<p>Fellow CCers, I come to you to ask for help/advice:</p>
<p>As some may know, I got accepted to University of Maryland College Park. With some luck, I was awarded $11,654 in aid ($4,625 in loans in interest-free loans, at least while I am full-time in school). Granted, that covers a good deal of my education, but I am fearing it may not be enough.</p>
<p>My family isn't excatly well-off. My father barely earns above 50k a year. That he spends on supporting 3 kids and a spouse. I too work, earning some cash to help out my family and possibly for college.</p>
<p>But now, it seems we are being stretched beyond our limits. Both my parents have diabetes, but my dad's is controlled. My mom's is not, and it's destroying her body slowly. Lately, getting medicine and such (our insurance doesn't cover all of it) has been a hassle, as my own father has to borrow money from me (levels of $500 or more) to help pay for bills and such (we do not own a house, as we lost it due to my dad's unemployment, thus we pay rent to live in a townhose). It has been causing a lot of conflict between my parents. We only have to pay $476 a month for Maryland (Payment Plan),but with rent over $1,600, bills, and unexpected costs ( Our car's brakes wore out, and my dad had to borrow $500 from me to have enough to pay other bills). My jobs can only bring out about $90-130 a month.</p>
<p>So I'm hoping to apply for some scholorships (some have deadlines in september) and hope for the best, but now I worry that (from what I hear), getting outside help hurts your financial aid package.</p>
<p>I am lost. I do not know what to do. I don't want to put any more financial problems in a financial-troubled household.</p>
<p>So I ask you all, what should I do?</p>