zoemorg

Well, first off, I want to say that bankruptcy does not mean uneducated or stupid. It is also not always the result of poor decisions. Sometimes it comes about due to circumstances that are completely beyond your control. My husband and I are very careful with our finances and we do not spend beyond our means. We had over $800K in medical bills and insurance only covered about half of that. In addition, it was best for our daughter that I be able to stay home with her that first year because she had appointments and therapy every week and needed special care. So, I had to leave a very well paying job. However, I tried to supplement our income by keeping other children during the day. I realize that applying to a private school is expensive and harder to fund. However, I received a four year degree from this same school several years ago and walked away with no debt. I was able to go for four years and paid for it through scholarships and grants. I graduated with a 4.0. I went to a local community college for my nursing pre-requisites and will finish those this semester - with a 4.0. So, when I applied to this school again, I was hoping to be able to get enough in scholarships and grants - same as before. There are very few programs around here that start in the spring. Yes, I could wait until fall (and will if need be). However, this program that starts in January is accelerated and I would be done the following spring. At that point, I could start working and have a better shot of getting out of this financial hole. In addition to that, we would like to have another child at some point, but do not want to do that until we are in a better place financially, which isn't going to happen until I graduate and start working. Oh, and because I am sure someone will bring it up - we now know what the problem was and why my daughter was born early and will most likely be able to prevent this from happening again.

Right, I do qualify for the loans, but if we accept a loan, then we will have the bankruptcy dismissed and be hit with all of those bills. It is the bankruptcy court/trustee that does not allow us to accept loans while we are in the bankruptcy. Does that make sense?

I am looking at every option that is available and checking into any and all scholarships and grants. Loans aren't an option because of a bankruptcy. Before my daughter was born I was in the hospital for a little over a month and then she was born prematurely and had to spend two months in the hospital. We ended up with thousands of dollars of medical bills, as well as a ton of other bills due to this. So, unfortunately, I can't apply for loans. . .even though they would be able to be paid back after I graduated. Right now I work from home. I have an in-home daycare. However, that obviously won't work while I am in nursing school since I won't be here everyday and will need some time to study. If I need to, I will definitely get a part time job, but I am trying to avoid that if at all possible. Luckily my husband does have a good job that pays well, but not enough to afford this school. I was accepted into LMU, which is a private college and VERY expensive. I'm afraid to pass up this spot though because there is no guarantee that I will get in somewhere else. I might, but no guarantee. If this were a community college or public college then I wouldn't have a problem.

I received my acceptance letter last week and have been on cloud nine ever since. Of course, the next step was getting financial aid in order. I looked over what was being offered and unfortunately, it is not nearly enough to cover school, books, and fees. On top of that, I will no longer be able to work my current job, so I will either need to get a part time job or have money to cover the lost income. And, since I currently work from home, I am able to keep my daughter here with me. Now I will have to come up with money for childcare. Not really sure what to do next. Loans aren't an option. I can manage on the childcare for the first semester, but, come summer, I will definitely need to have another plan. Even still, I am not sure how to pay for school. I have read the super scary posts advising against working while in school - especially since I also have a young child (almost 2 years old). And, even if I am working, it's not going to generate enough income to make up the difference. Any thoughts?!?