ways to pay for Tuition

I curious how my fellow dreamers pay for college tuitions. Tuition could be expansive even with the instate rate. It's 5000$+ per semester here in Ohio and 15000 for international rate. It's almost impossible for most of us to finish school since we are not eligible for scholerships. For those who are able to pull it off I want know how that u guys manage to pay for such a large amount with out help from financial aid and scholarships. Thank u for sharing

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you can get scholarships. i have two and one is a private scholarship that covers my out of state portion since i'm not eligible for in-state tuition. talk to your school's multicultural center, they usually help. there are also appeals you can file, which i did and got denied because my school lawyers are sissies because i know other schools in my state are granting those appeals, but anyways it brought attention to my situation and now i'm attending at the cost of in-state tuition.

I have done extensive research on this topic and I feel obligated to clear the misinformation that is often presented when the question is raised.

There are virtually no scholarships catered to our community. One can count with both hands the scholarships available to us and all of them (with the exception of the Minnesota state fund) consist of paltry sums ($500 range).

People always say to do you research as if to imply that scholarships are a viable means of paying for tuition- it isn't.

I have read some cases on this forum that seem to suggest otherwise but they are always anecdotal and lacking in substance. Sometimes such accounts are contradictory or outright nonsensical and seem to be a mere expression of wishful thinking.

The only way to pay for college is to pay out of pocket or to get a loan. In order to get a loan, however, you must have a US citizen with great credit to co-sign for you. Even then is up to every bank to decide who it lends its money to.

Now, it is not impossible to pay tuition out-of-pocket. Ten states now offer in-state tuition, which means that 2 semesters at a community college should cost around 3-4k with books included. A four year institution can cost between 8-10k a year, which is a substantial but not prohibitive sum. Realistically speaking even that sum is out of reach for most of us which is why we might have to spread out the cost over a longer period, say 3 years instead of 2 at the university, thus reducing the annual cost to around 5.5 -7k.

Assuming one has a supporting family who can provide room and board for those years and one works a part time of around 20-30 hours a week, there is no reason why an undocumented immigrant cannot get a bachelors degree within 5 years.

It's also important to consider asking your parents or relatives to loan you some of the money. Now more than ever it might be wise to do so since we are now eligible to work and we have a vested interest in graduating sooner rather than later.

On paper it is possible to do and many among us have done it already or are well on their way to do it. In reality it is incredibly difficult, especially if you are not academically inclined. Being a full time student takes a lot of time and dedication, which makes working part time a heavy burden. More than half of students (that is, documented students) who enroll in college never graduate.

Those who get tired lose; those who get crazy win. Crazy enough to believe they can pull it off. Many of us lose heart along the way and get derailed. The point is not to.

^^^^ this


There are others ways of finishing while making it cheaper for you. You almost save the cost by entering a transfer program and finishing the last years a university transferring from a college.
Sure you don't get the school experience and all that shit but you want your B.S or AAS not partying. Almost enter a program or field with lots of scholarship being given

People continue to post misinformation.

The following statement, " lots of scholarhip being given" is a falsehood. We do not qualify for 99.9% of scholarships, and the remaining .01% consist of insubstantial sums and are given to very few people.

I did 3 years of cc and 2 years of university for B.A.. CC I mostly paid out of pocket. But, my cc was pretty good and in a wealthy area of California. I qualified for a summer program were they paid you like 200 bucks a week to attend and take 2 classes they paid for. They also had this transfer program that gave out book stipends. I only got 50-200 dollars per semester. I also bought used books and sold all my books back. I also sometimes just made copies of books in library. I had to do a tanda for university which is like a community loan kind of thing. Because it was more esxpensive. I had to do a payment plan with the school too and go part time only sometimes. But, I really recommend getting involved and telling your story. Through my involvement and telling my story I was able to get a 500 scholarship for 3 semesters in a row with a local church group. Also, I volunteered with these other group and a lady there asked about my situation and gave me 2000 dollars. Like I told you too. My friend just raised 2,000 dollars using chip in by running a marathon.

yeah it was easier for FlyingAgaisnTheWind because she already has a SSN which is something a lot of things ask for. I took the majority of my high level credit classes in a CC and then took the remaining high level courses at OIT and OSU. I obtained my books throught digital means though. And worked my ass getting barely any sleep.

I seriously recommend you guys to get into a transferring program at your CC first

My SSN did not have anything to do with it. All of those were open to AB540 students the instate tuition law in California. All the scholarships I have received are AB-540 friendly. You don't use your SSN in California schools under AB-540. You just leave it blank. The summer programs were open because they were open with private funds ( rich people donate to them) as oppose to public funds. So, you wan to looks for stuff that is funded by private donors.

I was barely able to get a credit card 2 years ago in 2009 when I started my M.A with my ssn and Mexican passport.. But I received my B.A. in 2007. I worked for two years full time and saved all my money living at home with my parents to pay for graduate school. Same thing with my B.A. I lived at home. No partying nothing. No fancy clothes or car. Took the bus the whole time.

I have borrowed money from friends, sold clothes (such as unwanted xmas presents to consignment stores and ebay), I have also pawned old jewelry to borrow money short term. Sold arts and crafts too. My M.A. has been tougher than B.A. because I had to move away. So, family support and looking for people willing to feed you is important. I volunteered because sometimes it equaled free food.

I do have to say that things have changed tremendously. I would probably have to go slower now. For my M.A. I did have to attend a CSU which is cheaper than a UC.
When I first started at a CC tuition was only like $11.00 a unit now is around $32 I think. When I graduated it was around $26.00.
Also, for undergraduate school It was only like 3,000 a quarter. Not it is almost double. So, I am pretty sure it would have taken me longer.
I have taken about 2 semesters off from my M.A. because tuition was only about $2,000 when I started now is about $3,000 not including books and all other fees.