not fair!!-just need to vent

[xchairity_casex]

thanks for all the words of encourgment and for some good ideas ive tried looking up online collages and asked for some info and every single one of them were insistant on my getting a loan that now we keep the ringer on the phone off becuase after 2 months they are still calling and begging em to take out a loan and wont help me with info on grants. duker i would appreciate that info very much

 

[Duker17]

Your first step with finding financial aid should be filling out the fafsa. You can find it at www.fafsa.ed.gov/ If you have a tax return from 2010 then you will need that. The information you provide will determine any loans you would be eligible for, as well as work-study, grants, etc.

What colleges are you looking at? If they are saying that you need loans to go to school and are constantly calling you, I would be leery of those. If you were to take out loans, you would qualify for federal loans, and schools do not profit off of those as far as I know, so there would be no reason for them to push them that hard.

As far as looking for scholarships, there are millions of scholarships out there and so many of them go unclaimed, or have very few people who enter. I have no doubt that you could find tons of money to go to school just by spending some time looking for scholarships. Try scholarships.com for a good start.

I really do think it would be great if you could go away to school- for so many reasons. If you started planning now, you could go to school in August which would give you 5 months to plan,save,etc, and you would start with all the other freshman. It would open up a completely different world for you, which it sounds like you really need. You sound like a seriously hard working person, who's mom and sister seem to rely on to take care of things. Just think of all that you could accomplish if you could put your hard work towards school!

Also, I'm only 26, so I'm giving you these opinions from someone who has went through the whole college/leaving home thing fairly recently. It's scary to do, but it can be the best thing you ever do. Spend a little time thinking of what you absolutely love doing, what makes you happiest, and find a way to turn that into a career!

 

[xchairity_casex]

actually i do know what i want to do and thats to open up my own pet supplies store the enarest one around me is 2 hours drive away and they are mostly fish ive talked to the people who work at the vets office and they tell me its very frustrating for them becuase people bring in small pets like rabbits,ferrets and rodents and they cannot care for them properly becuase theres no where to buy the right supplies. ive even scoped out a building 3 doors down from the veternarians office. i love aniamls and ive always done research on them my whole life.

ive written down the info youve given and go from there if i have any questions duker is it alright if i ask you?

 

[Duker17]

Absolutely, glad to help! That's great that you already know what you want to do, that makes it easy to develop a plan! Do you have a community college nearby? Have you thought about maybe getting an associates in business? That would give you a good idea of how to handle business basics- accounting, economics, marketing, etc. And if you decided to do something online instead of on-campus, business is available online at TONS of schools. (Although it's not exactly the most exciting degree to get). Any animal-related majors would pretty much have to be on campus, but (in my opinion) they tend to be a lot more fun.

I double-majored in agriculture and accounting so I can try to answer any questions you have about school. Good luck!!

 

[booker81]

I would take what Duker said and run with it.

I believe Baker has online Associates in Business degrees, which would be helpful for running your own business. I would also trust them as an online school - they aren't fly by night and they are a very good institution. They are also business oriented, so would be a good place for education in business.

After getting a Associates, you could try to move closer to East Lansing, and go to MSU for a Bachelors in Animal Science. They are one of the best schools around for Animal Science other ag based things. Plus, if you transfer in as a junior (which you would with an Associates Degree), you do not have to deal with being "accepted" like you were a freshmen, and the majority of your classes from your Associates would transfer to eliminate the need to retake many of the core classes. You pretty much just transfer on over, no fuss, no muss.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I'm going to reiterate what a couple of others have said. When you look at online college programs, you need to be VERY careful about the school. An awful lot of them are total ripoffs and are only trying to get your money. The "loans" are through the school and are basically a way to just jack up the cost. Start looking around you at state schools- both four year and community colleges. The community colleges are a great way to get started. They cost less usually and still have the same grants and loans available. You REALLY need to go talk to the financial department at one of those schools. Do not talk to the people at the "I went to college in my pajamas" and whatnot schools advertised on TV. There have to be reputable schools around you. A good state community college will cost you a lot less than thes for profit online schools AND the classes will transfer to a four year school. Most of the online courses from these private schools won't transfer anywhere and the degree is mostly worthless.

If you want to open a store, you will need some training in business. Most schools want you to start with the general education classes, but perhaps try taking an intro to business class early on as well. Opening a store sounds like a great plan, but it will be a LOT of hard work. Plan your education accordingly.

If you are supporting your mother and not the other way around, you are actually in a great place then to get loans. You need to get out on your own and be independent. Once you are off your mother's tax forms and living seperately, you qualify for loans and grants on YOUR income alone. You should come out better doing it that way. Pell grants are available if you make less than a certain amount. There are also loans and scholarship. There is an entire office full of people that do this over at your local community college. They can tell you specifically what sort of financial aid is available. Go take advantage of it. It's there for folks like you that just need a little help.

Once you start school, you are going to have to make an effort to make friends. They aren't just going to show up on your doorstep. Join clubs and activities. Look for interest groups. Join study sessions to meet people (and study!). You are going to have to get out there and network. I guarantee you that there will be other people at the university with similar interests. You just have to find them. If you can't find them right off the bat, start your own club. It's not that complicated to apply for a student organization form. Some schools even allot you money to use on club activities. Make an animal lovers kind of club. Do service projects at your local humane society or rescue. Do fundraisers for such. Through doing things you will meet people and make friends.

For any of this to happen though you are going to have to get busy. If you continue to live at home and tolerate this lifestyle, 20 years down the road you will be in the exact same place and situation. Be proactive and grab teh life you want!

 

[Carols Clucks]

Skip the private schools, tv ad schools etc..... They are almost always a rip off.


Even if it means a trip, call your closest state run college/university. Make an appointment with their counselors and get their advice.

I am looking at online schools as well, but I will only look at what the Cal State Universities offer online and my first step is with the local tax payer supported community college.


We have a very prestigious school here, but I can tell you, after all the loans, the student programs etc.............it is probably the few people that graduate that actually end up in that industry. I feel really bad for those students and parents that help support them, because they will graduate and probably not qualify for much more than when they started school.

It is very expensive to start your own business, if you can get a degree in business from a state university, you can qualify for a better position in the industry you want to have your own business in. You can do a lot of company paid learning, make good contacts etc and be prepared for your future.


It might take some time, but investing in your education in a quality program will pay off

 

[sune42]

While I agree school is a fantastic idea, and I also agree to skip the online or 'business' schools, there is one important factor. I had to rain on anyone's parade, but to qualify for grants or government loans for school you need to be 26 years old, married or have a child. Otherwise your parents' income has to be counted. They will have to fill out the fafsa as well. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Duker17]

Quote:
I don't believe that is true (but I could be wrong). After I graduated with my first degree, I decided to finish my bachelor's in accounting (I was 23, not married, no children) and qualified for loans, work-study, etc just based on my income alone. I believe you only have to have parents' income if you are still claimed as a dependent...which I'm guessing the OP is not. However, even if mom's income needed to be counted, it sounds as though it definitely wouldn't keep her from getting any financial aid and would still qualify her for any and all grants available.

I would like to stress that I think it would be super important, if you do decide to go to school, to do it without getting loans. Especially since you would like to open a business once you graduate. Owning your own business is stressful enough, without adding the extra stress of having to make those student loan payments once you graduate. Like I've said before, make applying for scholarships a full-time job for the next few months, you will be amazed at how many of them all you have to do is fill out a form or write a paragraph or two.

As always, let me know if you need any thing else (even though you didn't ask for advice this time

)

 

[sune42]

Quote:
I don't believe that is true (but I could be wrong). After I graduated with my first degree, I decided to finish my bachelor's in accounting (I was 23, not married, no children) and qualified for loans, work-study, etc just based on my income alone. I believe you only have to have parents' income if you are still claimed as a dependent...which I'm guessing the OP is not. However, even if mom's income needed to be counted, it sounds as though it definitely wouldn't keep her from getting any financial aid and would still qualify her for any and all grants available.

I would like to stress that I think it would be super important, if you do decide to go to school, to do it without getting loans. Especially since you would like to open a business once you graduate. Owning your own business is stressful enough, without adding the extra stress of having to make those student loan payments once you graduate. Like I've said before, make applying for scholarships a full-time job for the next few months, you will be amazed at how many of them all you have to do is fill out a form or write a paragraph or two.

As always, let me know if you need any thing else (even though you didn't ask for advice this time

)

Perhaps because you were working on your second degree. I am not sure. Some schools are able to apply for a variance. When I went to cosmetology school at 19 I was able to go solely on my income, but when I friend who was kicked out at 18 went to apply at Northern Kentucky University she was told she would need her parents to fill out a fafsa, which they refused. My sister also needed my mother to fill out the fafsa while she was in school. Your best bet would be to talk to the schools financial aid office to find out more.