I recently joined Kaplan University, unfortunatelyI had to withdrawal because, according to their financial aid office, me being under 24, having 2 children, and no income made me a automatic “dependent student” I do not want to have to wait till I am 24 to attend an online college. ( ONLY WAY I CAN ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE, I HAVE BOTH MY KIDS NO VEHICLE AT THIS VERY MOMENT) Also, I will be 24 in June, which is not to much longer, if I can start now would be awesome for me though. Lastly, FASFA does consider me a “independent” student. SO with all that being said, my question is, does anyone know if all college will be this way? Or is there around this. Please help me!!
Is Kaplan a for-profit college? Don’t get involved with a for-profit-school. I hope you got all your money back when you had to withdraw.
How old are the children? Can you check with your state if there is a child care subsidy program, that would help pay for daycare while you attended college?
Have you ever attended college? Could you attend a community college with financial aid, and taking public transportation or by carpooling with someone?
If you want to take classes online, find a program that is reputable, start with your instate public universities to see if they have such programs.
OP- there are online degree programs offered by reputable non-profit colleges. Start there. Do not start at Kaplan. They are interested in making money for their shareholders first and foremost. Your academic needs are second.
@Tjlanoux All colleges go by the same rules. Unless you are married, you won’t be considered independent until you are 24.
As for Kaplan, I’m echoing others in saying you should NOT go that route. They are a predatory, for-profit organization. There are indeed other online universities. I’d avoid Phoenix – despite their hype, they are not accredited (or weren’t last time I checked.) You can still get a degree, but it doesn’t mean as much.
University of Maryland University College (UMUC) is the online, adult education arm of the University of Maryland system. I can tell you from the perspective of a former employee, they are wonderful at working with adults in all sorts of life circumstances to make education possible. I was there for 7 years; my husband worked for them for 26 years. From the student side of things, my cousin went through UMUC for her degree at our recommendation, graduated on the Dean’s List, and has a great job.
If UMUC doesn’t appeal to you, do some checking around for NON-PROFIT online universities. Good luck!
If you are just starting college, check out your own home-state public community colleges to find out which AA degrees can be completed online. By the time you are ready to transfer, your life may have changed enough to give you a lot more options. Even if you still are limited to online coursework, it is almost certain that there is a fully online degree program for your potential major that is offered by one of the affordable public universities in your own state.
Oh my goodness thank you, what is crazy though I actually just got finished reading a lot of reviews about Kaplan, and now I have a knot in my stomach I wish I would of seen them earlier, so many people got messed over by them. A lot of other college are like this too. Now I am worried If I will be next only because, even though I withdrawal within two weeks, did they still take my FAFSA. Is that possible? can they take my aid and then turn around and say I was denied?
I’m sorry, but I don’t know.
No, they cannot process a FAFSA and keep your loan money if you aren’t a student there.
@twoinanddone thank you I was worried