<p>What I hope you are doing is venting here and not at your parents. Your dad with his kidney condition and your mother trying to make ends meet have enough on their plate without you pressuring them to sign for loans they absolutely do not want to take. I’m sure they are hurting terribly with your unhappiness.</p>
<p>Several of the parents posting here are in good health, have manageable mortgages, and earn decent salaries. We have also steered our children away from loans and toward schools that they can afford. The cold, hard truth is that life isn’t always what we want it to be. Both of my kids had to attend schools that were not their first choice due to finances. Please listen to your dad and to the advice given here.</p>
<p>Oh, and please respect the fact that your mother would prefer you not ask her relatives for money. You can figure out a way to make things work without going against your mother’s wishes. Life involves choices, and they are not always easy to make … but hard work will get you farther than any one school can.</p>
<p>Just three things to add to all the excellent advice you’ve received so far.</p>
<h1>1 - A Story About A Smart Kid (friend of my son) Smart kid was at a magnet school; didn’t do his homework; GPA sucked; got booted from school. Decided to “self-educate.” Good lord, I thought. But I was wrong. After self-educating for a year, went to our local CC. Did really well; 3.92. Got on the dean’s list. Got Excellent recommendations. Just now transferred as a junior to University of Michigan, a school that this year especially, routinely rejects “average” applicants even with an unweighted 3.8/32 Act. BTW - his ACT score in HS? 25!!! So, like the other posters said: YOU CAN PUT YOUR HS PERFORMANCE BEHIND YOU AND SAVE YOUR PARENTS MONEY AND SPEND TIME WITH YOUR AILING FATHER BY ATTENDING YOUR LOCAL CC FOR TWO YEARS.</h1>
<p>And then you can make your dream come true. Good dreams don’t take a month or two of scrambling. Good dreams often take YEARS to create! Be patient. Be steadfast. You can have what you want if you’re willing to ask yourself who you’re “being” about it.</p>
<h1>2. On being a good writer 
I used to teach journalism at a university; worked as a senior beat reporter; worked as a metro at a major daily, etc. and I am here to tell you that however good or great you are now, YOU DO NOT WANT TO PAY PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES for this profession. Many things are changing in the industry and while one who is quick on their feet, pragmatic, a good listener with great critical faculties, CAN have a rewarding career, the fiscal prospects just simply do not rationalize excessive student loan debt, meaning anything over $27,000k for four years of the federal guidelines. Trust me on this, okay? Fiction writing is even worse – trust me on this too.</h1>
<h1>3 That said, a good writer who possesses incisive skills will always be employable in myriad fields. So keep writing!</h1>
<p>Now, since we’re clearly all worried for you, please come back and tell us you’ve enrolled in your local cc and intend to have the most fantastic do-over ever. Tell us you’re going to treasure you time with you ailing parent and trust that the universe is perfect. Okay? ;)</p>
<p>You could also take a look at the schools on the NACAC list that will come out in a few days to see if there is a spot somewhere that would fit your stats and give a call to see if financial aid is still available. It’s not a sure thing, but you won’t know unless you look.</p>
<p>I am applying for as many scholarships as I can to make this happen end of story. I have 12 so far, and most of them are not that competitive and are based on the quality of the essay(s). I will post back in a few months or less about what the story is, but in the meantime… TIME TO WRITE!</p>
<p>Good for you, 2015hopeful, so you should do. Be aware though that costs rise each year at schools and most scholarships are one year only. My son was caught short that way sophomore year, but he had left some leeway in affordablity. $2750 of scholarship only for freshman year, college costs went up 4%, merit aid stayed the same, upper class dorm room was more expensive in base price, not to mention the increase.</p>
<p>Also, DePaul has a set amount of money for each semester like 15,233 or so for fall, winter and spring. I basically have the first two covered, it is just the last one for the spring semester that I need. I have to pay DePaul 16,200 (this is what is left after my DePaul scholars award of 10,500, stafford loan of 5,500, parents contribution of 10,000) It all actually costs 42,000 for the year all inclusive. I mean to be honest, I do have family in chicago so I could commute to save money, which would put me in the clear and I would not have to apply for all these scholarships ect., but I’m not doing that, I really want to live in a dorm. I am planning on working this summer to earn 6,000 at perhaps my mother’s company and earn 4,000 after taxes respectively. That means I will have 12,000 left by September without the outside scholarships. If I receive at least 6,000 in outside scholarships (I did apply for a local one that was not popular at all for 1,500), that will mean I will have 6,000 left to pay by the time I enter school in september. To make up the difference I can either get a part time job or apply for more scholarships. There are ways. The reason I started this thread was not to say “I will never be able to go to college next year period… help me!”, but to say “How can I finance DePaul next year considering my circumstances”.</p>
<p>I think the goal at this point should be to make lemonade out of lemons. That doesn’t mean that you can make lemon meringue pie, because you don’t have the ingredients for that…just yet.</p>
<p>On one hand, you clearly understand that you screwed up in high school…inadequate grades…and “ok” test scores. You also know about your family’s financial limitations.</p>
<p>But, on the other hand, you want to avoid the realities of all of that and borrow your way into a solution that you think is workable. </p>
<p>What you’re not accepting is that your family won’t/shouldn’t co-sign for many reasons, and you’d be very unhappy having to payback large debts as a newish undergrad (either to a bank or to relatives). And, since your mom’s family has the money and she doesn’t want you to ask them, you need to respect that. </p>
<p>What career do you see yourself having after graduation and how much do you think you’d be earning?</p>
<p>Please accept that you’d be better off in the long run if you start at local school and get top grades, ask your dad to set aside the $10k per year, then when you transfer, you’ll have $20k per year for your last 2 years. Also, work over the next 4 summers and bank about $12k for those last 2 years of college You could borrow $7500 per year at that point, and with the $20k, and $6k, you’d have over $30k per year for college. :)</p>
<p>(regarding my last post) Also, I’m sure my parents would cosign for a 6,000 loan if I had that.</p>
<p>So what about next year, and the year after that, and the year after that? You realize most private scholarships are for freshmen only and non-renewable, right?</p>
<p>Just because you want to hear something doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.</p>
<p>@polarscribe I am planning on attending DePaul for a year or two and then transferring to a very good top school that would offer very good financial aid. You know what no matter what I say on this thread people are going to tell me I will have no chance at those schools. You all do not know me, or my capabilites so if this is what I want to do, I would leave it at that.</p>
<p>How to finance Depaul is to hassle your parents and bully your relatives into signing loans and accommodating you, is what I see here. Finding a job, two, three, four jobs will net you some money, and yes, you can get some first year scholarships. You can live hand to mouth, too. </p>
<p>Be aware that transfer students have even a lower chance of getting financial aid. Even schools that say they meet full need often do not do so for transfer students. It would be wise to go to a less expensive school the first few years and that way your parents can come up with more when you transfer, because you will likely need it. You are shaving things very close, even if you get there, which is fine if you can do it yourself without pushing your parents, but that is not what your situation is.</p>
<p>My concern more is for your parents. What will probably happen is that you will wear them down and they will sign for loans they do not want to take. Shame on you.</p>
<p>You realize that the vast majority of schools offer very little or no financial aid for transfer students, right?</p>
<p>You really, REALLY need to think and plan ahead. Particularly if you plan to major in journalism - because take it from me, a journalism major: the job market SUCKS right now, and even if you can find an entry-level job, you’d make more money flipping burgers at McDonalds. It’s a profession in crisis. There are still great avenues to use those communication skills, but you have to be very flexible. (I’m now a park ranger.)</p>
<p>what does everyone keep saying that I am either “bullying” my relatives or “begging”?! I never ever in a million years asked my relatives to help me, nor would I ever. I will find scholarships. People need to stop saying I will never get any. I can, and I WILL.</p>
<p>I think I am going to stop posting on this thread and reading, because it is quite frankly really stressing me out. I will post eventually when I am at DePaul.</p>
<p>You’re going to move in with relatives in Chicago without asking? You just said you are going to get your parents to sign for $6K and that you are contemplating hitting up relatives for loan which your mother does not want you to do. </p>
<p>No one is saying you won’t get scholarships. It’s just tough going as most are for $1K or so and it’s going to take a lot to make up your deficit. Also, this source is just for the first year. Very few scholarships out there for upperclassmen. </p>
<p>You’ll do as you please, as most do, but hopefully this thread as pointed out some alternatives if things don’t work out and some pitfalls to your ideas.</p>
<p>Good luck. Please, whatever you do, don’t wind up with $70,000 in student loan debt.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse I NEVER SAID THAT I WOULD MOVE IN WITH RELATIVES! Never said that. I said that I have family in chicago, but that I would NEVER ask to live with them, and that I really want to live in a dorm. And for the LAST time I NEVER said I would ask relatives for loans! I said that my dad wants my mother’s family to help pay, and my mother wants my dad’s family to pay. I’m not doing either, as I would never ask them such a thing.</p>
<p>2015, again, good luck to you. Do the best you can. I hope you make it work. I also hope you don’t hurt your parents in the doing. They have laid out what they can do for you and it’s not a bad spread at all.</p>
<p>I can tell you that some of us moms have come to the conclusion that when it comes to applying for those local scholarships, the yield per hour spent is less than that of working a job. Certainly was the case for my son, and he had nearly perfect SATs. The ones who usually get those awards have a specialty niche and/or very high gpa and test scores. Finding a job is probably the most productive thing you can do. My kids have made up to $10K or more in the summer working multiple jobs. If you start right now, you’ll have a leg up. My senior just landed a job last week that he has to start this week. It’s going to run into his senior activities, but he figures by doing this, he’ll have over grand saved by graduation and will be able to afford more at college and during the summer. Also, this is far more lucrative than his return job and will net him additional bucks over the summer. Most of his friends haven’t even started thinking about summer work and money as they are into senior things right now.</p>
<p>* I really want to live in a dorm.*</p>
<p>Dear…we want you to have that experience as well. But, you need to “do the math” and realize that you can’t do it for 2 years.</p>
<p>Please “do the math” like I did in post #68. If you use a strategy, you will be able to have the funds for a sleep away experience for your last 2 years without accumulating too much debt.</p>
<p>Also, I forgot to add…if you take out 5500 and 6500 loans for your first 2 years, but don’t use much of it, you can “bank” that money to use towards your last 2 years to give you more money. This way you’ll graduate with less than $30k in debt…which will result in loan payments about equal to one extra car payment. </p>
<p>BTW…will your grandpa give you any money?</p>