Students Make Costly Mistakes With Financial Aid

what exactly can you spend with financial aid money?

SeeWong of MN 7:05PM June 08, 2012

where do u report someone stealing Financial aid money

terri tinsley of MI 10:10PM February 19, 2011

The thing about colleges is that I feel they don't do anything to benefit your needs. I mean as of now I am a freshman at community college. My car broke down, I have twins that are 18 month olds and are not walking as of yet, I have no money, I have no family, I mean no father, no mother, no aunties, no uncles, no grandparents, no cousins, nothing. So because of my car breaking down I talked to people at the college and due to my situation they told me to drop all of my classes because there was no way that I can take my classes online for the rest of the semester. I told them that what the hell do you do to benefit those students who don't have nothing. What do you do to benefit those students who don't have not one single family member to help them out. All they told me was that they can't do anything to help me. I come from a family that is poor and not educated. I am 19 years old. After graduating high school I wanted to attend college so I can start another family legacy. I have a dead father whos been dead every since I was a year old. My mother, every since I was nine years old, is to busy with her own life so I cut her out of my life for good. I have no extended family. I moved out of my moms home when I was 17 years old three days after my twins were born( by the way my twins were premature)and every since then I am struggling to make ends meet. i can't find a job and no one wants to hire me because I am not flexible with my schedule. So back to the subject, I feel that colleges are hear just to take your money out of your pocket. I wanted to go into real estate, but since I have twins, I can't make choices for myself. So I decide to go into nursing. I really don't like it too much. I am bored to death. See students who have money and have family to help them and provide for them can do anything they want to do. But students who are underprivileged have to take on careers they don't even like. I asked some of my fellow students who are all came from the same background as me said they didn't like the program they were in. All they wanted was a career that makes a lot of money. I find that kind of sad and disgusting. I mean these students should be able to feel that they have some freedom to choose. Its just kind of sad that you have to do something you don't want to do. So for all you privileged people out there you are very lucky to habe family and friends because like me I have nobody. Absolutely NOBODY. Thank God everyday for what you have.

Nashay Hunt of IL 5:15PM November 01, 2009

Our American society has been bombarded with standard hype suggesting that college will vastly improve one's life. Americans are led to believe that four years of extra school will some how teach students something invaluable? Well, having graduated from college, I think it was a silly waste of time (grad' with a 3.7gpa with vast selection of coursework ranging from hard sciences to liberal arts)! I gained nothing of educational value for what I paid into it. There's other ways to gain education like by life experience. I think two years immersion in a travel expedition around the world would be a better "investment". Such an nonstandard education would wake up a creative mind. The student gets a real world education that goes beyond the silly cheap lecture delivered by the jaded professor. There's many other routes young people should consider taking instead of college. Too many colleges seem to be fundamentally wrong! They (not all, but most) are lousy institutions with the worst of intentions such as thieving money (got to pay administration and faculty and so and so costs) from naive young students who usually don't know what they want to do with their lives (this is one reason I advise against college as the place to "find yourself"). College is ordinarily too structured, very deadline specific, solidly formal, and just too rigid to allow much education to really happen (but you do learn how to parrot back information beautifully). I think an individual can learn these mentioned "skills" by heading directly into the world of work. Apprenticeships ought to be an alternative to wasting one's time at school. School tends to lean too heavy on standardized theory and crap that does NOT deliver RESULTS in the real world outside academia. My advice? Don't go to college!!!! just because it seems to be preached as *the* next route to take after high school. Do something DIFFERENT from the standard! RESEARCH your chosen school with a fine toothed comb. What's the real monetary value of your educational investment (it's a HUGE financial and time commitment that equates to a gamble really)? Research alternatives to school!!! I just wish people would accept the idea that maybe undergraduate college education is kind of overrated! I can say that even if such a statement devalues my own degree. I think Americans need to stop thinking that a degree means that a person is "educated". For many, real world experience trumps anything one will do in college. I feel like I have to catch up on the four years I wasted.

After saying all of that, I do advocate formal college for the pursuit of hard sciences. But liberal arts, business, and other such pursuits don't require college.

Disgruntled Grad of NH 3:14AM December 14, 2008