<p>Hi my name is candace I graduated last year 2012 and was supposed to attend old dominion this year… Even paid my deposits. but at the last minute discovered I did not have the funds. I am first generation and have a lackluster family life and no support… I really can’t afford any college even in state. Right now I am working but know I need to be in school. So, I decided maybe I should join americorps to get money for college and be able to help people but taking a year off scares me! I was told goucher is probably my last hope and their EOP program offers a free ride for maryland first generation students. Here are some stats… I graduated with a 3.6 got all 4’s and 3’s on AP testing was in NHS and SGA throughout school. But i also am a very social person and have heard from quite a few sources that goucher is a very quiet and reserved school. I would love to study sports or exercise management and to own my own Rec center and work with special and under privileged kids someday but goucher doesn’t offer those majors so I would have to find a new one.I was hoping maybe someone could have some options. I am working with a college advising service but they are set on goucher. I really am broke my EFC was 0 and I maybe made about $6000 and my mom only made about $5000 last year so I qualify for aid it’s just finding a school I can actually afford!!
Sent from my iPhone</p>
<p>If you can’t afford anything, why does it say this post was made through iphone?</p>
<p>Start out at your local community college - the most affordable school anywhere.</p>
<p>Does Goucher have a special education major? That would get you on the right track. When you say they have a free ride, does that include room/board/expenses…or is it tuition only? Also, is this a guaranteed award?</p>
<p>I was on a friends phone thanks.</p>
<p>And no it’s not guaranteed yet and no they have no special education major and I am not interested in teaching whatsoever… Also for community college my home life is pretty bad going away to college is pretty much my only way out community college will keep me here with no support… I worked my ass of in high school and I get to see my “friends” who sat and did nothing go away to great schools excuse they have money… I don’t want to settle for community college. My whole life I have had to just settle and I always thought college would be the one thing I wouldn’t have to</p>
<p>And I don’t mind getting loans… But I wasn’t able to get any by myself because I don’t have a cosigner</p>
<p>Maybe you should just go to community college for a year and transfer.</p>
<p>Here’s the website for the Goucher EOP program:
[Goucher</a> College Admissions](<a href=“http://www.goucher.edu/x34278.xml]Goucher”>http://www.goucher.edu/x34278.xml)</p>
<p>Towson offers a major in Kinesisiology (and I am dead certain that is misspelled). Contact admissions and financial aid there and see what they can do for you. Towson generally accepts a full AA or AS from a MD community college as fulfilling the gen eds, so even though you are unhappy at home, that may be worth considering.</p>
<p>But since you have little support from your family, you may need to opt for a program that will prepare you quickly for the workforce. What career programs does your CC offer? Something like Med Tech would enable you to be self supporting in about a year. Then you could continue your education where and in whatever field you want. Yes, it wouldn’t be as fast ad you might like, but it would be do-able.</p>
<p>What county are you in? Some of the MD community colleges have scholarship money for students like you, so with a Pell Grant and a part time job, you wouldn’t even need to take any loans for your AA or AS.</p>
<p>Just something I learned the other day on CC so Im not an expert on this school or even know if they have what you want to go into (sorrry I can’t look it up)</p>
<p>U of Alabama has great merit aid. You can get a free tuition if you have 3.5+ GPA (which you have) and a 32+ (Idk what your ACT/SAT is) for out-of-state students (only need a 30+ if you live in Alabama). So this is an option for you</p>
<p>[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>
<p>Also they would take your AP class if you got 3+
[AP</a> Credit Policy Info - Advanced Placement Program - AP Policy Search](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>OP did not state his/her SAT/ACT scores.
I done NPC for someone OOS with 3.6 GPA, 1400 SAT, and 0 EFC:</p>
<p>Direct Educational Costs $34,290
Indirect Costs $4,689
(less) Grants and Scholarships $28,450
Estimated Net Price $10,529</p>
<p>Wow, UA must made a lot of money from its football program.</p>
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<p>Taking a year off is definitely a better option than ending up at the **wrong[/b[ school! And, if you have good grades and test scores, you may well be eligible for merit-based aid at several different schools . . . but only if you enter those schools as a freshman. Once you start at school somewhere else, most of those merit-based scholarships disappear! So, it might be well worth it to slow down, find something worthwhile to do for a year, and then start out next year at the right school: one you can afford that has the major you’re interested in.</p>
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<p>If you actually want to own your own rec center someday, you’d better think twice about your willingness to take out student loans. If there ever was something that would prevent you from getting the financing you need to open your own business, unpaid student loans are it! Those loans will follow you forever, they cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, and they can mess up your credit rating faster than you’d ever imagine.</p>
<p>Loans are not the solution. Good financial aid is what you need. Take the year off if you need to - and find the right school! (And stop comparing yourself to your friends - it’s your life now that’s important, not theirs!)</p>
<p>cball: I know you just want to get out of your current situation, but you have to go about this rationally. YOU HAVE LIMITED FUNDS and need FA wherever you go. </p>
<p>Right now, you can’t go to Old Dominion. If you go to CC, you will have to enter a univ, in 2-4 years, as a transfer student and you have to know that transfers don’t get a whole lot of FA.</p>
<p>If you take a gap year, you can still enter as a freshman. First, get released from Old Dominion, then take a job, earn some money, check-out and reapply to other more affordable universities that fit your budget.</p>
<p>NOTE: If you take any courses during this year off, you may not be able to get freshman funding at your university because you won’t be considered as a freshman entry.</p>
<p>So although you REALLY WANT OUT now, and believe me, I TOTALLY GET IT, your best bet to getting away is waiting it out for a year. You’ll have a job saving college money, then you’ll be on a scholarship to somewhere that suits you financially, academically and socially.</p>
<p>You’re not “settling” for community college if you use it as a means to an end. You’re living at home anyway, right? So why not get a few college credits under your belt while you’re there?</p>
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<p>To repeat what was said earlier, if the OP takes a year off and gets “a few college credits” during that time, he/she forfeits almost any chance of getting merit aid at another school!</p>
<p>The year off is fine. The college credits are not.</p>