<p>I'll try and make this short for you all, though I know it will be difficult! I just finished my Freshman year of college, and have done well academically, in my opinion. I ended with about a 3.3 over all, and made the deans list first semester, both of which my parents are very proud about, as I've always struggled academically in high school. However, for whatever reason, I seem to thrive academically and socially in college. I attend college in Florida, though I actually live up North. Before the gun is jumped about 'out of state tuition' and what not, I'm actually paying LESS money out of state, then I would if I stayed in my home state, because I have Florida Pre-Paid (Which takes care of tuition). That means my only fees are room, board, etc. So, I've tried to cover as much as I can, because my parents obviously did a lot for me, and thought about college for my siblings and I at such a young age. However, there is a situation-I can hardly afford food, if at all. I did not get a meal plan my Freshman year, because it was an INSANE price, and I knew buying food with my cheaper. For the record, it was! However, it still cost me a large amount, and my savings has dropped dramatically low. During spring semester, I was finally able to get a great job at the college, that gave me experience in my major, and I was even offered an internship over the summer, if I stayed (Instead of flying home). An awesome opportunity, but my parents forced me to come home for this summer, which I can understand. During the spring semester, affording would was MUCH better, because I had a job! Literally ALL my money from my job when to paying for food, but I was getting by! They want me back last year, because they like me a lot, but I just looked at my classes for fall...and there's no way I can work. I don't have any time at all, and this job closes on weekends, so it's only during the week. Now I know a lot of you may say 'Find another job' but the issue is, it doesn't matter the job, I won't be able to work during the week, I just DON'T have time in my schedule. I've tried switching it around, but it just won't work. The most I'll be able to work is about 5 hours, which is nothing. I've been paying for all my own expenses since I was a Freshman in High school (Where I worked my way up to a manager position after only one year) and have great work ethic. However, my grades are my priority, and I'm applying for a very competitive major, and I need to focus on school. After talking to my parents, they REFUSE to pay for food, which would be MAX $50 a week (I calculated how I spent money this year on food, on average) but they won't do it for me. I'm paying for my books, have taken out loans, am doing well in school, and trying to cover the rest of my apartment fee for next year...but they won't help. Please, parents, what can I do? Is there anything? Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but I know if I start working late hours at a new job, my grades will slip, and I WON'T let that happen again. I won't let this be high school all over again. Any insight would be great! So sorry for the length!:)</p>
<p>How can your parents force you to fly home for the summer? You are an adult and you no longer have to listen to your parents.</p>
<p>Maybe you need to move back home and go to CC near your family’s home?</p>
<p>Have you taken out the max in Stafford loans? Typically I would not advise this, but you sound like a responsible person with a good work history. $50/week is very reasonable for food, over a 15 week semester it would come to about $750 … so you might talk to the financial aid office and see if it’s possible to borrow another $1000 for the coming semester. </p>
<p>What’s the general economic status of the other students at your college? My daughter went to a college with a lot of rich kids – there were girls in her dorm who were total slobs and would pay her $40 to clean their rooms for them! She didn’t like doing that (and had a rather low opinion of those girls) – but it was an easy $40, as the dorm rooms were small and she worked fast. Anyway, the point is that if you are creative, you might think of alternative ways to earn some money.</p>
<p>Not ‘force’ as in drag me by my hair kind of situation! Just kidding, of course. But they asked me to come home this summer, as I won’t be coming home any other summers. Also, I had to come home and work so I could save up for the rent for the apartment I leased with friends, and renting an apartment over the summer would suck up more money then I was bringing in. </p>
<p>In terms of the CC, I knew this would be brought up, it was expected, but there is no reason for me to go to a CC. I refuse to fly back home and attend our close community colleges (Which are horrible, according to rankings I’ve seen) especially after completing a full year in college. If this information helps any, my older sister attends a community college, and commutes, and they pay for all her food in the house, and go out of their way to buy her certain snacks and what not. If they can pay for her food (She now transfered to a University, and it’s more expensive then the one I’m attending, so she’s also not able to afford food) I don’t understand why they won’t help me.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply, Calmom! I never thought to look into that, specifically because we’re always taught ‘stay away from loans!’ but if you REALLY need them, we do what we have to do. If I was to take out a loan with my school, I feel as though I would only be able to use it on things of academic relation. Would they really give me a loan I could use on food? Just asking, I’m curious now! I actually did laundry for friends first semester, for more money! I charged $8 for washing, drying, folding, and an extra $3 for ironing (Depending on the amount of clothing) but it didn’t last a while, because students realized it wasn’t hard to do it themselves…or they finally learned HOW to do it;D</p>
<p>Yes, they will give you a loan to cover the COA of the school, including living expenses. The cost of a meal plan is a good measure of what the college thinks is an appropriate expense for food … and as you already noticed, that is way more than you need. </p>
<p>Just work as hard as you can this summer – maybe you can get extra hours in on your summer job or get a 2nd part-time job – and save up as much as possible. Talk to the financial aid people about your needs and what you are eligible for. You are right - it’s not a good idea to take out loans if you can avoid it, but borrowing $1000 for the semester for food is a much better choice than dropping out of school. </p>
<p>I have to say that my daughter also had a credit card with a pretty high limit for a youngster, and there were times when she was carrying a balance – and credit card interest rates are a lot higher than student loan rates. But it would be crazy for you drop out of school because you are short of money for food. </p>
<p>Do continue to be creative. My daughter had regular jobs all through college but also did all sorts of odd jobs – babysitting, errand running, etc. Of course those things can be flexibly scheduled – and you probably know that it is at least sometimes possible to babysit and study at the same time. Your college may have some resources you can use to find the odd jobs or list yourself, or there are some internet web sites like care.com where you can list yourself as a babysitter – and of course you can list when you are available. </p>
<p>Maybe you can give laundry lessons to freshman. Just joking – but the point is that it is only May, you have time to plan and to solve this problem. </p>
<p>Also, consider buying some foods like rice or dried beans in bulk to save overall on food costs. If you don’t have one already, a rice cooker or crock pot can be a good investment for a cooking appliance for a student - the appliance is both cheap and labor saving, and gives you the ability to cook up a lot of food. It’s not glamorous to live on rice and beans – but it can definitely save on food costs.</p>
<p>It is absolutely worth taking out Stafford loans to eat. This is a basic investment in your own future that’s generally worth it. Eating and living indoors are really important.</p>
<p>I’m having trouble imagining a schedule that doesn’t allow any work during the week. It may be possible that this particular job won’t work, if it’s a 9 -5 M - F type thing, and if classes are distributed across the day, but there are evenings, and weekends. Can’t you look for another job? When I went to college, you could work in the dining hall for free meals, for example, and those hours were almost all outside class times. It sounds like you’ve worked in retail. Are there stores that might be hiring?</p>
<p>I’m also a little confused by how your school doesn’t cost much because you have Florida pre-paid. Doesn’t that just mean your parents in advance? Or did someone else fund the pre-paid?</p>
<p>See if you can get a food service job. Some of them have the double benefit of giving you a free meal during the shift you work. They need people on weekends too. Sometimes the weekend shifts are the hardest to fill (kids want the time off to play).</p>
<p>I would suggest speaking to financial aid person or advisor at your school. They may be able to offer good advice.</p>
<p>You indicate that you can’t work during the week because of your course schedule. What about changing the course schedule rather than the work schedule? If work is only available 9-5, but some of the classes have evening or Saturday sections, could you switch sections?</p>
<p>And if you have no work or classes on the weekends, why can’t you organize your life to do the bulk of your serious studying on Saturday and Sunday? Not as efficient and possible not as effective as spreading it through the week, but possibly workable.</p>
<p>As to why your parents can’t chip in one red cent for your meals, well that is something you have to take up with them. Is their deal “We pay your tuition and fees and the rest is up to you”? In that case, no matter where you study you will have to cover everything beyond tuition and fees.</p>
<p>Speak with the financial aid office at your university. Find out what aid you are eligible for. As a sophomore, if you file the FAFSA you will be eligible for up to $6,500 in federal loans. If your one of your parents applies for a Parent Plus loan and is denied, you will be eligible for $4,000 more in federal loans. Normally I wouldn’t recommend borrowing that kind of money, but better to use federal loan money for food than to run up a boatload of credit card debt.</p>
<p>What a responsible and hardworking young student you are! Kudos to you for everything that you have done. Some of the suggestions have been good ones: talk to financial aid, explain the situation to them, besides the food service dept., try the library for a student job as they have extended evening hours, Florida has many, many food banks, pantries and community gardens, also check food pantries at local churches. A job at a restaurant on weekends will at least offer a meal during your shift. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>There are many university jobs that give you lots of time to study: sitting at the front desk of a dorm, for example, and swiping kids in and answering questions. Then your work time doubles as study time.</p>
<p>I think it is perfectly fine to borrow $4k/year-ish for living expenses if you find that you need to. A job related to your major is a plus, but not mandatory. I second the suggestions of working in food service, on campus or off, which usually comes with free meals in addition to cash pay. With the solid work history you will have, the chances are good that you will be able to handle that loan.</p>
<p>I CAN certainly imagine not having time to work during the school year. Your investment in yourself to do well is worth a whole lot more than a fast food job. </p>
<p>BORROW THE MONEY!</p>
<p>I actually heard a story not too long ago about college kids having to resort to food banks in this economy. You have gotten good advice above re loans and getting a food service job. You shouldn’t have to drop out for this.</p>
<p>You can probably get enough calories very cheaply, maybe $10/week, through the use of rice, beans, and potatoes (buy big bags of each and cook them yourself), adding a little bit of cheap meat or tofu for protein, and you can take vitamins daily to make sure you aren’t missing any of the daily recommended doses. I did this one year in college when I was strapped for cash and it worked just fine for me.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention Ramen noodles. They are very cheap and can add some variety to your diet.</p>
<p>There is a reason why Ramen is so cheap. It is really not that healthy to eat it too often. He has been given a lot of good advice, hope he will follow through. My older kid was a math/econ major, and she managed to work 10+ hours a week plus doing other ECs. It really bothers me that a college student would not have enough money for food. Some how it just doesn’t seem right to me.</p>