<p>Well hello, let me just give a little background info. of me. I come from a poor/broken home. My dad is an alcoholic and did not save any money for me to go to college with. He has not worked in 6 years. he has done odd jobs for his friends. I have worked since I was 15 and the money I made went to paying the bills, food and so on. When I was 16 I could not take it anymore and I left. I went to live with friends while I continued high school. After a year of that I met a girl and her parents let me move in with them, we have been together for about 3-4years now. I completed high school got my Diploma and I had planed on joining the military but when I went to do that, I had found out that I an type 1 diabetic. So then I decided to go to college. In January of 2008 I had went to our community college which got paid for by FAFSA. So I did not have to pay anything. This whole time I had been working and paying bills while still trying to save money. After that semester finished my girlfriend wanted to go to Arizona community college because she has family there and Alaska is cold and we wanted to go somewhere else. So we did that. We got there and found out that we could not afford it. We had made all arrangements everything before we went and planned on getting jobs but for the month we were there we did not get one job call back, this was in December 2008 so afraid of running out of money we came back to Alaska to live at her parents again. We got back to Alaska in January, and she went to the Community College here and I had applied too but my fafsa would not make it in-time and i would of had to pay the cost which I did not want to do because I had no job after leaving for Arizona. So now I have been trying to get a job and wait for fall semester to come around. I have not been able to get a job for about 3 months I live in this small town of Wasilla, Alaska. My mom lives in Florida and I just started talking to her, my parents have been divorced. Anyways she says that I am more then welcome to live with her in Florida. Basically my situation is, I have no job on unemployment right now), I am 21, my girlfriends parents want me to go to college, I also want to go to college. I don’t have alot of money, I can’t get help for college with my parents. My biggest fear is not being able to support myself and while im in college I would like to have a part time job.</p>
<p>I don’t exactly know what I need to get into a college, what I should do to get into a college. I would like to be able to go to college in one of the following states. Washington, California(as long as its in a safe city)Oregon or Florida. (I would prefer Florida because I have family there.)</p>
<p>What I want to do in college is Computer Science ( computer programming, web page programing, Software Programming, networking.) Something along these lines.</p>
<p>I can apply for Fafsa I know that I would get some money from them. If I need to get loans to be able to go I am more then willing, I am just not sure what I need to do exactly.</p>
<p>Sorry for my rambling, I just wanted to get everything out and see if anyone has ideas for me. I am sure there is other things you would like to know just ask me I will be monitoring this thread. Thanks in advance guys.</p>
<p>If you can move to Washington state and establish a residence there, I’d suggest looking at Evergreen State College.</p>
<p>The fees are reasonable for in-state students, they offer a good computer science program, and the students there are a bit older on average than at most colleges.</p>
<p>I agree, you’re definitely going to have to establish residency somewhere. Florida has relatively cheap tuition but it’s going up each year. If you have an AA you should be able to get into one of the regional schools (USF, UCF, UWF, UNF, FAU, FIU, or FGCU) but you may want to double check first.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be nitpicky, but this is a relatively important point: FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It doesn’t give out any money; it’s just the application. The federal and sometimes state governments are what give out the money.</p>
<p>Depending on how low-income your mom or dad is (you need to report the income of the parent you lived with the most in the last year), you may be eligible for Pell grants. A Pell grant plus the Stafford loan that every student is eligible for should be enough to cover the tuition at most in-state public schools. Like the previous posters say, you will probably need to establish residency. It may be easier to do so in Florida since your mother lives there; in the other states, you will probably have to establish that you moved to the state for a reason other than attending school, and you may have to live there at least 12 months before you can claim residency.</p>
<p>Florida has the Bright Futures scholarship, too, which pays in-state tuition and fees for Florida residents who attend Florida public universities. You may be eligible if you go live with your mom. Check it out.</p>
<p>I have read your replies and I appreciate the help. I don’t have an family in Washington, if I need to establish a residency my best bet is most likely Florida. Which is not a problem, my mom lives there and I can live there.</p>
<p>I am not exactly sure what you mean by AA heh.</p>
<p>I will look into the pelgrant and fafsa for florida thanks.</p>
<p>Which colleges in Florida should I apply to seeings how I am after a computer science degree.</p>
<p>Also you are saying that I could only get into a college if I have residency in the state that the college is in?</p>
<p>If so when would be a good time to apply for that college? Also since im quite sure that I am going to Florida at the end of this month, should I try and go to a community college while I wait for residency. And will my credits from the community college that I went to for a semester be any good. Sorry that I don’t know much of this. I just want to go to college so I can get a good job and be happy with my life.</p>
<p>“AA” refers to, I believe, the two-year associate’s degree obtained from a community college.</p>
<p>As for the residency, you can definitely get into colleges that are out of state without being a resident of that state. However, if it is a state college, you will need to have residency in the state of that college to receive lower tuition rates. Otherwise, you will be paying a higher amount.</p>
<p>Sorry Nibbler, I do not believe you’ll be eligible for Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship. I would advise you to wait until you’re a resident of Florida to attend college here, otherwise you’ll be paying roughly 4x more for out of state tuition. You’ll need to live here 12 months and you’ll have to be able to prove it too so once you get down here go ahead and get a FL drivers license and change your voter’s registration asap. </p>
<p>As far as a computer science degree is concerned, check out the schools I listed above. USF and UCF are two of the nation’s largest schools, they will probably have a major suitable for you. Some of the larger community colleges may also offer something you’d be interest in.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure hmom5. If his mom filed for him as a dependent then there may be some truth to that. Here are the Florida guidelines for residency:</p>
<p>When you are under 24 you are considered a resident of where your parent’s live and pay taxes whether or not they consider you a dependent tax wise.</p>
<p>I don’t know where hmom5 is getting his/her information but here is what I found on the FACTS website:</p>
<p>"Criteria for Dependent Student – All-Florida. Students reviewed for All-Florida
resident status as a dependent person must meet all of the following criteria:
The student is eligible to be claimed by his or her parent or legal guardian as a
dependent under the federal income tax code;
The student’s nation of citizenship is the United States;
The student is under 24 years of age;
The student’s mother, father or legal guardian is the person claiming Florida residence;
The student’s mother, father or legal guardian claiming Florida residence has a Florida
permanent legal address; and
The student’s mother, father or legal guardian claiming Florida residence provides
written or electronic verification that he or she has been issued two of the following three
Florida documents that are dated more than 12 months old: a voter’s registration, a
driver’s license, or a vehicle registration."</p>
<p>Under the residency rules of most states, it is difficult or impossible for traditional-aged students to be classified as a resident of a state where neither of their parents live.</p>
<p>However, the rules for state residency are not necessarily the same as the rules for whether a student is considered dependent or independent for FAFSA purposes.</p>
<p>Also, the rules for state residency vary from state to state. The differences can be significant. Some rules are common to most states. Even so, the details can vary significantly enough to make a difference in the outcome of a residency determination.</p>
<p>There isn’t really a safe shortcut to investigating the residency rules of the specific state where one wishes to attend a public university.</p>
<p>I stand corrected, I’ve never before seen state residency rules that say you must be a tax dependent. I would encourage the OP to talk the situation through with the Fla schools he’s interested in.</p>
<p>Also be aware that the officer in charge of residency determination can only discuss the state’s rules for residency determination in general. They cannot issue a formal or informal residency determination before you are actually admitted.</p>
<p>In borderline cases, you may even have to enroll without knowing whether or not you qualify for in-state tuition.</p>