<p>So my mom just told me The Truth about everything.</p>
<p>Today I was denied federal Stafford loans and a $2000 scholarship that the state gives every student who has a minimum gpa of 3.0. The sole reason: the U.S. immigration office meesed up my papers three years ago, so I still don't have a green card.</p>
<p>Also, My dad has Hepatitis B, which may possibly evolve into cancer, and he is so stressed and depressed right now (he also smokes) that it very likely could turn into cancer.</p>
<p>My mom is in danger of losing her job because she is the only foreign professor in her department, and her university is making major cuts in the faculty. If she doesn't get her tenure this year, she will be unemployed.</p>
<p>To top it off, my grandmother has recently had her third stroke and is in the hospital, unconscious. My father is the only person in the family with a job, but he can't afford to pay her hospital bills and my tuition at the same time.</p>
<p>So after a talk we decided that I'm not going to college anymore. Am I in favor of saving my grandma's life instead of my own education? Absolutely. But am I bitter that I'm no longer going to the prestigious school that I've always wanted to attend? .... Yeah.</p>
<p>…
wow justowkeup that just plain and out right sucks. You have my deepest empathy and I really hope things do make a turn around at some point for you.</p>
<p>Is there any way you can go to a cheaper community college for the time being? It’s certainly not your dream school but it’ll get you the education you need and if things get better you could transfer. </p>
<p>Seriously i’m sorry to hear about all that. I could not imagine what I would do in your situation but I certainly hope that you can hang in there and the future might be brighter.</p>
<p>I’m really sorry about everything, but look at it this way: you have your whole life ahead of you. You can go to a CC and then a prestigious school, or a good grad school later on. You can still get your dream job and have a great college experience; itll just be a little later than you expected. And CC shouldn’t be too bad either if you have any friends attending or going to colleges nearby.</p>
<p>Do talk to fin aid though; maybe they can do something about this (though don’t get your hopes up I’m sorry to say, colleges are making cuts in aid these days too).</p>
<p>And remember you’re not the only one going through this now; even if you look at some of the threads on this site you’ll see a lot of people are going to CC and working since their families are in tough situations.</p>
<p>It seems that you have already gotten some great suggestions, so I will just say that you have my greatest empathy. Remember, you can go to college at any age; it will always be there. In the mean time, try to hang out with some friends or something, just to get this off your mind.</p>
<p>Perhaps you can use the time to try and pick up a trade (sales, cooking, etc) while working which may be able to help you get into a college later on.</p>
<p>There are many people who do not go to college right after HS, and I’m sure many schools will understand the situation you were in when you apply later on.</p>
<p>You have some great options up there. I KNOW you can pull through: first step, take a breath. Second: CALL YOUR SCHOOL! My sister called recently and got a grant of 10K extra. It still leaves her with some money to find, but it is a boon nonetheless. There are so many things you can do, as shown above. People are out there, willing to help!</p>
<p>This doesn’t help you much, but my impression is that having hepatitis B only increases your already very slim chances of getting pancreatic cancer. So, your dad may be slightly more susceptible to it, but it’s really not something he should spend a lot of time worrying about. Smoking is definitely a much larger issue.</p>
<p>Go the financial aid office and speak!! Trust me!! You’ll regret what you didn’t do rather than what you did. Tell them about your situation, I’m sure they can arrange everything. Try to fix the problem about your immigration status. Look up and post and ask questions and call up everyone involved in this and tell them what you can do. I’m sure SOMETHING will work out. </p>
<p>In the meantime, tell your father to stop smoking because of his health and if anything happens to your mom. Tell her to defend herself too. </p>
<p>The last option is of course CC. </p>
<p>Also there are a lot of scholarships for needbased students. My school always says not affording college is not an option because there is always some sort of aid even student loans if you wish. </p>
<p>You can talk to your Congressman’s constituent services in the meantime, they can get your representative to sponsor your citizenship in Congress. It will get you a green card much quicker than the traditional way. Call them, explain your situation, and then ask them if it’s possible to get citizenship within a year so you can defer till 2010 or go to CC in the meantime.</p>
<p>That is honestly a selfless act. I TRULY respect your decision to give up your college education to save your grandma’s life. If you got into that prestigious school - it just shows that you have a lot of potential. USE IT! No matter what, try to get some college credits to save you some time in college. </p>
<p>TAKE GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES!!! Those are very easy to transfer provided you look at your curriculum carefully at your college.Tell them whats going on, why you are doing it, and what you plan on doing for the next year or so. </p>
<p>Life just gave you a cold sucker punch in the face. If you can get up and succeed under these circumstances, you can just about do anything. Just don’t be afraid to ask for help - its out there.</p>
<p>I agree with everyone who suggested that you talk to the school and talk to your congressman.</p>
<p>There’s a good chance that either the college will be able to help you out financially now or they will allow you to defer admission for a year, allowing time for your green card to go through, for you to earn $ for college, and for your financial situation to improve.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, you still should be able to go to college – if not this year, in the future.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, wasn’t there a thread just recently about a columnist offering to help motivated and smart students go to college, if finances are keeping them out? Maybe OP can email the columnist about that; it’s worth a try (only I don’t remember its name or where it is :()</p>
<p>I’m very sorry. It is a really noble thing you did with your grandmother. My grandmother passed away recently and I would have done the same thing to save her life.</p>
<p>Are you serious? THere is absolutely no way to get a loan? Dude get a job, throw the bank a down payment and get that loan you NEED to go to college. Or at the very least go to CC. No big deal. You going to school will not end your grammas life. Same as you NOT going to school wont save it. Whoever told you that is wrong.</p>
<p>You can always go to community college for a year or two then transfer. This way you won’t lose a year of school and will still be class of 2013</p>
<p>Also, if you’re only $2000 short then…GET A JOB!! Work Full time for a few months and you’ll start college this spring >_></p>