<p>I went to community college and received a general Associate's Degree. Then I attended an in-state University for 3 years. I hated the town (stupid party town), hated my major, and then got screwed over by my advisor (she waited until I thought I only needed one class to tell me I needed another 30 hours. The website didn't tell me that the majority of my transfer credit didn't count). </p>
<p>Anyway, right now, I have 111 hours of transfer credit. I'm trying to transfer to a local state University (which thanks to my location means an "out-of-state" university). I got a non-resident grant to help make up the difference, but it maxes out at a TOTAL of 136 credit hours INCLUDING all previous transfer credit. Basically, the scholarship will only last one year. Once it expires my tuition nearly doubles. Technically, </p>
<p>I am receiving a Pell grant and Federal student loans. Unfortunately, I'm already maxed out on those. No one in my family works so they can't help me either. The college I'm trying to transfer to doesn't have any need-based aid that I'm aware of. </p>
<p>I'm trying to decide if I should attend the one year I'm able to afford and hope that I can either make enough money through part-time jobs or some sort of external scholarship or if I should just give up.</p>
<p>Strictly speaking, I only need to come up with about $2300 a semester, but I pretty much need to be there to get a halfway decent job (I am not the sort of person who can do customer service) which means paying more for housing. I'm stuck. Please help.</p>
<p>You should never give up, but it seems like you’ve been in college for far too long. It took me three years to get out of community college and usually it takes two for the average applicant. Have you only been taking 12 units or so a semester? That’s what might’ve put you on this particular track. It would seem like you’re going into your 6th year now…</p>
<p>At this point, I’d take any part-time job you can find (maybe 2) and focus on finishing school. You need to work extremely hard (I hope you have a good GPA) and apply for scholarships at your university. I’d live extremely cheap as well. You also need to talk to your financial aid office to see if you can work something out with them. </p>
<p>I would’ve suggested you apply to a very cheap school to finish out your degree if it’d make it more likely for you to come out alive without a financial crisis on your hands. </p>
<p>Giving up at this point means you’ll be saddled with all of that debt and you’ll have a difficult time after college without a degree. Honestly, I think you can find a way somehow. Just keep your chin up really and do your homework on how to cover your college expenses. I honestly don’t think going out of state was a good thing because tuition is always a bit ridiculous for OOS students.</p>
<p>I only spent 2 years in community college. However, it was cheap and I knew it was the only chance I would get to take non-major related classes. So, I took as many classes as I could. No one told me that it would screw me up later on. Back then, I actually had the money for school and a good scholarship. But, I’ve been out of community college for years.</p>
<p>After I finished community college I transferred to a 4 year school. I was there for 2.5 years. It was horrible. My advisor point blank lied to me. She specifically told me that I didn’t need any general electives. If had been true, then taking more classes wouldn’t have helped thanks to Prerequisites. I thought I’d tough it out to finish the one class I needed (before I learned I needed 30 more hours), but I was barely staying afloat. I was behind from the moment I started and I never got close to catching up. </p>
<p>So, basically, I’m switching schools AND majors. I don’t get to “keep” any of that except as useless electives. </p>
<p>That awful place IS the closest in-state school (and it’s 3 hours away). I will NEVER go back there again. I HATED that place. </p>
<p>But, I live in the middle of nowhere and right on a state border. So, an out-of-state school is my only option. All the in-state schools are too far away. </p>
<p>I NEED to be able to get home to see my mom. She’s on Hospice, and I can’t just leave her. But, I can’t stay here forever. I’ve already waited more than a year. I can’t just sit here and wait for her to die.</p>