Having to pay for school yourself really sucks, but I am doing it, so it is possible!
It’s that time again; time for spring semester. I have been out of school now for over a month and I go back in nine days! Have you ever seen the movie “Kicking and Screaming”? If not, that is okay because the plot has nothing to do with my point, but the title reflects the exact point of my feelings about returning to the lab. I’m not sure what the worst part about returning to school actually is, the actual act of going back or the having to take out a large fortune to pay for it! The older generation wonders why none of the younger generation is going to college, and in fact its their fault! They are the ones that have made it almost impractical to go to college. Graduating with thousands in debt just to go to a menial paying job doesn’t seem very “educated” now does it? Yet there are still some of us who find that school is worth it, it just hurts us to have to pay for it. My debt after my bachelors degree will be around sixteen thousand dollars, and after my masters that will grow to around one hundred thousand dollars, that is a lot of money. I am hoping to be able to pay it off quickly by getting a job soon out of school, as I am going to graduate as a Physicians Assistant, if all goes well.
That is just tuition cost, next are textbooks. Holy Caca! Those things had better be gold plated and printed on parchment for their cost. My girlfriend priced her books last night and the total came to $366 just for four general education classes! My books last semester were around $300 also but that was only three classes, and the real kicker is that I only opened ONE of them!!! Therefore I have come to my decision for this semester, I am not going to purchase books. I will beg and borrow books from the school or classmates should the need arise, but there is no sense in wasting the money just because the syllabus said so. That’s dumb, and I’m not dumb, okay; I am not THAT dumb.
One piece of advice I can offer every one, don’t be afraid to apply for loans. Loans are not a sign of weakness, they are a necessity.
So that is my rant about the price of school, it is ridiculous, it is outrageous, it is almost not worth it, but hopefully the education pays off and I am able to afford my dream house in the mountains of Montana with my beautiful girlfriend.
Thanks for bearing with me, I hope that you find all the necessary resources to pay for school.
Visit these sites for help paying for school.
FAFSA: https://fafsa.ed.gov/
Scholarships: http://www.fastweb.com/
Info about having to pay for school yourself, like me: http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/parentsrefuse.phtml
-A
Blazing the Trail to Awesomeness 