<p>I am in a situation where I will be bankrolling my college experience. Tuition, fees, books, living expenses, all of it.</p>
<p>That being said, I'm 20 years old so financial aid still goes off my parents' annual income...which is A LOT. I also have no credit so I don't qualify for a loan by myself and my parents refuse to cosign as well.</p>
<p>I really want to go to school, but I don't see it being financially possible. The closest to being able to afford college that I've calculated is taking alternating semesters off in order to accrue the funds to pay for the following semester which, obviously, is less than ideal as it will take me 8 years to graduate!</p>
<p>So my question for all of you is this: HELP! HOW DO I AFFORD THIS? Am I missing an option???</p>
<p>You don’t have a lot of options but I will list some: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>work and go to school- Most people go part-time because they cannot save enough in one semester to go the next. Plus, your plan requires always being able to get a job quickly during your work semester.
1a. Work at a place that gives you college benefits- The most common of these is to work on a college campus. They often give 1-2 courses free per semester after you’ve been there awhile.</p></li>
<li><p>Earn one of the few full merit scholarships around. This requires top grades and test scores. </p></li>
<li><p><em>If</em> you are interested in joining the military, attend a U.S. military academy <em>or</em> try to enlist (I think it’s rather hard right now) and use G.I. benefits to attend school. </p></li>
<li><p>Work. Save money. Attend school at age 24yo. (You will likely still need to work and take out loans because most schools do not meet financial need.) </p></li>
<li><p>Attend a non-traditional school (on-line, correspondence). Some are rather economical. If you do this, find a brick and mortar school that offers classes online. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Cost-saving measures:
Attend community college and transfer.
Take as many credits as you can through testing (CLEP, AP).
Try to economize on room and board-- live at home, find a roommate, rent a room (instead of a whole apt), work at a job that offers housing (I know of a woman who had free rent in exchange for putting a single mother’s child on the morning bus and picking her up after school plus a few hours of childcare.)</p>
<p>First, be wary of online & correspondence schools . . . many (if not the majority) are for-profit and, no matter what promises they make, they will SUCK YOU DRY and leave you with nothing to show for it. I know this isn’t what 2collegewego intended, but it’s something you need to look out for . . . and stay away from!</p>
<p>Second, full ride and full tuition scholarships aren’t THAT few and far between . . . it’s just a question of finding the schools where you would be one of the top applicants and would thus qualify for the scholarships they offer. Look at smaller schools, less well known colleges, and, if you are, as your name suggests, a woman, women’s colleges.</p>
<p>I am in a situation where I will be bankrolling my college experience. Tuition, fees, books, living expenses, all of it.</p>
<p>Have you attended any college classes so far? You’re 20. If so, then that will limit your ability to get merit scholarships.</p>
<p>It sounds like you either need to start at a community college and commute from home…or commute to a local state univ and pay with a student loan and summer earnings.</p>
<p>Can you live at home while going to college? If so, that will save you over $10k per year…a huge savings.</p>
<p>the military is an option for those who are really interested.</p>
<p>I do NOT think it’s a good idea to attempt to pay for it all yourself (tuition, room, board, books, etc) if you have a commuting option from home.</p>
<p>Dodgersmom, you must not have looked into this much. Many, many reputable colleges and universities offer courses and entire degrees online. Many working adults choose them because they may be more economical and they offer a lot more flexibility to juggle a job. </p>
<p>I do not know the student’s state (tuition can be different for instate or out-of-state) and I do not know if this is a good option for this student but the following schools or groups of schools offer entire accredited undergrad degrees at a distance: </p>
<p>The options for grad school are even greater, including schools like Univ of Southern California. </p>
<p>If the student just wants to take coursework, there are even more options-- including everything from local community colleges to Harvard Extension.</p>
<p>OP, I have posted about work colleges quite a few times on cc but, if they are an attractive option to you, you may want to check to see how they would handle the situation with your parents’ high income. In general, these schools (Berea, College of the Ozarks) have a specific commitment to low income students. If your scores are high enough, you can also look at schools like Cooper Union (free tuition but only offers a handful of majors) and Deep Springs. </p>
<p>As far as your chances at full merit scholarships, there are two important questions: What are your grades and scores like? Have you taken any college courses after high school?</p>
<p>I’ll add another option: do what’s necessary to mend fences with your parents. Whatever issues have come between you will affect far more than your education if allowed to fester.</p>