I’m just so. Annoyed.

I found out today that I didn’t have to wait until 2024 to switch from my undergraduate school to a university and can start as early as the Fall. But looking at the costs of the University I want to go gives me incredible anxiety.

I applied for as many scholarships and grants as I could but it probably won’t be enough. I’m not sure what my other options are currently, I don’t return to work until July (maybe they said)...I don’t want to take out a loan as I already have one from another school I went to back in 2013 (which was a huge mistake in the first place)

So I can just stay at my current college which is super cheap and get my associates and maybe get an internship while I’m there? It would just take another...3 years on top of 2 years after transferring. I’m currently 28 already and I feel so behind in life LOL. i dont know...

I guess my question is...What are other students doing/or have done to get through Uni without being in crippling debt or have flies coming out of their wallets?

I totally understand the fear of the cost of college, especially in the US. It is... far too damn expensive frankly lol.

That said--there are a few options possible to help make it more affordable. Scholarships and grants are the best places to start. You may also be able to contact the financial aid department of your current school/the uni you want to attend for more guidance there. My state recently started a program where students whose parents make under $60k/year have their tuition totally covered, so there's a small possibility that something similar may exist.

Depending on the field you're in, some employers will pay for your college education. But I think that's mostly in engineering or similar fields, and you generally need a degree in that field first.

Another option is to get a job working for the university you want to attend--that's what I've done to work towards a certificate and, later, my master's. Often, one of the benefits of working for a college is that you get an employee scholarship, where a certain number of credits are covered each year (usually up to half-time). In my case, I took one class in Fall of 2019, and it would have cost just under $1000 with tuition and fees. With my benefits, it cost about $75. You don't always need a degree to work a university job; these are big institutions with lots of departments, and need a lot of labor to run, including grounds-keeping, custodial services, food service, secretarial work, etc.

The difficulty with that method, however, is that you'd most likely need to work full-time. You can juggle classes as you like (the certificate I'm working on requires four classes, but I take just one class at a time so I can manage work/school/life), but it does require additional work, and flexibility/understanding on your supervisor's part. Frankly, some supervisors will be unwilling to let you flex your hours so you can attend class. But there are as many--if not more--supervisors who will actually encourage you to seek higher ed, especially since it's an academic environment.

My partner was in a similar boat as you (financial troubles, tried school once and dropped out, then came back) and he's got his degree now and is doing well. I know lots of other nontraditional students who have found both personal and financial support and achieved their goals. It is possible! And the nice thing about education is that you'll never be too old to learn. I hope that whatever option you take, it works out for you!

Yeah, spent the last week applying for everything I could, I haven't contacted them though. I have talked to a few students saying they have a scholarship for freshman. I think it pays all of it.

Also had no idea about the employee scholarship, I will probably check it out, not sure how it will work. Not even sure if I'm going back to my other main job at this point because they keep extending the return date. Rip.

Yeahh, I'm hoping to get a high enough academic report now and get as much as I can in 2 years so either just have a full scholarship in or just. Pay a little bit out of pocket ahh

Best of luck! I hope you get the scholarships you need--even the little ones add up quick. I had a small scholarship for like, $350 and it covered books for a couple semesters. I also know the pain of dates for jobs getting extended or shuffled around too frequently--it sucks. :(

Like I said about the employee scholarship, it definitely varies from school to school. If you're applying to a public one, it might be easier to find information about whether such a thing exists for that school, and how much it covers from semester to semester.