ok so I’m a sophomore at community college, and I can’t afford a 4 year university. I’m 19 and I don’t make enough money or have a high enough credit score to sign for my own loans. I also have no one to cosign my loans. I’ve been juggling working 32 hours a week and taking classes full time. I’ve been struggling… my grades were terrible the last semester. I got into my instate school (Penn State) and the final cost for me is absolutely ridiculous for an in state school. What in state public university costs 18,000 a year?? Pitt is even more…I’ve been working and going to school, and I’m honestly about done. I’ve filed FAFSA and sent in numerous scholarships. Haven’t gotten much… There are smaller public universities, but they don’t have what I want to study-film. I’m the oldest of 9 kids, and my step dad has started to make me pay rent… I’m 19 mind you… 500 is ridiculous to live in my own room, with 8 other siblings in the house… Anyone have any advice on how to pay for school??
You need to pick a much cheaper school and perhaps go part time while continuing working. Look at the other public schools in PA like West Chester, East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg, IUP.
It costs a lot to study film (as it isn’t always offered at the schools you can afford).
@twoinanddone That would be a good idea, but my dad graduated from IUP, and he’s a janitor… my cousin graduated from Shippensburg, and he works at taco bell., and my Uncle went to clarion… and he is an assistant manager at McDonald’s. They always talk about how the those Public pa schools didnt prepare them… they said they were a waste of money… and even then… i still couldnt afford those schools. I even look at multiple of those schools and none of them offer film studies classes. And I, for some reason, can’t get into West Chester, I applied 3 times and I can’t seem to get in.
@twoinanddone and I’m not saying everyone that goes to those schools will end up bad… I’m just saying that from family experience… I prefer not to go to those schools. If I’m paying for school, I would like to know I’m being prepared for my career.
Tyler- you need to look at your instate colleges with a fresh eye. What you major in matters. How you take advantage of your professor’s contacts and help matters. Academic rigor matters. Internships matter. And most important- being open geographically to where the jobs are matters.
I also have family in PA who believe that the public PA schools are overpriced and overrated and did nothing for them. And- it’s true. But they wouldn’t move more than 20 miles away from where they grew up other than a year or two in Baltimore or DC for a “big job” which they eventually left and came home.
If you want that “big job” there are ways to prepare for it.
And you could go to Penn State and major in film studies and end up managing a McDonald’s or being a janitor. There is no golden ticket. You have to do the work once you are at school, and you have to make your own career path.
I don’t know what your relatives expected those schools to prepare them to do. I was just suggesting that there are public schools in PA that don’t cost $18k for tuition like Penn State and Pitt do (because those are semi-private schools because of the strange relationship with public funds).
My kids had very limited funds for college and had to pick carefully. One is at Wyoming because it was cheap. She loves it. Her boyfriend from high school wouldn’t go there because it didn’t have the very specific film program he wanted but his parents could afford a much more expensive school. Will Wyoming prepare her to be more than a janitor or a manager at McDonald’s? I hope so, but if not it is not Wyoming’s fault. It is my daughter’s responsibility to use the resources to prepare herself for a future.
Can you emancipate and then go about getting a good scholarships to one of the smaller liberal arts colleges in PA?
How long will it take you to emancipate? Can you share a house for less than $500 a month with other students or friends ? Find cheaper rent and move out, unless you get a lot of food from your family, it may be time to cut the apron strings. You CAN go back to college and you can save money for college. What sort of job do you have? Look at UPS, they hire high school kids and pay well. I have two relatives that worked their through a good college, by working at UPS. Another option-- find a job at a good bank, could also get you through college. Find a great job, work, and then go back to school. Working full time may help you pick a major. What are you thinking of studying?
What skills do you have? Can you become a machinist? That pays very well. You do not need to settle for the life your father lives. You can do better. Stay focused!
U of Wyoming in Laramie is a really good deal, by the way. Every student with good grades can get some money because Dick Cheney has subsidized this university. Its at 7000 feet and gets snowed in. But there are options outside of PA for OP, perhaps, but getting out of the crazy home with 8 other kids, would be advisable.
OP is 19. I thought students had to under 18 to seek emancipation.
OP, can you work full-time and commute to an affordable school for a class or two at a time? I think it will be cheaper to live with parents than to get an apartment. Do you have to pay for food, utilities, cable, internet, and your phone or just rent?
Colorado-- the OP is no longer a minor so getting emancipated is no longer relevant.
Do you mean legal emancipation? Because if you do, you don’t understand what it is and how it relates to need-based financial aid eligibility.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of_minors#Emancipation_laws
One more option, move to Los Angeles. You may be able to get involved with film by simply moving to Los Angeles. I would consider that. You are not likely to get into film by going to Penn State anyway, so don’t bother with that. Penn State could train you for a lot of other careers, though. But since you cannot afford it, I would get out of PA, and start over. Think about what is holding you in Pennsylvania. Los Angeles has every type of job known to mankind and also a lot more film than where you live now. You can get work, if you simply move to LA, emancipate, and then look at how to get into the film industry. I know plenty of U of Southern Cal film grads who do not work in film , exactly, but there are lots of support jobs in film.
Colorado- for the love of god, please stop recommending that a 19 year old get emancipated. You keep using that word. A 19 year old cannot get emancipated because he or she is no longer a minor. Whether the OP moves to LA or not- the parents income is STILL going to matter for financial aid. You are giving advice which is totally inaccurate.
What in the world does “emancipate” have to do with this 19 year old adult going to LA to look for a job in the film industry?
The Cheneys give a lot of money for study abroad scholarships, and have the public policy center named after them. Wyoming state legislature supports the school. Wyoming is a wealthy state with a small population. The Rocky Mtn Scholars program (OOS scholarships) is public money. Other scholarships are sponsored by aiums.
One ‘out west’ school with a really cool film program is Montana State.
Utah is one of the few states that will give a resident in state tuition regardless of where their parents reside even if they are dependents (under 24) for FAFSA. It usually takes a year to become eligible, but there are resorts that provide housing to workers. There are AmeriCorp opportunities through the Utah Conservation Corp, too.
https://www.film.utah.edu/
https://admissions.utah.edu/apply/residency/index.php
@Tyler000 I am concerned that if you did find a way to borrow enough money to attend university, after graduation I don’t see how you are going to pay it back.
“my dad graduated from IUP, and he’s a janitor… my cousin graduated from Shippensburg, and he works at taco bell., and my Uncle went to clarion… and he is an assistant manager at McDonald’s.”
…and I used to know someone who graduated from MIT, and then was a manager at a small retail store (part of a nationwide chain). The problem wasn’t the university that he graduated from.
I don’t think that the problem here is the choice of school. The problem is that many majors do not lead directly to a well paying job. Even if you were able to get a bachelor’s degree in film, I don’t think that this qualifies you for a job that you couldn’t get with a AA from your current community college.
I absolutely agree with @blossom!
@Coloradomama, please don’t give information that doesn’t make financial sense and gives the OP more financial distress.
Here is the problem: The OP would NOT be able to afford LA on a minimum wage salary. Every kid majoring in film at USC,UCLA, and the publics and privates in Southern California, is trying to find jobs in the film industry.
Our rents are ridiculous and they don’t include food, car/gas, and utilities. Try anywhere from $1500 to $2000 per month, minimum, in a studio apartment. Our public transportation stinks in SOCAL, so everyone drives cars with expensive gas (presently at $3.60 to $4.00 minimum per gallon).
It does not make financial sense to suggest to a 19 year old, who does not have a degree, to try to make it in LA without financial support.
@Tyler000, you cannot afford to transfer into an over-budget school if your parents are charging you rent. Make due with what you CAN afford. FAFSA does look at your annual income.
The film industry is hit or miss. It doesn’t matter WHERE you go to school. You have to make your own way. USC charges $72K per year tuition, and a number of their film majors owe HUGE loans while eeking out livings in LA.
This student is over the age of 18 so emancipation is off the table. @Coloradomama
I’m not sure what this student wants to hear. There are smaller directional PA public universities that don’t break the bank. At some, you can start at the regional campus and then transfer to Pitt or Penn State to get the bachelors.
Or a kid could get their four year degree from Shippensburg or the like, and get a job and be just fine.
@thumper1 Can you explain that further? Then why is it college students of age 19 -22 are still considered dependents? I thought it was a tax definition. So if OP wants to get his own financial aid, I believe he does have to move out, and make sure his father is not using him as a dependent on his PA Taxes. Thats my understanding.
If there was no need to emancipate from parents to get one’s own financial aid, then why is it necessary for kids to fill in FAFSA or CSS profile, about their parents? I think they do need to break their tax dependency on parents, to get their own financial aid, which might help this student.