I went wrong my first round in college by not caring to understand anything about how my student loans worked. I also diched classes a lot and never did my homework. The struggle it's brought me today is that I'm about $80,000 in debt and can't get any grants for school because of it. I'm working two jobs PLUS extra private lessons and babysitting as much as I can to pay my rent and bills, as well as paying off my student loans every month AND barely scraping enough together to pay for ONE class of college a quarter. My second run through college now is harder, but I DID learn from my mistakes and now I have a 4.0GPA. :) Things get better if you really work for them to.

I know what you mean Sugar. :P
I can't wait for classes to start, I miss it.

I missed classes so much too. It's weird now thought because almost everyone is five or six years younger than me in my classes, and I don't have the same social aspect I did the first go around, what with living in student housing and all... It's okay though, I get a kick out of watching my classmates.

@ the Real Nikki - thanks lady! ^^

i hope things get better for you. count yourself a little lucky though. my best friend's parents threw her out with NOTHING! i took her in until she was able to afford her own place.

they told her to sink or swim. and swim she did.

they're the type of parents that believe that once their child turns eighteen they're not their responsibility.

and i think that's bullshit. your kid will always be your kid.


@ SuagrRos - maybe take a break for a semester. and work a ton of hours. not only will it make you appreciate your ability to go to school. like it did me. but you'll be able to put aside more money, to pay off bills and save for next semester.

Originally Posted by mau5ie

@ SuagrRos - maybe take a break for a semester. and work a ton of hours. not only will it make you appreciate your ability to go to school. like it did me. but you'll be able to put aside more money, to pay off bills and save for next semester.

Ahh, I took about two years off to pick myself back up. As I said, it's hard, but I'm making it work. Belive me, the appriciation for school is already there. As it is I'm hard at work trying to catch up on my loan payments so I can grab a grant and start going to school at two classes a quarter for free. :)

may i ask how old you are?
grants are easier to snag after you hit the 24 mark.. i had to wait for that to start school full time, otherwise there was no way i could have afforded it! :

25 on the 27th. :)

I actually qualify for about 2,900 in grants with my work schedual only allowing me time for two classes a quarter (I go to the Art Institute of Philadelphia, which is based on Quarters, not semesters). However, I am WAY behind on paying back my student loans, so until I'm caught up I won't be able to cash in on any grants. :)

happy waaaaay belated birthday!
gah that sucks, my friend is in the same situation.
but she's not paying her stuff off.
/d'oh

does philly do education lottery?
here in south carolina, we get lottery money.
no matter how much you, or your parents make, you get x amount of money based on the number of credit hours you take.
with the max being 900$
not too shabby.
with the pell grant and the lotter money i pay nothing for tuition.
but books are expensive too.
and i keep missing the assistance for books deadline.
ugh.

i am very thankful for the pell grant.
and hope to use it until i start taking radiology classes.
then i'm taking out a loan so i can quit working, or work only one day, to keep my work privileges.

YAY!!!!!!! i ish glad you guys are sharing i know it seems really sad but it helps to talk about it and i am glad that you guys are trying to either do better or continue to do better i am so proud of everyone here for listening and comforting each other