low income family

Paying for College
1

<p>My family told me they can't afford college with an income of $24000/ yr. However I want to know what are my options. What loans can I apply for and how much financial help can I receive? My dad thinks its best to apply only to community colleges but I don't want to restrict myself only to those colleges. My parents think its best for me to earn a scholarship but my GPA isn't that great. I currently live in NYC, my GPA is around an 85, and we're Hispanic. Coming from a low income family, what can I do to afford college?</p>

2

<p>

CUNY See [Welcome</a> to CUNY - The City University of New York](<a href=“http://www.cuny.edu/index.html]Welcome”>The City University of New York)
or SUNY See [suny.edu</a> - The State University of New York](<a href=“http://www.suny.edu/]suny.edu”>http://www.suny.edu/)

If you eligible, you may quality for financial aid from Federal & New York state. See <a href=“http://www.cuny.edu/admissions/financial-aid/apply-aid.html[/url]”>http://www.cuny.edu/admissions/financial-aid/apply-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>Go to college web sites and put “net price calculator” into the search box to get financial aid estimates. Note that colleges vary widely, so it is better to get each college’s estimate rather than making assumptions.</p>

4

<p>Start by learning how finanial aid works:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1486647-financial-aid-faqs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1486647-financial-aid-faqs.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Sounds like your state schools will be the most affordable for you if your grades aren’t that great.</p>

5

<p>jellybree - Go to the High School Life forum and run up a bunch of posts on whatever random topics appeal to you. As soon as you have 15 posts and can send a PM, send one to sybbie719 who is one of the experts on financial aid in New York State. sybbie719 will have lots of good ideas for you.</p>

6

<p>Use the Net Price Calculators on the SUNY and CUNY websites.</p>

7

<p>I am from New York. CUNY and SUNY are your best options. With that income you should qualify for a pell grant and TAP (New York State Aid). Some of the schools even offer merit scholarships. CUNY’s are less than $7,000 per year to commute and SUNY’s are less than $8,000.</p>