Alright. I'll try to make this as short as possible.

I've completed about 2 years of college (about 60+ credits). A few credits more (one semester or two to complete math) and I'll officially have my AA. During this time, my GPA fluctuated a lot. One semester, I ended up on the dean's list; another, I got an academic warning. However, I also suffer from GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), ASD-1 (formerly Asperger's), and OCD and ADD symptoms. All of the above were professionally diagnosed, and I've also been diagnosed by a doctor with migraines (they are as bad as a stroke sometimes). After two years, despite mostly good grades (as well as graduating from an exclusive college leadership program and becoming semi-famous for my work for the school paper), a bad semester or two caused my GPA to go to the shitter. So I decided to try a different school, away from my hometown. I moved away.

Bad idea. Not only did I fail four classes, I withdrew from four others (in two semesters). I did horribly due to my roommate (who seemed nice at first) becoming abusive, and struggling to live on my own (I was very sheltered growing up). As I was on my own, I had no idea what to do. Previously, my mom had arranged all psychological help for me. However, most psychologists in my new area did not accept my insurance, and between my job (to pay for rent) and school, I did not have time to see one. Thus, I did not see a psychologist. This hurt me greatly when I applied for special circumstances withdrawal due to my (professionally diagnosed) disability - the school denied it, based on the premise that I had not seen a psychologist recently. (I was the only person denied out of 34 other applicants.) I appealed, and was denied through appeals as well.

(Also, I have no money to even pay for a legal consultation, so don't even try to advise I see a lawyer. I can't. It's out of the question.)

So, with debt from withdrawing from my classes, for over a year now I have been out of school. I lost my dental insurance due to that (needed for a needed wisdom tooth surgery), and the debt was sent to a debt collector, where they added $300 (that's just the collectors' fee, which was like 30%). Until the debt is paid, the school has also refused to release my transcripts (required to get into ANY school, even if transferring, and yes I asked admissions). During that time, I was also unemployed, unable to find a job, and had to move back in with my parents.

Now, I finally have a job (finally) and I am starting to make money again (a part time job). My parents are helping me out a little bit, but refuse to pay any more than my car insurance and food bills. I am now paying for my own gas and phone bills as well.

Here's what I need advice on.

1. How do I negotiate down my college debt?

2. Is it still possible to go to graduate school in the future if I fix up my GPA? (I heard that grad schools look at ALL of your transcripts.)

3. My current degree is English, should I change it in order to find a better job? (No, I do not want to be a teacher, unless it's at the college level. Which requires going to grad school.)

4. This relates to , but it's my dream to someday study abroad at Oxford or Cambridge. Would that still be possible, if I fix up my GPA?

3. I'm not in the industry, but from what I've heard and read on sites like this, you can basically do 3 things: write/speak, teach, or research. You would have to be quite a people person to do the speaking and HR type jobs on that list.

But the thing to consider with that is there are a lot of jobs out there that anyone can do regardless of their degree's field, and a lot of the employers just want you to have a degree period. Jobs that require an English degree are probably not going to be incredibly high paying or easy to come by, but it wouldn't hurt to just have a degree under your belt. Keep in mind, I work retail with a number of people who have 4-year degrees..a degree doesn't guarantee a thing.

As for some personal advice, if you do go away from the English degree, don't just latch onto the first technical certificate or degree you find so that you can make money. A lot of those "trade school" type places, and even regular colleges, just want your money and know that your degree/certificate is useless outside of a very narrow field. I spent about $3k on a medical transcription certificate and never found a job.

This is a really rough time for people in their college-ish years. I hope you're able to find a way to make everything work.