Hi everyone,
I found this website while searching the web, as I need to ask for advise about what to do for my first semester after transferring. I recently graduated from a CC with an associates in science, 3.79 GPA. I was awarded financial aid which will cover tuition, but I also was awarded a full tuition merit scholarship by the school. But the only use I see for it is to just be able to take more credits every semester. But that’s hard to take advantage of since I have a son to take care of, and no family around to help. Therefore I have to work to support myself and my son, I will have to maintain a 3.3 minimum GPA for the scholarship. But although I get all this help I’m going to struggle to get my books this semester. I don’t k ow if I’m asking for ideas or just venting, but how come they don’t help with books too? Since I’m in science I do prefer to keep my books for future reference so I have never rented a book before. It seems that renting will be my only option, at least until I get a better job. I was offered a loan as well, should I consider accepting it?.
Thank you!!! Any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations on the full tuition scholarship. They are rare. I guess you might have to take a loan. You can also contact the Financial Aid office and see if there are any book scholarships.
My son is a sophomore business major. In the cost of attendance for his college they listed something like $1500 for books. He is paying for his own books. He has used Amazon to rent and has also googled the ISBN of some textbooks and bought them used off eBay. He sells them the next semester. He spent about $250 each semester last year. The best deals come from Goodwill. I think some college students just abandon textbooks and they end up at Goodwill that list on eBay.
Good luck to you.
You use your financial aid (Pell I assume) for what you need. If you have a merit scholarship that covers tuition AND financial aid, the financial aid covers the rest. Also, you don’t have to take the loans (which will make starting out easier, since you’ll be able to take whatever job and nor just one near home) and can just use your Pell Grant for whatever you need. (However typically students are supposed to pay for books through their part time job.)
I may be mistaken on the terms so if you don’t mind could you write down the package you see on the financial aid form?
Thank you! I got really emotional when I got it in the mail since I was not even expecting it. I never thought of goodwill, I will have to look into that more, thank you!! I would really like to keep my books instead of renting them 
I get the Pell and TAG I think it is. I went to the financial aid and asked if there was a way to let the scholarship cover more of the tuition so I could have founds left for a bookBoucher, but they told me that’s not how it works? And that they couldn’t increase the benefits neither. I will go back to the scholarship office and see if I can apply for a private scholarship or something that helps with the books. Im going into the health industry and I need to find a pt job that will get my foot on he door. Will have to start doing volunteer as well. It’s going to be hard but that’s the only way to grow. I will make sure to handle it.
Another thing is that I want to minor in chemistry, but it’s more credits than most minors, so it’s gonna take me longer then 2 years. Scholarship doesn’t cover summer or winter sections.
Are you premed, nursing, or Pre-health (pharmacy, PA, PT, OT, etc)?
Have the school explain all of your aid items and what they cover.
Are you a NYS resident and going to a SUNY/CUNY?
If the school gave a full tuition scholarship, do you also get the Excelsior scholarship?
Or is that what you are getting?
TAP can only be applied to tuition I believe. And Excelsior is last payer, that means any TAP or Pell has to be used first towards tuition, before Excelsior kicks in.
But I think it can cover fees too.
So then the rest of Pell, and a loan can cover living expenses and books.
Are you being supported by parents, or on your own? Can they help out?
Also, if you have a son and need to support yourself, I think it might be better to graduate with your degree as soon as possible, you don’t need a minor in chemistry most likely.
The expensive part of textbooks is the online access code. New books come with it so compare prices.
My D was able to save on her biology textbook, it was good for two semesters and was cheaper to rent and pay for access code rather than buy new. But for chem it was a better deal to buy the loose-leaf edition new with the access code included.
You might not need your textbooks for later, but if you do, you could maybe buy them cheaply used off an upperclass student or at halfbooks.
@Nenikagome, as an engineer with an undergrad in chemistry, I can tell you I go to the web when I need to look something up. I never use any of the textbooks I saved. The only reason I see to save textbooks is if you need them for another class. Congratulations on the great FA you have received. Best of luck in your future studies.
Science textbooks go out of date very quickly. What we know about DNA, cells, the cosmos, etc. has changed radically over the last 20 years. You are going to find that your need for your textbooks drops off very sharply after a semester.
You can’t afford to hang on to books which are worth cash to you once you are done with the semester- so let that go, and the books won’t be worth much (either to you intellectually, or to someone else financially) after a few years.
If you’re in NYS and your full tuition scholarship is the Excelsior, then Pell is already included in it.
Then you’d need to either take the subsidized loans for books/living expenses, or ask your parents to help, or earn the rest. Since you have a child I’m guessing this is quite complicated. Taking the subsidized loan may help you (subsidized is better than unsubsidized.) Small local scholarships can help, too, $100, $200 help for books.
OP said she gets a TAG (sounds like that may be NJ state grant, but definitely not NYS).
What is your home state?
If op won a full tuition scholarship, she will still need to pay all of her fees in order to attend school.If she got TAG, which is state aid, it can only be used for tuition so that will be a wash.
The school will take whatever fees they are owed before refunding any monies to her.
Hate to say this, but you don’t have the luxury of double majoring on someone else’s dime. If you are getting scholarships and federal/state aid, the end game is to get a degree in 4 years and get out. If you can not make the minor happen and still graduate in 4 years while you have funding, then you have to move on.
If Op does not want to get a job to pay for her books, then she will have to take out a loan. Don’t get so connected to wanting to save your books that will become obsolete. Even if you are majoring in something that ends in licensure, you will have prep books for that. My D’s boxes of books from undergrad that was cluttering my vestibule were given away, because we already have plenty of books. Even when she went to law school she rented books, I purchased the Bar Bari books (actually the course) to take the bar exam. Even then, once she was done, she gave the books to a friend who needed them. If the affordable option is renting, then rent books.
Is TAG a CA grant? I’m not familiar with it. What state are you in? Students in our state who qualify for the state’s need based tuition grant who are also awarded a tuition grant from the college get only one or the other. Check the rules of your state grant to see if you get to keep both.
What’s in your financial aid package? If you were awarded a full tuition grant by the school and a federal Pell grant, that should cover tuition and fees. You can take the $7500/year federal student loan ($3750/semester), but I wouldn’t waste it on buying books. I’d rent them if that’s the cheapest way to get them.
I thought she meant TAP?
I think TAG is a [NJ grant](http://www.hesaa.org/Documents/TAG_program.pdf).
Nenika, You can’t assume a tuition grant (from either your state or the college) will cover a 5th year. I’d plan to graduate in 4. If you’ve completed 2 years that gives you 2 more to finish.
^ true - your tuition grant covers a fixed number of semesters.
If you like chemistry, take as many classes as you can without pushing beyond the semester limit. You can always say you have a Chemistry concentration (typically a concentration is a cluster of 5-6 courses that complement your major).
If she got full tuition scholarships, then she does not get to keep the state grant that can only be used for tuition. They are not even going to apply it to her account. Remember even if she got to keep it, after paying for books the rest would be taxable income.
Thank you everyone, my state is New Jersey. I do get to keep all my grants since the scholarship (presidential scholarship) will cover only what my FA doesn’t. Work is not a option here, I HAVE to work, as I have worked while doing my associates. No family or parents to help with my living expenses.
And yeah the chemistry is definitely gonna take me more time, so it’s a far fetch option. I am going for pre-health. My counselor told me I could get approved to take as much as 21 credits per semester covered partially by FA and the rest by the scholarship, But I would be delusional to think I can take that many credits while having a full time job and keeping the scholarship, plus taking care of my son. It’s like setting myself up for failure.
My second choice is to do a minor in environmental science which is 18 credits more then my biology degree, just have to take one more class every semester. The thing is that I want to get the most out of everything to be able to have better opportunities once I graduate.
I started my associates taking ESL classes but it still took me 3 years to complete it, and just because I had to withdraw a class on my last semester. I worked hard for my grades, something that doesn’t seem a priority in students at a CC, I k ow because I also worked part time at the school.
But You guys have certainly open my eyes about the books, I’m more open to rent them now. Thank you very much.
Forgot about the loan! I’m terrified of taking it if it’s just for books. It’s as if I were getting myself in debt just because. It would be a bless to get that money and use it for expenses of course, but I would only take it if I’m able to pay it off before graduation. Once I graduate I would like to invest on my son’s education. I will look at my finances and figure out if it’s worth it or not. After all, now I will be renting my books for sure. 
I don’t understand what “pre-health” means. What do you intend to do with a biology degree? You may want to choose a major that will help you get a job out of college, not one that requires grad school in order to get started in your career.
What makes you think students who attend community colleges don’t care about their grades? You attended a cc and your grades mattered to you. Do you think you’re the only one? Focus on what you can do, not what others are doing. And don’t overload your classes. You need to protect your GPA to retain your scholarship.
What do you plan to do with a pre-health , environmental, biology or chemistry degree? What are your plans after graduation?
All of these majors require grad school, which will be all loans even if you plan on teaching one of these subjects. I think that you are setting yourself up for having a degree that will not lead to viable employment.
As @austinmshauri said it is an unfair statement to assume that people who attend community college do not care about their grades. There are plenty of students who start community college for a number of reasons.
The largest population in community college are now adult learners who are paying for their own educations because they are not eligible for government or state aid.
They are about their grades plenty.
Some got to community college in order to take their pre-requisites or gen ed requirements by spending much less money because their families are not eligible for aid.
You stated yourself that you went to community college and started with ESL courses. One could assume that perhaps, you were not proficient enough in english to be admitted to a traditional 4 year school directly out of high school. However, you ended up doing well and now are at a 4 year school. There are others in CC that are doing the same exact thing that you are doing working hard so that their children can have a better life.
Don’t misunderstand me guys, I stayed my experience not my opinion. In CC there were many many students trying hard to get theirs associates and working hard to get good grades, but as I mentioned I worked in the school and I saw the number of students on probation, and the drooping rate. and as a student I saw how uninterested students were during class, the cheating and sometimes disrespect and disregard to professors, I saw all of it. I was my job to help students get the best out of our CC, I loved my CC and my professors and fellow students, but the stats of how many actually graduate don’t lie. Honestly I saw students failing and barely passing their classes, and wonder once, “if” they transfer to a 4 year university, they are gonna handle it.
English is not my second language, I didn’t go to high school in the USA and that’s why I had to take ESL.
I started college to enter a nursing program, But although I had a 4.0 I didn’t make it that year, is very competitive. Had to wait one year to reapply, so I decided to just graduated with science and move on.
I LOVE biology and anatomy, therefore I would love to work in a lab.
Loans are scary because I will have to take them for a master, but I believe it would be better if I can hold on on taking them until then.