(I finally joined this website after years of casual browsing. Please don't roast me for the following really long info. Also, sorry if this is the wrong spot to post this.If you don't like tl;dr posts turn back now)
As an out-of-state, freshman in college, "disabled" with Aspergers Syndrome, OCD, & consistently depressed resident who had to move with his direct family from California to Florida, I have felt like a powerless sack of s+++ ever since I graduated with honors at my competitive high school. I was the most reluctant in my family to make the move from California to Florida, after having been raised in Cali my entire life & expecting to attend school there. However, my family couldn't get by there & my Dad took advantage of a nice-paying job here in Florida. I currently attend a branch of Daytona State College near Daytona Beach,FL (a community/state college). So far, with the move, I've only taken 2 classes this Fall 2015 at a price of around $2300. My in-state friends, in a similar position, would pay less than $750, including books. Up until about Halloween, this hasn't been stressing me out much. I have a 4.0 GPA, I have finished any/all projects early, & I have developed a good relationship with my teachers and the few friends I have made. I have been responsible at home and at school, budgeting whatever money I have despite not working a job yet and getting a total of $0.00 in financial aid (this is after I submitted the FAFSA to my school's FAO...my counselor said that even with the move, I was guaranteed to get some sort of financial aid, but all I got was loans. Ding me on this but my family & I decided to pay with cash.)
Fast forward to the Halloween weekend. My aunt, who had let us live & pay rent with her at her house since our move, impulsively decided to kick us out of her house. We lived out of our car for that weekend & if it weren't for me immediately calling my other aunt, we wouldn't have had a room to sleep for a couple nights after. I never thought I'd get to be a homeless person for Halloween. I also never thought I'd get a new house (to joke here) for my birthday. (My parents put an emergency down payment around my birthday on the 7th for a small place to rent.) As soon as I could, I tried getting advice from my other relatives, but they happened to be gone due to their own personal emergency. The next time I had classes, I tried to see my counselor who also happens to be a student disability services adviser, but she was gone too! Later, I had found out that the Department decided to transfer her to Daytona State College's main campus, which meant a 45 minute drive to see her in person. (I also took a 45 minute drive to have an appointment with someone from the Florida Dept. of Rehab a while ago, even before this crisis occurred, but they were reluctant to help me out.) They had replaced my adviser with a guy I didn't know. It suddenly became extra difficult to contact her as well. I was able to make the drive to meet with her, and she felt very sad for me because I kept telling her about how much I'm caring for school & my budget. She doesn't quite understand from her POV how I could have it this badly, and as a last resort, recommended that I call the Salvation Army from Daytona Beach to see if they can write me a letter that my family & I stayed at their homeless shelter. Apparently that is a method to claim in-state tuition under emergency circumstances. That was 4 weeks ago. My father & I have called their phone number about 10 times, & my father nor I have gotten to speak with the person we were supposed to get in contact with. I understand that the holidays are here, but it would just be in bad taste if this person is deliberately avoiding my family & I before Thanksgiving. He just hasn't responded yet, but it's time for me to register for my Spring 2016 classes, even if my parents have had to use some of my tuition money for us to just get by right now. I want to go full time at a cost of $4000, whereas it would cost a little over $1000 for my in-state friends. I have applied/looked for some scholarships & I'm just hoping I can get one that may help. I am also in my school's STEM club. They were almost going to kick me out of the club for not attending enough events on the main campus. However they are going to guarantee that I basically have a $300-900 scholarship at the end of this semester. It is still so much better than nothing.
I'm busting my butt to attend STEM related events for a maximum of $900. The more events I go to, the more money this club is willing to give me. Meanwhile, I know I shouldn't be comparing myself to my in-state friends, but they're receiving Pell Grants which is not only covering their tuition, but giving them $900 back in FREE MONEY. I have the grades, I have the work ethic, I have the merit, and now I have the financial need to prove that merit. I've just felt so powerless and embarrassed to even be around my friends at this point because I don't know them, I won't know the majority of them for long, and I have come to realize that everything in the world can change in a day. I've been in an increased state of anxiety ever since, and now that I know my other middle-class friends's financial situation that they disclosed to me, I don't know if I will cave in to all this. Even if the Salvation Army homeless shelter replies back to me (because no response at all is worse than hearing a "no,") I think I am fighting a self-defeating battle because any financial aid or in-state tuition I could suddenly qualify for would have to be held until Summer 2016. By then, I will officially be considered an in-state citizen. By then, I will probably transfer to the University of Central Florida in Orlando...where reasonably the in-state tuition there costs as much/more than the out-of-state tuition at Daytona State College. Is there anything more I can do, college confidential community? I'm sorry if this is all over the place, I just really don't wanna be in debt. School is all I've got besides family at this point. I have a lot to learn, but that's what I love doing. Please tell me any advice/what you think. Thank you for reading this.
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