EternalEquinox Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Alright, so I just started school on Monday, 18th and I already feel stressed. Not because of Homework or bad professors. It's financial aid and how they can be a real pain in the ass. Just two days before I started school I found out that I wasn't completely approved of any FAFSA monies. I had to fill out paperwork for the school after I had my Fafsa done (which I didn't know until it was late) and I also forgot to have have my dad's IRS thing attached to the Fafsa form online so that was another thing. Anyway, then I had to fill out a book voucher thing that would allow me to get my books. The financial aid guy at my school said that at first in my student email I would get denied but then that later I would get an email saying I was approved. Doesn't sound so hard right? Well, after I got the denied book voucher email, I waited for my approval (which never came at all last week). So now I have to go back to the financial aid office and fill out ANOTHER book voucher form...UGH! I'm beginning to think College isn't worth it. These expensive books sure aren't. Any advice guys? Or personal experiences with this kind of thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 College is worth it. If nothing else, you'll get really good at navigating bureaucracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Whatever you do don't go into massive debt when you won't have a job on the outside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueScholar Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Keep being a financial aide pest. They get paid to help students navigate the complex financial aide process. Also look at places like Amazon and eBay for cheaper books. Buy used if possible. Some places such as Amazon allow you to rent. Look for used book stores and hit them up as well. See if your instructors and professors will let you use an earlier edition of a textbook. These tend to be much cheaper. Also talk with financial aide, your professors and your instructors about grants or scholarships. Have you declared a major? Talk with academic advisors in your division about options as well. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalEquinox Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 I was kinda counting on a Pell Grant to help pay for my books or whatever. But it seems I am going to have to pay for the books myself or go put in for a Stafford Loan but that also takes about 5 weeks to process which is the same amount of time it takes for me to receive any Pell money. This sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherJosh Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Give it some time too, if this is your first semester. Get good grades and you will start qualifying for grants/scholarships. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Rent or buy books online. Chegg.com or Amazon will rent you books for cheap. Also, keep in mind with financial aid that there are a ton of options for people who can't pay them back or are looking for work. As long as you don't default on them they are usually willing to work with you, even if you postpone payments. Keep in mind there are some careers that will help you pay back loans, such as becoming a teacher. Additionally, a lot of government jobs will pay back parts of your loans too. Something to look into. If you're living low-income or on your own there are also state aid options such as food stamps, health care etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalEquinox Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks for the advice guys! I'm just really stressing about not having the money to have my books for class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherJosh Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Thanks for the advice guys! I'm just really stressing about not having the money to have my books for class. Most professors understand if you don't have the book the first week of class. Should give you some time to get everything in order with your aid. Be sure to hound your school counselor too. You really have to lay on them sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalEquinox Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 Yeah, I should have my books this wednesday or thursday. Hopefully anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 My old nemesis Burnedout pointed me to bookbyte.com. It's been about three years since I used them, but they usually have a pretty good selection of used textbooks. And they'll buy the old ones back. As for whether or not college is worth it, there's no simple answer to that. I didn't finish college until my mid-30's and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. It's been by far the best thing I've ever done for my career. But not everybody has that experience- lots of people end up with enormous debt and little or nothing to show for it. That's not to be ignored... paying for college is a financial risk like any investment. Some people say that education has intrinsic value above and beyond any job opportunities it may or may not provide. I'm not saying they're wrong... but from my working-class perspective that doesn't mean much. For me the question is whether or not it'll pay off financially. So it's my opinion that IF you're majoring in a field that can get you a better job... and IF you can manage to finish in a reasonable amount of time... college can be well worth it. But for purposes of personal fulfillment, enlightenment, perspective, status, etc.- I feel like those considerations are luxuries that most of us can't really afford. That's just my perspective though. Other people see it pretty differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogueScholar Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 RS, I cannot disagree. Luckily where I teach, our programmes are highly specific for certain careers such as nursing, respiratory therapy, x-ray technology, dental hygiene and others. In this case, these folks are being prepared for a job and placement is generally pretty good for people willing to move for employment. It's certainly true that some degrees may not have as much crossover into the job market but it always amazes me how creative people can be in terms of what they do with their education. Of course there are horror stories about people with higher degrees in certain areas that struggle with employment and large debt. People need to really think about the pros and cons of their education and really try to balance doing what you enjoy with the practical reality of a tough job market. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orbit Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 What I tell my students is that college doesn't guarantee you anything, but lack of college puts you at a disadvantage. People who get creative about how to use their degrees tend to do well, even in a tough job market. Social science majors, for example, often forget that those skills are transferable to careers in business, government, and research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 RS, I cannot disagree. Luckily where I teach, our programmes are highly specific for certain careers such as nursing, respiratory therapy, x-ray technology, dental hygiene and others. In this case, these folks are being prepared for a job and placement is generally pretty good for people willing to move for employment. It's certainly true that some degrees may not have as much crossover into the job market but it always amazes me how creative people can be in terms of what they do with their education. Of course there are horror stories about people with higher degrees in certain areas that struggle with employment and large debt. People need to really think about the pros and cons of their education and really try to balance doing what you enjoy with the practical reality of a tough job market. Yeah, I've personally known some of those horror stories. Lots of people make spectacular careers with no degree at all, or with a liberal arts degree or the like. I'm not implying at all that it can't be done- it's done all the time. But from what I've seen, you need two or more of the following: *upper middle class upbringing with all the socialization and networking that entails. *charisma *good looks *exceptional intelligence/talent *friends/family in the chosen field But slobs like me who aren't blessed with these advantages have got to be more careful. One way to look at it is this: Immigrants often don't have any of the advantages on that list. But it's not uncommon at all for them to be successful in certain fields. IMO those are good places to look at- it indicates a field where skill and hard work really do matter more than who you are and where you're from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 See username 'Burnedout' here at Exc. about the books. If he can't get them for you cheaper, he can show you how to make money by dealing in used ones. Just a tip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Somewhat off topic, but I never went to university. I have a horror of debt. Personally I advise the younger generation to live at home with parents as long as they can while working, save as much as they can and then go off and travel the world. Life is too short to be owned by the bank (mortgage) and far too short to be enslaved at work (through debt) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdparker520 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I always waited a week or two before I bought any books in college. Not all classes actually use the required books, so this let me figure out which books I actually needed to buy. Basically, during those 2 weeks you're trying to figure out: - Are the homework assignments for this class in the book? - Does the professor expect me to know information that is only in the book and won't be covered in class? If neither of those is true, you can probably skip buying the book. I started doing this after my first semester when I literally never opened half the books I bought. The best part is that this is essentially risk free since most professors don't expect everyone to have the books at the beginning of the semester. By doing this I spent about $100 on books each semester, compared to the $500 it would have cost to buy them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted August 25, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted August 25, 2014 There are several really good websites where you can buy textbooks for next to nothing. Google search "cheap text books" and compare prices between websites. Also, get the ISBN number from each of the textbooks you need before you start your search. Often you can get an older version of a textbook that is nearly identical to the latest version for a lot less. Look for scholarships, too. When I went back to school, I got almost half of my tuition money from academic scholarships. It meant putting a lot more time into studying so I could ace my exams, but getting the money was worth it. And being able to put "GPA: 4.0" on a resume is nothing to sneeze at either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalEquinox Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I always waited a week or two before I bought any books in college. Not all classes actually use the required books, so this let me figure out which books I actually needed to buy. Basically, during those 2 weeks you're trying to figure out: - Are the homework assignments for this class in the book? - Does the professor expect me to know information that is only in the book and won't be covered in class? If neither of those is true, you can probably skip buying the book. I started doing this after my first semester when I literally never opened half the books I bought. The best part is that this is essentially risk free since most professors don't expect everyone to have the books at the beginning of the semester. By doing this I spent about $100 on books each semester, compared to the $500 it would have cost to buy them all. Yeah, that's what I did. I waited the whole first week of school last week. I was just getting really worried and overworked when I didn't see my book voucher approval coming in. But this morning it came in my student email so after first class of the day I ran to the college bookstore and got all my books. Hurray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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