Advice on filing independency / paying for school w/o parents support

I'm 22 years old and this was supposed to be my last year in college but because I screwed around so much the first three years, I was forced to either take the year off or leave my university for good. I decided to take the year off and now...coming soon to the end of the year, I have not done much to benefit myself. I've been living on my own and been borrowing a hefty amount of money from friends to survive and make ends meet.

I cannot file as an independent for FAFSA(financial aid) because I'm under 25, not a war veteran, and was technically not homeless since last july. (These are just some of the requirements in order to file as an independent.)

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do in order to get some sort of financial aid? My parents are unwilling to pay for another year of college because I've screwed up so much in the past and we've tried to reconcile our differences many times without success.

I'm considering just finishing up my schooling at the local community college because it's obviously a lot cheaper than a state institution.
I also start my new job this wednesday but i'll only be making $12/hr...hardly enough to survive, let alone pay for school.

any advice is appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

File for the FAFSA, but have your parents input their financial information (as they are required to do). Then use whatever financial aid you are offered. You will still be offered some, and your parents do not have to pay a dime. I had a difficult time getting financial aid because of my parents' income, and they didn't pay for my school either. But I still was offered enough in Stafford loans to cover things.

If you can take the remainder of your classes at a community college, by all means do that. Make sure they transfer over to your 4-year school though.

Or, the alternative is to work, and save responsibly, then go back to school in a few years when you are independent. I believe you can use coursework from up to 10 years ago (but it may vary from school to school).

 

+2 Biff...the work option will be tough because unless you can do something other than retail, you might make enough just to make ends meet, but not pay off any of your bills.

It will take a lot of hard work and discipline financially on your part, but you're going in the right direction. I'm glad you admit that you're in this predicament because you screwed around too much, and hopefully you're prepared to handle your consequences. Live and learn, and good luck!

 

Remember how your parents told you if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all. You live in NJ one of the most expensive states to survive in and your parents won’t pay for your education after partying for years….Thank you parents for all their help and start showing them you learned something.:grumble:

 

I think if you go to your parents and ask them to help you with the application but explain that its not for them to pay but for you to take out your own loans they will help you.

You will never get a good paying job without some kind of degree.

I go to Thomas Edison State college which is in New Jersey the classes are all available online or in class room and its very inexpensive.

They have a comprehensive plan meaning you pay one flat price and you take as many classes as you can in the year. The semesters are only 12 weeks long which helps it to go by way faster.

 

I respectfully disagree with this statement. My husband makes very good money and he never went to college.

 

Well I dont know what he does but he is one of the lucky few then. My guess is he has a talent of some sort that helped him move up and make a living.

With all of our blue collar jobs being shipped off to China and India our country has to start making the switch. I wouldnt recommend that any young person these days attempt to make it without an education. Its hard enough with a degree but without it its nearly impossible.
Like I said, unless you have some special talent or niche ability to do something.

 

Yeah I have to agree w/ Erin. My hubby never went to college either (not that he doesn't regret it) but makes really good money, even for our area -- but he did start at the bottom, doing internet tech support, learned things on his own, and worked his way up in the field. It really depends on what field you're in. A degree helps, but it's not the be-all-end-all. He's a programmer (among other things), which is a very in-demand field right now in our area. And it wasn't luck...it was pure old fashioned hard work

If Pringles has a penchant for IT stuff, or even sales, he'll do fine. But yeah, a retail job will NOT get you out of debt unless you sacrifice a lot of things and live well within your means for a long time.

While I will certainly push for my kids to get a degree, I will not force it. they can always go back to school later.

 

I think thats an old fashioned way of thinking guys sorry. I dont know your ages but I will asssume thatyour hubbys probably started their jobs many years ago when things were good.

With the number of unemployed people in this country why would a company hire someone with no degree when there are 20 applicants with a degree also looking for work?

I think in the past it worked fine but these days its just not practical.

I say go to college by all means do what you have to do.

 

My husband is the same as wonton's. He got where he is with hard work. And it's blue collar.
I wasn't suggesting that Pringles not get a degree. I was just saying you don't need a degree to get a high paying job.

EDIT: I am 27, and my husband is 28. I am by no means old fashioned.

 

Aww I wasnt saying you are old or old fashioned, sorry if it came off that way! I am older than you by several years LOL :grumble:

I only meant that assuming you can get a great paying job without a degree is not as easy now as it used to be even just a few years ago. I wish it wasnt so but it really is hard these days with or without a degree. So its probably best to be as prepared as possible!!

You can work the $12 hour job for many years and work your way up slowly or get a degree and start off making decent money. I am to impatient to work my way up with hard work LOL I want instant gradification

 

This is true. But I also think it's unfair to assume that you can get a great paying job just because you have a degree. I do know that it helps, though.

And thanks for the clarification. I admit, I took that a little personally.

 

I have to respectfully disagree with my friends Erin and Wonton. I'm 41 yrs old...Believe me when I tell you....you will not get a good paying job without a degree....Sure there are some that exist right now...but will they exist in 10-20 yrs...

Just ask Yote. Or the numerous other people who've been replaced by somebody who will do it cheaper.

That being said...I also believe that some people just aren't cut out for college...and that's great....just be ready to struggle for the rest of your life....Because although their are people Like Wonton's and Erin's husbands...they're not the rule, they are the exception to the rule.

 

I have a dregree in IT but do i use it for my job no i cannot find a job with my degree to even come close to paying me what i make now. for most people collage is the only way to go but for some their hard work pays off and they find a great job that pays well

 

Girl I have a high school senior and one in middle school LOL I am an old toot

Its all good we can disagree then have a beer :mrgreen:
:beerchug:

 

Awesome. Come on over! Oh wait... you're in Florida. I'll be there in a minute. :mrgreen:

 

Ahhh errrrrr how can I say this without sounding like an idiot? Oh well if I do, I do
I guess it all depends on the job/field/trade you are in. I'm pretty confident that my career will still be in existence in 10-20 years. I also know that if I wanted to extend my work hours I could easily pull down 5 figures a month. I'm not educated. Far from it. I quit school in the 9th grade and I don't even have a GED. I'm self educated and I'm self employed. I'm very lucky. And I know how lucky I am.
BUT... (always one of those right ) I believe education is the key nowadays to get anywhere. I wouldn't wish my lack of education on anyone and I don't glamorize it. I push Katie to excel in school and she has. I believe she will do' well when she gets in college.
Those are my hopes for her anyway

 

Like I said, it's dependent on your field and area. I live in an area that is ever changing, but one thing that is a constant is the IT field. My husband is in a field where he IS a dime a dozen, but what makes HIM stand out is the fact that has not limited himself to just one programming language or just one field in IT. He has an extremely well rounded resume, thanks to starting at the bottom -- he was in tech support, learned the ropes, got his hands dirty on servers, became an expert, then switched gears and learned to program many the languages. Somethings will not always be there, agreed. But some things will always be there -- just evolved. And if you don't evolve with it, you will fail.

Would I force my kids to go to college? No. Will I guide them towards it and strongly recommend it? SURE. But from my experience, I went to school cuz i felt I had to go right after high school. What I know now is that I should have waited, so I could decide what I wanted to do instead of wasting my 4 years for a wasted degree. I went to school for child psychology ....and now, I am totally a computer geek and love it. Had I waited a few years to see what I really wanted to do with my life, I'd have gone for computers and pursued that more aggressively.

I do believe in having a degree. I just don't believe it's a must to succeed in life as "just one of the lucky ones"....hubby is in this position due to hard work and a drive to evolve w/ his field. Nothing to do with luck. Not everyone has the drive, and degree or not, your life's career is just what you make of it.

 

Today, having a bachelor's degree is like having a high school diploma was 20 years ago. It's hard to get a job without a degree, even in fields that don't require them. There is a lot of competition for jobs. It's almost not enough to have a bachelor's anymore -- in many fields, you need a master's to even be competitive.

When I worked at the University of Arizona, there were people with MBAs applying for a $24,000 a year receptionist position. How do you think a person with a high school diploma or GED stacked up against them?

Although I agree with Erin, that there are exceptions -- people without degrees can do well -- those people are not the norm. Nine times out of ten, they are people like Christian, making $7 an hour at 35 years old, making $7 an hour for the last 10 years of his life. I know A LOT of people that live like that. I know more people with high school diplomas that live paycheck to paycheck than people with high school diplomas that live comfortably.

Amber is also correct that blue collar jobs are going out the window. People always complain that "all our jobs are going overseas!" Well that's not true. Only certain types of jobs are going overseas. We are not a manufacturing country anymore. Other career fields are growing very quickly, and there are lots of jobs in them, like healthcare, business administration and technology. The blue collar jobs that used to be able to provide people with good careers without educations are just not as plentiful anymore, and it would be very dangerous to rely on those types of jobs to provide your child with a future... They will not be there in 20 years, and your child will be stuck skilled in an obsolete trade, and knowing not much else.

It's also true that having a degree doesn't guarantee a high paying job. But it sure increases your chances miles beyond someone with just a high school diploma. The odds are definitely in your favor, money wise if you decide to get a degree. It doesn't always pay off right away, but on average, you will make millions of dollars more in your lifetime over someone that doesn't have a degree.