<p>I'm entering my sophomore year of college, however during my freshman year my parents moved to Georgia from Florida due to the high cost of living. My parents have not helped pay for my college at all, it has all been at my expense using the money I have saved up, the scholarship money I worked hard for, and my stafford loan. At this point I'm just a few thousand in debt. My parents keep telling me to "pull out a loan" to help me get back to Orlando to pay for housing and to go back to school, but it is something I feel should be the last thing I should do. Since high school I've felt that my father and step-mom could care less about my education, but I still love learning and don't let them deter me. I don't qualify for the Pell Grant and can't pull out a loan because my parents have a poor credit rating, but do not know how they managed to purchase the $200k house we are living in. </p>
<p>I will qualify for Georgia in-state tuition and the Hope scholarshop in two months and I think the best course of action at this point would be to take a semester off and apply for college locally to take classes in the spring. Would this be the best idea? What can I do in my semester off? I do want to do something academic but my parents have moved to the middle of nowhere and without a car nor local jobs nearby I'm stuck. Does anyone know of any opportunities that would provide me with housing while possibly giving me experience (I'm a Biology major with plans on being a Science teacher and eventually a doctor)? </p>
<p>Thank you so much for taking the time to read and hope to hear what you have to say to help me out!</p>
<p>Manny, can you provide more information about your stats, current college, etc.?</p>
<p>I'm not exactly sure what stats you want but I attend the University of Central Florida and have a 3.3 GPA.</p>
<p>What about Florida Bright Futures?</p>
<p>"I will qualify for Georgia in-state tuition and the Hope scholarshop in two months and I think the best course of action at this point would be to take a semester off and apply for college locally to take classes in the spring. Would this be the best idea?"</p>
<p>I think your basic idea sounds excellent. The only modification that I'd suggest is taking a full year off and using that time to be an Americorps volunteer, which would provide you with a living stipend that would cover your basic expenses including for living away from home. At the end of your commitment, you'd also get about $4,700 that you could use for college.</p>
<p>My son was an Americorps volunteer after high school, and it was an excellent experience. The training included grant writing and gave him valuable skills.</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.americorps.org/for_individuals/benefits/index.asp%5DAmeriCorps%5B/url">http://www.americorps.org/for_individuals/benefits/index.asp]AmeriCorps[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Your background in bio could be very helpful for Americorps positions that have to do with volunteer positions such as doing work preventing HIV.</p>
<p>Community service work also is viewed by medical schools as a big plus.</p>
<p>"What about Florida Bright Futures?" </p>
<p>I receive full Bright Futures but it's paying up front for housing is where I'm struggling since funds disburse after school starts. Thanks for the Americorps volunteer recommendation, I'm going to start looking into it right away.</p>
<p>Have had an in-person talk with the admissions people at the Georgia U that you would attend? I would do this ASAP before you make any other decision. You do not know what they might be able to offer you such as a waiver of the OOS status. But try to do this with an appointment not just an e-mail. Take your transcript with you. Good Luck
Keep us posted</p>
<p>I wonder too if they will allow reciprocity for the Bright Futures...if they did, on top of other entitlements, it might solve the problem...</p>