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I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

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Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#31

Post by PhasmaFelis »

tazzy531 wrote: post #22

>>"Students should be warned that doing a paid internship can negatively impact your ability to finish up paying for school." Students should be warned that crossing the highway blindfolded if unsafe. Students should be warned that the stove could be hot if you leave it on. At some point, people need to take personal responsibility for their action. They need to understand how their actions effect them positively or…

When I clicked on the comment thread, I made a bet with myself that some jackass would've shown up within the first hour to bellow "It's your fault your academic advisor/student aid office lied to you."

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#32

Post by vaishaksuresh »

International students face a worse situation. Students on F1 visa are not even allowed to intern for 2 semesters in most universities. To make the situation worse, the tuition is almost thrice the normal amount. Shitty deal for students from countries whose currency's value is less than USD.

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#33

Post by hga »

rayiner wrote: post #14

I agree with the ultimate sentiment, which is that it's generally inadvisable to try and pay your way through school these days. The federal government will let you and your parents borrow as much as you need to pay for school, and you'll make more money after you finish your degree, so your efforts are better spent trying to finish in as few semesters as possible to minimize the amount of money you need to borrow in…

Is there still a screw case for "kids from wealthier families" when the families refuse to help?

At least during the '80s, I was told I was ineligible for any financial aid.

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#36

Post by digikata »

I paid my way through the latter grades of college thanks to a somewhat devious manager at my first summer internship. That manager transitioned me to a part-time employee at the end of the internship period after the school year started. In the latter two years of college I was a full time employee while going to school. Now, I took five years to graduate a four year degree, but since I was cashflow positive (yay low cost cal-state tuition) and employed in a topical field, the extended time really didn't matter. Now the manager was somewhat devious because I don't think the internships were necessarily supposed to work that way for all interns, but really it worked out well for both me and the company in the long term.

It would be worth probing the internship company in this case to see if some similar arrangement could be made. (if the budget for tuition vs part/full time pay works out, I did this in the 90's, no idea how it would work now).

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#37

Post by carlosdp »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #28
mchannon wrote: post #15

Across this country, this very month, legions of rubes will be getting low-interest student loans to enroll in psychology, general studies, and undecided major degree programs, paying $40k per year, only to drop out shortly thereafter with a huge financial hangover and little ability to pay for it. In contrast, an electrical engineering degree will easily pay for itself, particularly if you've managed to bootstrap yo…

You say with great conviction that EE is the way to go, but with the world being what is is, who can predict the future these days? In the early 2000s a degree in chemistry was considered a safe bet, especially with a biochemistry PhD tacked on. Then there was the 2008 recession, the great round of layoffs at the major pharmcos, combined with the offshoring of early discovery. If anyone says they feel cheated I'm not…

Dude, you went through like 5 different unrelated issues there o_o. But to your first point, the original commenter was stating that EE is a safe bet now, and therefore will likely be in 2 years when the OP graduates.

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#38

Post by gumballhead »

hga wrote: post #33
rayiner wrote: post #14

I agree with the ultimate sentiment, which is that it's generally inadvisable to try and pay your way through school these days. The federal government will let you and your parents borrow as much as you need to pay for school, and you'll make more money after you finish your degree, so your efforts are better spent trying to finish in as few semesters as possible to minimize the amount of money you need to borrow in…

Is there still a screw case for "kids from wealthier families" when the families refuse to help? At least during the '80s, I was told I was ineligible for any financial aid.

Yes, you're still ineligible for financial aid if your parents make too much money.

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#39

Post by SholaJS »

Have you ever worked hard for something and then realized it wasn't enough? Or worse, working hard brought you to this point, alone and unable to pay for school? It's clear that if she's writing this, she's trying talking to financial aid. She's tried saving as much as possible for school. She's tried all the options... but none were left for her. I go to Stanford and I found myself in a slightly similar situation on a smaller scale. I had $1.2k in debt before the start of the year. Yes you read that right, just over one thousand.

Well... Stanford won't disperse financial aid if you have a balance of over $1k. So, I had 2 days before school started and I didn't have the money to head back to school. No matter who I talked to or who I called, the story was the same. That $1k was my responsibility but to be honest, I didn't have it. That summer I barely made enough to support myself. I also maxed out my credit cards and because of my family situation, I didn't have a cosigner that could help me co-sign a private loan. I also couldn't apply for a loan through my school because that was also considered financial aid. That night I cried... so much. I called my financial aid office over and over only for them to tell me the same thing. I called relatives. I even begged my brother for a small loan just so I could register for classes (which he never gave btw). The next day at work I burst into tears for seemingly no reason at all. Why should I? I go to a school with all the bells and whistles. Why would that be a concern? Had a sorority sister not heard me crying, I would never have gotten the money to enroll.

It's because the system is broken. This story is not about amounts or what she "could've done," it's about the reality of being in a situation you can't possibly control.

Re: I cannot afford to go back to engineering school

#40

Post by sev »

Yeah, the financial aid system is pretty bad. A single woman I know who lives alone got denied financial aid because her gross annual income was 31k instead of the limit of 29k that financial aid requires. If you do the math and include all average expenses for any single person, you'll see that there's no way to pay for tuition and/or housing without a student loan in a situation as this. Is financial aid only supposed to be for people who either have no job at all, are completely poor, or are doing fraud?
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