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Hey I'm a freshman in college going for my bachelor in English. I'm looking to become a teacher in New York. The problem is that my school refuses to except any federal loans that aren't through the school itself. My parents haven't paid their taxes though and in turn, the school refused to give me anything. Everybody in my family also has too low of a credit score to cosign a private loan of any kind. My parents keep promising to pay for college but have let me down for the first term and in turn are about to let me down for the second. I have already begged one aunt for money for the first term and I only have one more family member for the money for this term. That money I still have to pay back. It kind of doesn't help that no one in my family believes that I will graduate from college at all just because I'm the first one to graduate from high school. Any ideas?
No because for some reason the only way around this is to be 21, an orphan, or emancipated. For some reason you are still claimed as a dependent on your parents taxes until the age of 21 which is ridiculous.
Maybe it's time you become emancipated. And I'd check about that age 21 thing. I thought it was age 18. Do your parents claim you as a dependent? Since they haven't paid taxes (for how long?), maybe your age is a moot point. There just has to be a way you can become eligible for govt aid.
The solution is pretty easy: you yourself said this is the only CUNY school with this policy. So go to a different school! There are plenty of schools in NY state, and I'll wager many of them have programs in English education.
If you want it bad enough and money's a problem, you will find a way to do it. Like go part time & work until you can find the resources to go full time. Or work full time, live frugally, and save the money for college until you can quit and go back to school.
The SUNY's are completely out of the question because the cost is even higher than what I am paying now and they are all dorm required from where I live. I am living at home. That is the only way that I can pay even what I am paying. As for going to another CUNY school, it will only suffer to my grades as I will go from traveling an hour on public transportation to traveling for nearly 2-1/2 to three. This school is on Staten Island where I live and easier to get to. I will have a part time job this next semester but it is a job where I will only work for a day or so each week. It won't pay much. It's more of an application job for graduate school.
Please forgive me if this option has been brought up....But have you tried for student loans?
I go to school with a gal who lives with her parents, much as your situation, and she has to receive student loans to go to school. And yes, the FAFSA age requirement is 21 for all schools.
Yea I have applied for student loans but the school only accepts that one loan through the school itself which runs through the FAFSA and as my parents didn't pay their taxes, it won't happen. Private loans are out of the question because they all require a cosigner unless you have had a steady job for 2 years or you are 21 and older and no one in my family has the credit to cosign for a loan.
The SUNY's are completely out of the question because the cost is even higher than what I am paying now
But if you can get financial aid and much of your tuition covered, why not??? If I were you, I would contact SUNY-Stony Brook or even Brockport to find out possibilities.
The SUNY's are completely out of the question because the cost is even higher than what I am paying now and they are all dorm required from where I live. I am living at home. That is the only way that I can pay even what I am paying.
When I decided to go back for an MA in Clinical Psychology, I had an MS in Computer Science and grad study in two other discipline. I'd never taken a psychology course in my life, and every grad department required a major in psychology or its equivalent to apply.
So I decided that since I didn't have a BA in psychology there's no way I could go back to grad school and gave up ... NO!! I spent about three years getting the undergraduate courses out of the way, at local community colleges and four year schools. During the last of the three years I got my financial aid in line. And get this: I was 53 years old when I quit my job and went back to grad school. I invested everything I have in my new career, walked away from a very comfortable life as a software consultant, and spent the first year out of grad school living in a friend's spare room because I only made 3000USD that year.
As I said before, if you want it bad enough you will find a way to do it even if it takes years to do so. You're thinking you're boxed in by your current situation, so think outside the box. That means thinking long term; consider developing a three year plan for getting to the point where you can go back to school full time without having to depend on living in your parents' house. It may mean quitting school and living frugally so you can save toward your eventual education. It may mean picking a more affordable school. It may mean finding a job in the town where the university you plan to attend is located so you can network and make contacts in the department. It will definitely mean being creative and sacrificing short term comfort for your long term goals.
I saved up money, worked toward my undergrad for two years at a local community college until I ran out of money, dropped out and worked for four years until I could save up enough to get through with the help of student loans and a work-study job at my university. I finished my BA eight years after starting it. My parents didn't have a cent for my education. We used to call this "working your way through college", and although things are more expensive now I find it hard to believe that someone who's determined to get a college degree can't get one ... even if it takes them eight years like me.
If you think it's too expensive, or too hard, or there's no other way, or you're too old, or whatever, guess what ... it will be impossible for you.
Have you looked into any colleges with free tuition? There are many of these schools nation wide and there are several different fields of study you can choose from. There are a few in New York. Here are the links: CUNY The Cooper Union Webb Institute
I believe you will have to fill out a FAFSA for all of these school's but with your parents tax situation, you should ask the school to classify you as an "independent student" and that way you can use your own taxes from any previous jobs. As you have found, the school will not readily give you this classification based on your age, but you need to appeal their decision and ask for a change in status. if the financial aid department says no still, go to the dean of student affairs or someone similar and plead your case. The financial aid department processes all aid through the school and sometimes they can be extremely "by the book" due to government scrutiny, but the dean of student affairs is YOUR advocate and should be looking out for you.
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