I'm Very Upset of My Student Debt

I can’t even imagine how you even navigated this far with a family income of $14k/ per year and no adult support. You have climbed a tremendous mountain.

There are two ways to attack it now: 1) getting some of your credits to transfer, and 2) getting more FA.

Go to the chairman of your department and explain your situation. Try to influence him/her to accept more of your credits. Don’t whine. Don’t beg. INFLUENCE. Even if YOU have to assemble a date-by-date syllabus for your community college coursework and get the community college professors to sign off on it.

Then work the other angle as well – financial aid. Again, no whining. INFLUENCE them. U-Mich has a TON of money. $20k is nothing to them.

Let’s get you to graduation!

@brantly Yes, you’re correct. Those credits did not fulfill anything science related. I had a writing course that transferred. I had a political and history course that transferred, and that’s really all at the top of my head.

I don’t want to make this really complicated. Basically, I had a few social studies courses and elective courses down that transferred EQUIVALENTLY.

@brantly Actually, I did do the aforementioned steps. That’s where I am now. Let me just explain this part to you, a big part I left out.

In 2017 I reached what they called a “MAXIMUM CREDIT LIMIT”. Around 120 or so credits, and I did check if I qualified for a degree.

In 2017, I looked at my financial aid package and the only thing I qualified for was my last Pell Grant. There were no loans, no work study aid - nothing. I had to spend all of January 2017 up until this point meeting with professionals at my school to (1) get credits dropped, (2) get ANY sort of financial aid reinstated, and (3) obtaining enough aid to even go.

That’s where I am now. I’m absolutely happy with this year’s financial aid. But when I contacted the financial aid department, this was it. The amount of aid I’m receiving this year is the tip of the iceberg. They can’t do anything more for me, unfortunately. At least, this is what their committee decided.

I do get around $8000 in loans for my last semester, but other than that I’d have to try to get a private loan. U-M for this academic year awarded me one term of U-M Grant aid, equaling approximately $14,000. Really, I’m just happy to go back. However, that leaves 1 semester. I’m hoping for a private loan at the very least.

@brantly you really think I could meet with the Chairman of my Dept? I kinda wanna try, even to just meet him! ^.^

Is there an option or some of the 40 elective credits to NOT transfer so that you’re kr above the 120 limit anymore?
Have you met with the Dean of students yet?

Of course! Write a brief email requesting a meeting. Plan out what you want to say. This is the same thing I’d tell my own child. I am just seething mad about the inequalities in our country. This is NOT your fault. Based on your background, you have so many disadvantages. This NEVER would have happened to my children because they have the advantage of two graduate-school-educated parents who know the ropes. You do not have that advantage.

Also, as @MYOS1634 suggested above, see the Dean of Students as well. Take it up the ladder.

Also, you have NOTHING to be embarrassed about. You have come SO FAR! If you can graduate with student debt of $20k-$30k, you will be fine. You’ll sign up for the income-based repayment plan.

I tried to link it but it wouldn’t let me but look up gofundme for college education. Not sure how it works but seems some kids are successful at raising money this way.

It’s never a bad idea to make the acquaintance of the department chair- they sometimes have office hours for that reason. But if the OP didn’t take the right sequence of courses at the CC (because of location constraints and lack of prerequisites) I’m not sure how some of you think OP should be demanding more credits accepted toward the degree.

@CheddarcheeseMN I do agree with you there. However, at this point, the biggest problem is not being able to pay for my 3rd semester.

I was told by the biology department that they couldn’t do anything else with my credits. Talking to the Chairman to at least make them aware of my situation is what I would aim to do. Maybe they can prevent this from happening in the future?

I’m thinking maybe I can talk with these people about finances. How’s a kid like me supposed to pay for my last semester when my family has bad credit and I stopped receiving the Pell Grant?

On the U-M website, Federal Student Loans for the lowest income students are capped at $7,750 for ONE semester. Unless I can somehow make $10,000, I won’t be able to graduate for a long time. There’s one scholarship opportunity I qualify for, The Returning Student Scholarship.

The U-M Financial Aid office is no longer able to help me. If I do get a private loan, my debt will double. I’m sort of praying for this one scholarship opportunity that opens up on January 1. If all else fails, I’m going to try to get a private loan which I, and my family, do not qualify for.

Not sure if you worked this past summer but maybe taking off a semester and working? Problem is your loans could kick in after a period of time not being a full time student.

This appears to be a failure of advising and coordination at both UM and NCMC, with respect to students trying to use the transfer pathway.

  1. UM seems to be rather stingy on subject credit for transferred in college courses, as indicated in its transfer credit listings, even for courses that are common and do not vary that much across colleges (biology, math, etc.).
  2. Many Michigan community colleges do not seem to be making much of an effort to cover UM lower level courses in many subjects.
  3. If the OP is representative, advising at Michigan community colleges seems to be quite poor, at least for those trying to take the transfer pathway to UM.
  4. UM seems willing to admit transfer students who may not have enough lower level subject credit applicable to their majors to be able to complete their majors in four to six semesters after transfer.
  5. UM advising seems to be lacking as well in terms of helping the OP graduate in a reasonable number of semesters.

Obviously, these types of course and prerequisite sequencing issues can be barriers against students like the OP who are on a financial aid clock to complete a bachelor’s degree in a limited number of semesters. Perhaps that may be part of the reason why only 15% of UM undergraduates are those who get Pell grants.

@Knowsstuff, the year I took off trying to get my credits dropped so that I could re-enroll caused my grace period for my loans to end. Taking a SECOND gap year is not an option at this point. I can’t honestly pay off loans, save for college, and then do what…? Work at McDonalds? :)) (laughing, but not at you…)

The town I live at offers very slim pickings in terms of job opportunities.

I know… I know… At this point it’s sort of like, “Well then what else do you want OP? You gotta do what you gotta do.”

However, I really, really, REALLY, don’t want to take another gap year. I just want to graduate. It’s one semester, and I don’t know.

This is my real mood right now: :((

Ann arbor should have part time jobs to complement work study. If your total work study+ job doesn’t go over 15 hours it should be ok.
Go to UMich’s career center. See how they can help - things are being set up now for next year already.

You mentioned you have a learning disability. Is this something that was diagnosed before you started college? Do you receive accommodations through the Disabilities Service office? If so you may be eligible through the Michigan Dept of Rehab. Requirements vary by state In CA you need to show that you’ve exhausted other forms of financial aid, in addition to documenting your disability. They pay for training/education, but not housing. This is what I found on the Michigan Department of Rehab website:

Michigan is home to approximately 1.3 million individuals with disabilities. Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) provides specialized employment and education-related services and training to assist teens and adults with disabilities in becoming employed or retaining employment. In addition, MRS partners and collaborates with the State Department of Education, local school systems, Michigan Career and Technical Institute (MCTI), community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities to develop statewide school-to-work, postsecondary, and adult life programs to help students with disabilities succeed in secondary and postsecondary education and transition to employment. We work in partnership with individuals with disabilities to achieve independence and prepare for and obtain competitive employment, including exploring the possibilities of self-employment or owning a small business.

Wishing you the best of luck.

Unfortunately this is fairly typical of Universities to get you to come. Once they have you they know you have to finish or it was all a waste. Kind of BS that they get you by telling you “I guess you didn’t read the fine print” on FA and credit transfer when they should be much more upfront about these very important topics.

@stsherma In my opinion, the best thing for you to do in order to improve your financial future is to focus now on the employment opportunities that will come from this degree.

If you don’t have them, draft a resume, and create a linkedin profile. Talk with career services and find out what the career options are for someone with the degree you are working on, and how much those options typically pay. Ask them to assess your resume and linkedin for strengths and weaknesses. Ask them what you can do in the time you have left to enhance it: GPA? Campus involvement? Research? TA? Internship? Find out what potential employers care about and focus on that. Sometimes unrelated skills like a couple of programming courses can really bolster the strength of your resume too. They may also offer classes to practice interviewing.

Also, ask them when interviewing starts for this next year. Some begin a year ahead of graduation. Work with career services, and there is a good chance you will have a job when you graduate. That is worth a lot, even it it is only a stepping stone to another position you really want.

I think I must have missed something. How are you paying for the Fall 2018 semester if you’re out of aid and you don’t qualify for loans?

@austinmshauri

I qualify for loans. However, student loans are capped at U-M. They aren’t just going to increase the student loans to cover ALL cost. The cap for federal student loans at U-M is $6,250 per semester. Then, if you qualify, they’ll tack on $1500 for work study per semester.

After that, you have to cover the rest. That means coverage through grants, private loans, scholarships or whatever… I’m receiving none of this for my 3rd semester.

I petitioned the school for a whole year to get MORE financial aid (mentioned in my above posts). They ended up giving me a grant for two semesters. But for my third semester, Fall 2019, I’m receiving no such aid. I graduate in 3 semesters. The only thing they’ll give me Fall 2019 is $6,250 for student loans and a $1500 work study stipend.

Refreshing everyone’s memory, the original intent of this post was about how my student debt was going to double because of a 3rd semester I’d have to take.

That means I have to pay out of pocket $17,000. Immediately enrolling into school for my third semester means I’ll owe the school, off-the-bat, around $10,000. If you don’t have the aid, they send you a paper check in the mail. Tuition and board in-state is around $17,000. The only aid I’m getting Fall 2019 is $7,750 (Federal Student loans + work study). U-M doesn’t increase the loan limit, financial need or no.

Also, I never said I didn’t qualify for loans. I said I didn’t qualify for a private loan. A private loan would at least make it so I could DO my 3rd semester and graduate and get a job.

Michigan doesn’t cap the loans. The federal government does. And just for the record, work study is not a “stipend.” It’s a job you get paid for. “Work-study” just means that some of the funds come from the federal government.

Just to make it clear (I’m not exactly following), can you list all your aid, starting from your first year at community college? Like this:

CC Year 1:
xxx subsidized loan
xxx unsubsidized loan
xxx grant from xxx

CC Year 2:

Michigan Year 1:

Etc, etc.