Hey everyone my dad made a mistake with info on the FAFSA. It’s been corrected and now the EFC is 039674. So yeah idk if that’'s important but there you go
@ucbalumnus, Could the OP still qualify for guaranteed merit aid if s/he takes a gap year? Or are those scholarships only available to students who enroll the fall after completing high school?
The OP needs to check each college that offers the full ride scholarships to find out if students applying after gap years are eligible.
Okay I’m going through the responses and answering any questions or whatever people asked or things they said.
Psata82, I didn’t apply to any state schools. I wasn’t informed about how difficult it would be for my family to help me at the time I applied. I should have thought of it but the deadlines are long past and it’s too late now. Community college is definitely something I’m considering, but if there’s any way I can possibly afford APU I want to go there.
Madison85, Yeah I thought I mentioned that but I guess I didn’t. I’ve had to be home a lot lately to keep an eye on my siblings and make sure they don’t (quite literally) kill themselves. Once I’m in college we’ll have to figure that out, but yes I plan on getting a job as soon as possible. I had a job for a while but had to quit when stuff got crazy with my family.
cptofthehouse, I did look at other schools. I’d be fine going to a cheaper school but my parents didn’t want me to apply to any. Again, I wasn’t informed about how bad our financial situation actually is until after most deadlines had passed. My dad’s college is crazy expensive. I applied and haven’t heard back, but even if I got in there, they don’t offer many scholarships and I would probably just get the half tuition thing.Can’t commute because my parents are planning to buy a cheaper, smaller house once I’m out and I wouldn’t really have a room anymore. I’d sleep on the sofa when I visit. Like I said, I can’t work right until I’m in college because I’ve been helping keep an eye on my siblings. Idk what we’ll do when I’m not home all the time to do that, though.
I live in California. I used to live in Colorado and would be near some friends/family, so I had been considering college there. I was not aware of our financial situation until after I’d applied to schools and the deadlines for applying to state schools had passed. I don’t know how much they cost, but I assume not as much as APU. At the time I applied, I was under the impression that my parents would be able to help a little bit (at least with some college savings which apparently don’t actually exist) and they told me that they would not be willing to help with tuition to any state college but UCLA. I’d looked at the grades you need for UCLA and my GPA wasn’t great from what I could tell, and my SAT scores could have been better. I wish I had just applied a few other places because since they aren’t helping me after all I wouldn’t be having issues now. I guess I forgot about the personal expenses because they weren’t exactly listed in the estimate APU gives. I can do without discretionary spending money. A lot of people do fine without it, and I’ve never really had much anyway. School supplies (binders, notebooks, pens/pencils, backpack) I either already have or can get at Target for a dollar or so. I have a laptop so I can type papers or whatever (which I’ve had for two years now and bought with money I earned from babysitting, so it’s not great but it will do). I can use buses/Amtrak for transportation if I’m going very far (idk how much exactly that costs since public transportation around here kind of sucks if you’re not going very far, but I’m sure it will be less than a parking permit, a car, and gasoline) or else I’ll walk, not that I’ll be off campus too often (except to go to church on Sundays). If my parents need me to come watch my siblings, they can give me a ride (I have a driver’s license but no car). There’s a lot of places you can find free pdfs of books online. I guess the costs probably will increase, but I’m hopeful they won’t go up too much. I’ll just have to work more hours than I planned. The FAFSA is completed and submitted. After a correction was made, the EFC is 039674 (not 062895), not that that’s very relevant I guess. My parents can’t/won’t help me at all. I want to avoid loans but if I have to I’ll look into that one. I do have a question (which I just thought of). I’m going to be 17 when I graduate. Will my parents have to co-sign on loans I take out? Because I don’t think they will.
austinmshauri, No I can’t commute.
Lilliana330, I guess I wasn’t quite clear about what award I got. It was the Presidential, $16,000/yr (or, as I said, $8,000/semester). I would commute, but as I explained in my answer to cptofthehouse, I can’t. It seems everyone is mentioning that $5500 loan, so I’ll definitely look into that.
thumper1, My GPA is the one on my transcripts. Do you want my grade from every class I’ve taken in high school? 9th grade I attended the first school the whole year. It was an inter-district transfer, and that required a transfer out of the district I lived in and into the district that school was in.
Semester 1: Freshman English, A; French 1, A; Freshman Wellness (P.E./Health), A; Geometry, A; Treble
Ensemble, A; Biology, A
Semester 2: Freshman English, A; French 1, A; Freshman Wellness (P.E./Health), A; Geometry, A; Treble
Ensemble, A; Biology, A
10th grade I attended the first school for almost the whole semester. We moved in late October, though, and the district we moved to would not let me transfer out because we had missed the date the applications were due. I was a stupid teenager who didn’t want to start a new school where I didn’t know anybody halfway through the year, so I went to a charter school (School of Arts and Enterprise) starting near the end of that semester. It was a crappy school and even their art programs sort of sucked. But that’s where my credits came from that year and since I took first semester finals and finished their big project I did okay even after being there for only a few weeks the first semester.
Semester 1: World Comp/Lit, A; Algebra 2, A; Show Choir, A; Contemporary Dance (my P.E. credit), B;
Chemistry, A; World History, A; House Advisory (where most of the credit from that big project went),
A; Foundation in Theatre, A
Semester 2: World Comp/Lit, A; Algebra 2, A; Show Choir, B; Contemporary Dance, A; Music Theatre, A;
Chemistry, A; World History, A; House Advisory (another project), A
11th grade I knew would be a one year thing. It was similar to a foreign exchange program in that I lived with a host family and attended school and all, but it was in a different state (CO), rather than a different country. It involved a 10 day backpacking trip at the beginning of the school year, a 10 day rock climbing trip in October, a four day winter trip where we skiied out to a 10th Mountain Division Hut near Leadville right before winter break, a four day winter trip where we built a quinzee shelter and stayed in it for three nights (also did ice climbing and cross country and downhill skiing), and an eight day backpacking trip (10 day total, but 2 were driving) in the Grand Canyon. There were also a few day trips and a weekend when we climbed a fourteener. On every trip (except the first one, which was before school started), we took work and some teachers went with us.It was amazing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything
Semester 1: English/British Lit, A; French 2, A; Trig, Functions, and Statistics, A; Marine Science (online, I
screwed up with time management), C; Philosophy/Critical Thinking, A; New Testament Studies, A;
Wilderness Leadership, A; Outdoor Ed, A; credit for Varsity Volleyball
Semester 2: English/British Lit, A; French 2, A; Trig, Functions, and Statistics, A; Marine Science, C;
Philosophy/Critical Thinking, A; New Testament Studies, A; Wilderness Leadership, A; Outdoor Ed,
A; credit for Varsity Basketball, Varsity Soccer, and Drama (I was in the play)
12th grade I’m back in CA and attending the public school a couple blocks from my house (couldn’t get transfer to School 1, School 2 didn’t have AP or Honors classes). These grades aren’t added to that GPA I gave you because I don’t have the updated transcripts yet.
Semester 1: Statistics, A; AP English, A; US History, A; AP Macroeconomics, A; French 3, A; Psychology, A
Semester 2: still happening, so no grades yet; AP Gov instead of AP Econ because they’re semester long
classes
twoinanddone, APU requires a parking permit if you have a car on campus. I probably won’t but if my grandma (the one who fell) actually gives us her car like she said she was going to, I’ll get the car my dad uses for driving to and from work. I would like to have a way to get home in case something happens (like if my sister runs away again or my brother tries to kill himself again), but if I don’t have a car I’ll just use the methods of transportation I mentioned earlier in this answer. I can’t live at home, for the reasons I stated earlier in this answer. I don’t want to live in the dorm because it’s “fun” but because I can’t commute. At the time I posted the question, the EFC was wrong. My dad made a mistake on the info h gave me for the FAFSA and after it was corrected the EFC was 039674.
kgos16, I guess that makes sense. I just find it annoying that they assume everyone’s parents will help them if it seems they can from the EFC, especially when the students have had no real say in how their parents spent money or where they live. And the cost of living thing is weird to me because what do they want people to do, drive for several hours to get to their jobs so they can live somewhere cheaper? Okay now I’m getting off topic.
thumper1 (again), First, I don’t think I mentioned this but I’m a girl. Second, yeah, I’ve already applied. My parents weren’t exactly super forthcoming about the fact that they wouldn’t be able to help at all. They straight up told me they wouldn’t help if I went to any state schools (except like UCLA) or community college, and gave me the impression that they’d saved at least a little for me for college. Now, after it’s really too late to apply anywhere else, I know that they wouldn’t/couldn’t help me at all anyway and that there are no savings.
austinmshauri (again), Thanks for the idea, but a gap year won’t work. I turn 18 in December and my parents have told me that if I do take a gap year they’re still moving to a smaller/cheaper house (still in the area we live in though) as soon as I’m 18 and if I want to stay and sleep on the sofa or an air mattress I’ll have to pay rent. So yeah, I’d get half a year to have a job (if I’m not expected to be the babysitter still) but then I’d have to go another half a year trying to afford rent on an apartment (no, I don’t know anyone who could/would be my roommate for an apartment) or pay my parents to live at home. So I don’t know how much I’d manage to save from whatever job(s) I could get anyway. Thanks for the idea though. It could be a good one if I was sure I could get into a nearby college (I really need to be close for my brother and sister) with a full ride scholarship at the end of the year, but I’m not.
Thank you to everyone who replied with ideas or comments or anything. I really appreciate it.
I was just suggesting that you either live on campus OR have a car. Not both. You may need to get home at some time, but you’ll have to figure that out. You just don’t have the money for a car and to live in the dorms. Those are the kinds of choices kids have to make when they don’t have enough money. My kids do not have cars at college because they can’t afford them - gas, insurance, the car itself, parking permits. The have everything they need on campus. Off campus there are things they WANT, but too bad. If your parents want you to come home, they can come get you. You said it was 20 miles, which means they won’t be coming to get you often but can if it is an emergency.
I understand there is too much turmoil to live at home and study, so don’t set up a situation where you are expected to still help at home except in an emergency. Go away to college or don’t, but don’t try to do both.
You have to commit to the school and sacrifices, go somewhere else, or wait a year. You just can’t have it all.
Sorry I was sort of confused by what you were suggesting. You’re right about the car/dorm problem. I can’t afford both and I didn’t think I could. I don’t think I was very clear in my answer. I might have a car but I don’t know if I will, so I can’t say for sure that I could commute (not to mention the I-won’t-be-able-to-live-at-home problem, which also rules out the waiting a year I guess). I can’t go somewhere else because I need to be here for my brother and sister. Most of the time they won’t even talk to anyone but me. I will never get over feeling guilty for missing a call from my brother the night he tried to commit suicide the first time (I wasn’t home and he wanted to talk to me but I was already asleep and idk maybe I could have talked him out of it and I definitely could have alerted my parents). So I have to be near home. The sacrifices aren’t for the school. They’re for my brother and sister. I guess at this point I just have to save all the money I possibly can and apply to a billion private scholarships. Thanks for your help.
Pretty crazy that a professor messed up this much when having a kid getting ready to apply for college and is this unhelpful in the process… sorry you are going through this. Sounds like they are essentially kicking you out of the house with no financial support, and didn’t tell you that was how it would go until it was too late in the application process to apply to other schools. Do your parents have any appreciation of how much you are helping your siblings out?
Here is how much you can borrow without your parents cosigning (these are federal loans):
- $5,500 freshman year
- $6,500 sophomore year
- $7,500 junior & senior year (each year)
I am also going to give you some very practical advice… try to minor in something that is more marketable than psychology if you can. Go ahead with your major, but consider a computer science or business or econ minor, something where you have choices other than grad school right after graduating, and maybe you can even find internships in the summer to help cover more of your college expenses. You are starting in a financial hole because of your family situation, and diving into a major with poor job prospects and likely a lot of years of schooling ahead of you isn’t the greatest move – you need some kind of safety net, since your family sure isn’t providing one.
If your parents were more supportive, I would definitely suggest 2 years of community college as the best alternative because of your financial situation. But you have to live someplace…
Good luck to you!
Have you checked whether any of the schools in reply #19 will offer you a full ride even at this late of an application date?
Is $6,404 the net price of APU including costs of living on campus, or not? If it is, then you should be able to cover it with a $5,500 federal direct loan plus $904 of work earnings. If it does not include costs of living on campus, then it may be difficult to afford APU.
@kb2015 I’m sorry, I thought parents would still be supporting you…I’m a little confused, are they making you move out after graduation? I’m really sorry. You said you have family in Colorado…would they be willing to hep you out financially, even if you still live here in CA?
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If your family is refusing to provide any money for your college, you need to begin working a job now to save. Your siblings are not your responsibility. If you don’t take care of yourself, it appears no one else will, and you will have to leave college because of financial reasons if you cannot pay that bill when it is due this August. Think of yourself first at this point. Your family has, intentionally or not, screwed you over by waiting this long to tell you that you are on your own. Would you treat your child this way?
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Be careful your father does not take your college tuition reimbursement check from his employer, and then keep it with some sad story to you. Talk specifically with your college about this. Do you have to pay that tuition and then get reimbursed? Can you keep him from handling the check and have it made out directly to your college? Who disperses it and how and when does your college get it?
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If your parents inherited 2 houses from grandma why not sell them and get themselves out of debt so they can support you partially in college?
@kb College is going to be financially demanding, socially demanding, and academically demanding.
If you have your eyes on graduate school (thus need good grades) and are on your own while supporting yourself, you will not be able to care for your siblings.
It’s hard, but you will be able to do more for them if you succeed in college.
You need to think carefully about what is best for you, and escaping from your family circumstances may be the best thing in order to succeed in college.