<p>OK as a parent:</p>
<p>I remember my parents in my college years. Their income was high enough that I qualified for no aid, so I depended on them more than I should. In return they used money to micro-manage every aspect of my life. If you don’t go to the school we want, we won’t pay, if you don’t choose the major we want, we won’t pay, if you date someone we don’t like, we won’t pay, if you live somewhere we don’t like, we won’t pay, if you take classes we don’t approve of, we won’t pay… I had two choices, to live by whatever rules they decided to dole out that day and count the days until I no longer had to report their income on my paperwork or to figure out how to support myself. I chose to put up with their rules, but now over 20 years later, I can still say it did long term damage to our relationship and I can definitely understand the desire to break away.</p>
<p>Their is a priority date for the FAFSA, but it can be filed year round. Do a FAFSA ASAP. It would be best if you can get the income info from your parents, but if not, an earlier post noted that if your parents absolutely refuse to release the information that you can speak with your financial aid office about filing without their info. Without a FAFSA, you won’t qualify for any aid…period. Do it…yesterday!</p>
<p>Once a FAFSA is filed you should still be able to get govt backed loans. There is a limit and it is not high enough to cover your tutition, let alone your tution + living expenses, you’ll have to determine if you will be able to meet the remaining expenses. If you borrow the money and then find that you can’t make the remainder of the payments and the school cancels your registration the money will be due back immediately.</p>
<p>You need to sit down and make a budget - how much will it cost to live (there are some REALLY cheap apartments in some areas, old studio units with few ammenities, how much is the lowest rent you can pay? how about roommates, if you share an apt, perhaps you can save $, can you live with friends/relatives…“couch surfing” is not uncommon with young adults if you are comfortable and know someone that will let you stay on their couch for help with their food/utitlity bills), what are ALL your other expenses - do you own a car? (gas, insurance), do you use other transportation? (airfare to school? public transportation?) food? utilities? books? clothes? sit down and be REALISTIC about how much you spend and how much you NEED to spend…how much do you spend now that you could cut out of your budget if you needed too?</p>
<p>Then sit down and be very honest about how you meet the difference in the total expenses minus what you can get in loans. Can you get a full time job? Paying how much? (very dependent on the area you go to school). Can you get a part time job? Is it realistic to work more than one job? Perhaps a part time job on campus and then another part time job off campus? How much time do you spend studying? How much time do you spend invovled in activities? How much time do you really have available for work and how much can you make in that time?</p>
<p>Is it possible to seek an internship or co-op? Have you spoken with those offices? If you sign up to co-op, you could find a way to cover you expenses for the fall and work during the spring and retain your student status and make money to pay for your next semester. </p>
<p>There has been a lot of advice saying to take a year off and work, but financially that may not be the best solution. If you can make $10/hour now, then with a 40 hour week in a year you can earn just over $20,000 - taxes. If your major and the job market allows you to make a starting salary of even $20/hour after graduation (or around $40,000/year), then your best financial option is to get to that point as quickly as possible. If you graduate in 2 years and borrow $10,000/year over the next 2 years, then you’ve borrowed $20,000, but the $40,000 salary allows you to pay back the borrowed money and still have a higher income than you would have without the degree. If instead you continue to make $20,000/year but must use a good portion for living expenses and can only save $5000-10000 per year, then you may need to work for several years locked into a lower salary to save the money to go to school. Only you can make REALISTIC estimates based upon your major, the likelihood that you’ll find a job in the current economy, the average starting salaries, your GPA and current work experience and how that will impact your ability to find a job… Do the math… do the math for a 5 year, or 10 year period… is it better to work for $10/hour - your expenses, how much can you save, how long would it be before you could realistically expect to return to school, if instead you borrow the money, how much will your payments be, when and how much can you expect to get as a salary after graduation… what if you co-op or intern what influence does that have…</p>
<p>Supporting yourself would be DIFFICULT, but not impossible, if it’s what you are determined to do, then sit down and do the math and figure out how to make it happen… if you are willing to WORK to make it happen - possibly working multiple jobs, possiblity living in an old, run-down property that you wouldn’t normally look twice at, giving up your car and learning to walk… it is not impossible, but first do the FAFSA, even if you decide no to pursue the loans later, the FAFSA is free and doesn’t take long to complete, get it done NOW, talk to the office at your school that handles internships and co-ops and determine if that’s a possibility, and sit down and make a REALISTIC short term (this school year) and long term (both for taking a gap year(s), and with loans) budget</p>