Paying For College

Paying for College
1

This si going to be a long post, but please bear with me.

So I am an incoming freshman at a state university and am planning on majoring in biomedical engineering. Ultimately, my career goal is to earn at least a Master’s Degree in BME, which I hope to use to design and build prosthetic limbs for patients and veterans alike. I want to help other people and improve their quality of life in anyway I can. I know that majoring in any STEM field isn’t easy, especially if one has a visual impairment like me. I know there will be challenges, but I also know that I am strong and confident enough to overcome them.

One challenge that I will have to overcome in order to earn my desired degree in the challenge of financing college. This is a challenge for most college students, which is completely understandable. However, at this point, I am not sure how I am going to be able to pay for college.

I have received scholarships and federal aid (my parents are a construction worker and a hairdresser who both didn’t go to college and have <$70,000 yearly income combined) and I just finished a paid summer research program at an out-of-state institution. However, even though I have gotten some financial support from scholarships, federal grants, and the money I have earned during this summer research program, this is unfortunately still not enough. I have not even started college yet, and at the end of this first year, I will owe upwards of $10,000 total. And I am going to an in-state school who gave me a minimal amount of financial aid. But of course, my school offered me $6,000 worth of loans I can choose to take out to finance my first year.

But, I do not want to take out loans in order to subsidize my college education. I do not want to take out loans if I don’t have to. So, I am asking for your advice on how to finance my college education. I am still looking for and applying for more scholarships every day, and I have looked for work study opportunities at my university, but they say that I do not “qualify” to participate. I am trying to join a research lab at my university as an undergraduate research assistant to earn some money that way, but although it will be some money, it will not be sufficient enough to offset what I have to pay the university.

I have heard of people using crowdfunding websites to help fund their college education. Honestly, I have considered doing this using GoFundMe. However, I do not know if I would be able to morally ask people for money over the internet like that. I am not the kind of person to beg/ask complete strangers for their money. I wouldn’t want my story to appear to be a “sob story about a girl who wants donators to feel sorry for her so they’ll donate to her cause.”

I would appreciate any advice you all can offer me in regards to this topic.

Thank you for your time. :slight_smile:

2

Sure, any free money would be good.

3

Wait, you have a visual impairment? Did you advise your scholarship office?

You should be eligible for scholarships that target students with visual needs. Off the top of my head, I remember that my DD’s school had options for a Bausch & Lomb scholarship. I think they had a full ride.

Contact FA. Find out if you are eligible for any national scholarships for the visually impaired. Also, there should be a “Disabled student services” office at your university. Contact them to get on their list and have them advocate on your behalf to find some funding. The level of impairment isn’t an issue at this point.

4

So you will attend an in-state school and it will cost you $10K/year after grants, etc but NOT including a loan of any type?

5

@“Erin’s Dad” ; yes, that is correct. $10k is just my estimate right now. I haven’t even added in the cost of books, housing, meal plans per semester, and any other expenses that come along with college that I am not aware of yet.

6

@“aunt bea” ; Yes, I do have a visual impairment. I have already been in contact with the office of disabilities services at my university to discuss accommodations and classes. I did not know that the Financial Aid office offered scholarships for students with disabilities. That concept is totally new to me. I will definitely call them and inquire about it. Thank you so much! :slight_smile:

7

@“Erin’s Dad”; I haven’t even started at my university yet and they are already billing me nearly $3,000 dollars for housing for the first semester.

8

Yes, do it as soon as possible! Ask about the Bausch and Lomb! Good luck!

9

Thank you so much, @“aunt bea” ! I really appreciate it! :slight_smile:

10

Yes, schools bill in advance. If you have financial aid to cover the billed amounts, the bills are just informational and you don’t have to pay them. If you are $3000 short for housing, you will have to pay that before you start. Most schools want the billed amount to be paid before school starts. One DD’s school has a very generous payment schedule and it is not due until 3 weeks after the semester starts.

11

@twoinanddone : thank you for clarification. I did not know any of that, so thank you for offering helpful information. I wish I went to your DD’s school lol!

12

What is your FAFSA EFC?

13

This is going to sound a little harsh…

It’s July 26 and you are just NOW looking for ways to finance your college costs? When you accepted the admissions offer, how did you plan to pay to attend? You made a matriculation choice by May 1, right? That was almost two months ago.

14

If you weren’t awarded Work Study, just look for other jobs either on campus or near campus. Don’t look for the perfect job or learning opportunity, just get a job.

No one wants to take student loans, but sometimes it is necessary. Everyone would like to just have money given to them (Crowd Sources?) but that usually doesn’t work that well.

15

What’s the total cost of attendance of this school (tuition + fees + room + board)? You said you’d have to borrow $10k just for the first year, but later said you weren’t counting housing and dorming costs in that number. When you talk about costs, you have to include all of them.

How much money did you get in scholarships (not including loans)? Grants and scholarships from the college, state grants, and the federal Pell grant (if you qualified) are all awards that don’t have to be repaid.

Can your parents contribute anything? You can only borrow $5500 on your own. Anything else would have to be cosigned by your parents. What are they saying?

16

You need to take a hard look at the COA and determine if you can afford this school. It sounds like your tuition alone is 10K. Room, board, books (can be pricy for STEM majors) could easily add another 10K. sounds like you need to come up with 80K minimum (not including interest) for 4 years (excluding interest). That doesn’t include graduate work.

What is your FOUR year plan. Most outside scholarships are for small amount and usually only for one year.

Most schools want the full amount of each semester direct billed cost (tuition, fees, room and board) to be paid before the semester starts. Some offer a payment plan for a small fee. The problem is if you can’t pay the installment bill, you will be asked to leave. In this case you will still owe the school the balance.

17

Often students think it is too late to cancel their enrollment once the deposit is made. It’s not. If you do not have a reasonable plan to pay for all four years then you to come up with another plan and cancel your enrollment

18

Unfortunately, my school did not release my financial aid package to me until last week.

19

What does your package say, @strongswimmer15? Does it list the total cost of attendance? What does the aid package look like? Did you get any grants or just loans?

20

@twoinanddone : looking for other jobs is definitely what I will be doing. You’re right, it may not find the perfect job but anything that will help offset the costs of college.

I will do anything that I have to to ensure that I don’t have to take out ant loans. I don’t wane to have to owe thousands of dollars to a university when I’m 50. Although I have heard of people using crowd funding to receive money, but that’s just against my values. I could never ask strangers to donate money to me.