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ok, this has been torturing me since i signed up for school, and i was hoping some things would seem brighter by now but they have not improved. so i am kind of between a rock and a hard place and not sure what to do. any advice would be appreciated.
so i have been unemployed for quite a while, and i live in los angeles, which is one of the capitols of my kind right now. it is sooooooooo hard to find a job here. i just broke up with my boyfriend and though i have friends here, i am very proud and don't want to run to anyone for help. but i signed up for school a couple months ago, for spring quarter, and i got the pell and everything else.
problem is it won't pay the bills and keep me from being homeless. i would most likely have to move into my van for a while, an undetermined length of time, while going to school to stretch my money out.
thing is- i have been homeless before. i was homeless for four months, and it was one of the hardest things i have ever had to do. bar none. i am also female, and a neat freak, so i spent alot of time cleaning, washing up in sinks, sweeping out my van- it was an enormous expenditure of energy. being that i would be expending alot of energy in school, and knowing i don't have a home at the end of the day, i think i would be setting myself up.
but, if moved, i would have to go back to GA. i want an education. i really do. but tuition for an out of state person is hugely expensive. if i wanted to be able to have a grant cover it i am afraid i would have to wait a year, even tho i spent 30 years in GA and am a native. i feel like i am between a rock and a hard place. education and homelessness? or be safe and near my support system and back with my family again and have to put off my education? both seem horrible. i just don't know what to do.
thing is, i have to decide within the next day or so, as registration has started and i CANNOT start attending and then drop out. i would have to last the whole semester, or else have to pay back the financial aid. i have already checked into it. so if i go i have to commit. which means if i don't find a full time job by march 1st i am moving out of my place. pasadena CC doesn't have student housing, BTW.
Quite honestly, I would probably move back to Georgia and stay with family for a bit. Cost of living is ridiculous in Los Angeles and you could go to community college in Georgia for a lot cheaper with that in mind than you can in LA. Even if you have to wait a year, it seems like you're going to wrack up a lot of debt in LA. Is your chosen field one that makes a lot of money? One where jobs are plentiful? Don't go into huge amounts of debt (both student loans and personal debt) unless there's a good reason. Sometimes going home to stay with family is a better plan.
yea, i have decided to wait, send out as many resumes as i can and if i get a job in the next month i will be better prepared to choose my class schedule and can go for summer. if not, then i will go home. i'm not taking any loans, i already got approved for the pell meanwhile when i go back home i already have a job lined up with my sister, places to stay, and alot of projects to work on with friends. its bad there, but not as bad as here, and i will be HOME, with a support system. thanks for helping me decide.
Lots of people are moving back in with their parents to save on living expenses. There's no shame in doing that in today's economic climate. (I'm pretty sure I've come across reports saying that over 80% of all new college graduates move back in with their parents today.) In fact, that's very common if not the norm in most parts of the world, even for newly married couples.
I like h886's idea. Live with your family and attend community college to knock out basic courses inexpensively while you determine what you want to major in. Heck, I suggest using the time at the community college to also pick up an Associates degree in a medical field, such as nursing if possible (get something useful).
Whatever you do, avoid going to a for-profit college; they are all scams designed to saddle you with a lifetime of student loan debt. Only attend public, government-owned colleges and universities, especially at the community college level.
You should find out how long you have to live in GA to be considered an in-state resident for tuition purposes. It might be less than you think.
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