Yeah, doing the FAFSA is a good start.
Also talk to college's financial aid department. They can hook you up with private lenders, so you can get a loan to cover whatever the government can't give you.
Warning about college loans: If you have any doubt you might not be able to go the distance and finish college, don't get entangled!--Loan payments are high, usually unreachable without a job that requires a college degree. Bankruptcy doesn't free you from many loans; and it's a last ditch option because it ruins your credit rating for life. Of course, if you can't pay, you can always beg for them to wait until you CAN pay... meaning that every spare penny goes into those loans, as soon as you get it. Sticky situation.
I wish I'd been told that before I went to college. I might have started out slowly, one class at a time, to be sure I could handle it... instead of failing after completing two-thirds of a degree, and facing real financial trouble.
08 Nov 2006, 6:28 pm
