I Need Advice on College, Please

[Afra]

I still want to attend Johnson and Wales University in Denver, Colorado, and if you all remember correctly, they had told me I need to take Math and English courses in my local college before I can enter the University. My question is, should I apply for Grants and fill out the FAFSA for this? I have never attended college yet and I really want to be a chef so I do not want to give up on this.

My other question is, should I try to find a friend who can take me to the college each day I need to be there for my classes because I don't drive (and I am still trying to learn how to)? I am about to try to get some decent-paying jobs this coming Monday and my friend is going to drive me to the appointment (its with Voc. Rehab.).

I only ask these questions because my parents disowned me and my brothers after the terrible crime committed against me in 1998, for which the court separated us from our mother. I therefore can't turn to my parents for help. (My mom lives with my stepfather; my dad died in 1986 from cancer). If I did ask for help, they would refuse to help me.

If anyone can lend me a hand here, I would greatly appriciate the help! I am not interested in getting some financial aid for college that has to be paid back because I can't afford to do that. I keep thinking about the Grants when it comes to this. Thanks, everyone!

[Afra]

I forgot to add that I live in a very tiny town and that there is no bus service here. There is a bus called NICE that travels everywhere in Post Falls and the nearest town (where the college is located), called Couer d' Alene, but if you ride that bus, it costs you $4.00 one way and $4.00 back each day and this would be too much for me. This is why I have not been riding this bus; I just can't afford that. I think that $4.00 fee each way is just a bit too much.

[Afra]

I just got the information I requested from the college this past week in the mail today and I want to show this to Voc. Rehab. I remember someone saying that the company would help me if I wanted to go to college, but I can't remember who said that and I don't think it was Voc. Rehab. I will show this to my friend, though (I mean, the one who will take me to my appointment, the one who is willing to drive me around and help me out).

I feel the same way I felt when I got the materials from Johnson and Wales in the mail long ago. I would have liked to fill out the papers needed for college but I still don't have any money and I am trying to get a job, starting this coming Monday. Can anyone give me any advice? Thanks so much in advance!

Well, It seems that your first hurdle is to get your drivers license. Once you have that done, the rest is just hard work. Find out what you need to get accepted into a culinary school. Do you have the academics to qualify? If not, take care of that. Work days and take night classes. What ever it takes. Then you have to worry about the money, right. If you can get pell grants, great! If not don't sweat it. The rest of the money will have to come out of your pocket and stafford loans, which are guaranteed by the government. Save Save Save your money. Eat lots of pasta and ramen noodles. Basically you have about 1-2 years before you can even start culinary school. If you can't wait that long, you probably don't want it bad enough.

peace