<p>I have bummed away the last 4 years of my life doing nothing substantive. </p>
<p>I am 22 years old and have finally decided to earn my BA. I have no savings and, given that I’ve been simultaneously disappointing and mooching off of my folks, I’d want to finance this on my own.</p>
<p>I would like to live in a city (either in the US or Canada) with a lot of overcast and a good amount of rain. </p>
<p>I have this idea in my head of taking out loans, moving to a new city and just being able to be a student for 3-4 years. I have no debt, for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>Is this foolish to do given my age? </p>
<p>Any cities you would recommend looking into?</p>
<p>It’s never too foolish to make your life better. Seattle has lots of rainy days, and on the days its not raining, it is overcast like you’ve never seen. The only concern is the money, financing college is a big deal, student loans are good, but after you get your degree they’ll start hurting…I definitely don’t discourage starting over, I applaud it, and I think colleges will too. Congrats on a new beginning, I hope it all works out for you!</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouraging post. I have definitely been considering Seattle. And yes, financing is a big deal so I’ll likely be looking at some public schools and trying to find a job, perhaps, as to earn some cash on the side and simultaneously establish residency to get some of that sweet, sweet in-state tuition.</p>
<p>Well, you have a few issues. First, state schools would be difficult to get any aid from and would charge you OOS tuition. In states where an under 24 year old can be considered independent, you would at the very least need to support yourself there for a year without going to school and your parents can not have claimed you as a dependent for 2 years on their taxes. Private schools would still consider you a dependent as you’re under 24 and would expect your parents to contribute. </p>
<p>The private schools generous with aid if your parents are low income tend to be the hardest colleges to get into.</p>
<p>All of that makes your in state public colleges the most viable colleges for most.</p>
<p>It used to be more possible to finance your own education. Today, at the very least, you would probably need someone to cosign for loans and could end up in major debt.</p>
<p>Understandably, attending a college in my state/city would be ideal from a financial point of view, no doubt. However, for many reasons, I am interested in moving to a different part of the country. </p>
<p>That said, financial reasons are exactly why I am exclusively considering public schools. My plan is to:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Move to XYZ state and attend local community college while working a job for 1 year. This will work toward: a) establishing residency; b) increasing savings, c) obtaining transferable credits and d) ultimately minimizing the amount of debt I will need to undertake.</p></li>
<li><p>Once XYZ State U’s residency requirements have been met and I am certifiably a resident of XYZ, transfer to flagship State University.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In most states, you will not be able to go to community college while establishing residency. That suggests you moved to the state for educational purposes and the rules read you must live in the state for a year without going to school. In most, if you start college as an OOS student, which you would be at a CC, you remain one, even when transferring to a 4 year college. </p>
<p>Then there are usually other residency requirements as I mentioned before. Almost always, your parents can not have claimed you for 2 years on their taxes preceding the time you apply for residency. And in many states, it’s pretty much impossible to become a resident until you’re 24 if your parents don’t live in the state.</p>
<p>The way to approach this is to read up on residency rules for states that interest you. States with better state schools tend to make it tough to discourage what you want to do. And from what I know Canada is not possible, they will always consider you an international.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that as your savings grow, so will your EFC–or what colleges will expect you to contribute. Student income and savings are assessed at a very high rate over about $4000. There have been lots of posts on these boards by young people who made $25K, lived on it, applied to colleges and found they expected over $10K of it for the first year.</p>
<p>All of this is why so many just can’t do what you want to. It’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult. </p>
<p>What I am wondering in your case though, is if you wait until you’re 23 and pay OOS rates at a CC for a year, whether they would consider you a resident when you turn 24. Worth looking into.</p>
<p>Just a thought: Living and working in Texas for a year, coupled with doing things like registering to vote in Texas, registering your car in Texas, getting a Texas driver’s license, should be enough to make you a Texas resident and allow you to get in state tuition there after a year or a year and a half or so, even if you are taking community college classes while you do this. The residency rules there are relatively easy to meet. There are some nice community colleges in Austin, and it is a very nice city. There are other possibilities there, too, of course. Texas is not overcast or rainy, though.</p>
<p>If you happen to be from North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Manitoba, you can get in state tuition at all of the Minnesota State Universities. (Bemidji State offers in state tuition to everyone. Bemidji is not a city, though. Same thing with University of Minnesota, Morris. Everyone is in state there.)</p>