Columbia and I qualify for full Pell Grant, so Pell Grant+Columbia Grant+both sub and unsub loans can cover 6 credits per semester, not more. If I want to take 12 credits and study full-time, I am 8k short. 3k short for 9 credits. What should I do?
My only option would probably move to NYC, find some job full-time and taking 2 classes per semester? I am a transfer student, so I only have like 2-2.5 full-time years left, part time it would be close to 4 years. That’s a really bad option. I also wont qualify for housing, and I know that living in NYC is extremely expensive, especially if I want to live close to the campus. I just don’t understand how everyone else manages to afford the tuition. Am I missing out and are there any other options for me? Because the only option that I see is just extremely uncertain and scary, to be honest.