Hello, everyone. I feel really silly doing this and I'll admit it. Let me
introduce myself and share a little history so you can decide if you would like
to help.
My name is Christina. I'm currenty 32 and I've been trying to finish college
since I was 28. My goal is to become a financial planner. To do that will take
a lot of time and a lot of money. Due to working and caring for my family
I usually only attend college part-time. This is why it's taking so
long for me to get my degree. I'm short 6 credits of having 30 hours. After I get that
30 hours I can apply for more financial aid, but until then everything I pay
is either from Pell Grants or out of pocket.
Let me explain my mind set so you can understand a little more. My husband and I
have made a committment to no longer go into debt. Right now we only owe on our home and 7,299.50 on a student loan I took out last year. I absolutely refuse
to do another student loan. I was planning to attend college this year in the summer and fall but it is looking like I won't have the money. I didn't receive the CLEP credit I
was counting on to make my 30 hours. I missed it by 1 point! That really upset me.
Let me share a little of my goals with you. Since my husband and I have been
in serious financial trouble before this is why we have made this committment. I want
to be a financial planner in order to help others stay out of debt. I'm planning to
make a living in that line of work by working in the elderly financial planning field
and then I plan to work with others free of charge. I first wanted to go into accounting and become a CPA - I've thought of that since high school - but after seeing what
my family has gone through I changed my major to finance.
Let me share why you don't have to worry about your donated money going anywhere except towards schooling. I'm an adult, not a young college student that could drop out. I know what my goals are. I've already gone to college off and on and paid out of pocket for 4 years and I'm willing to keep the work going. And I don't expect any of you to put me totally through college and graduate school, which is what is needed to become a financial planner. That would run into the thousands and thousands of dollars and I don't want to ask for that, so let me tell you what I am asking for.
I would first like to pay off the current student loan that I have. That's 7,299.50. Then I would like to be able to attend school full-time for about one year. I'll be able to finish my 30 hours and be able to apply for more financial aid. Why I have to have 30 hours to apply as an adult when the teenagers don't I don't know, that's just the rules. I am willing to take full-time classes year round with the help anyone is willing to offer me
and I guarantee that I will pass every class!
Tuition Rates from the college I attend show that I need approximately $1,106 per semester in order to attend classes full time, which is 12 semester hours. Let me tell you something else I am wanting to do as well.
I have wanted to go to England since I was 9 years old and first read Sherlock Holmes. I can spend next summer - 5 weeks - at a campus in England and attend 2 classes there plus be able to see everything I've always read about. I would like some of this money to go for expenses there. If any of you would rather I NOT use the money for international education please mark it in the notes when you give your donation. That money will go strictly into the *at home* education pile and any money not designated will go into the full pot. While in England I'm not sure what classes will be open, but they will either go towards my major or my minor in English.
The total I am asking for, including the amount for the 5 weeks in England, is 17,476.
That includes 2 classes this summer, 4 classes this fall, 4 classes in Spring 2005, 2
classes in England next summer and 4 classes next fall, and money on the student loan. After fall semester 2005 I will not accept any more money as I should be able to qualify for more financial aid at that time. This total also doesn't take into account any financial aid I should be able to receive or any money I will pay myself.
Just to let you know I'm not lazy, either, currently I'm working 2 part-time jobs, I sell
on eBay, I do some computer tutoring on the side to make extra money, and my husband and I homeschool our son. My husband also works and makes less than 25,000 year. So you see why it would take forever to finish my degree plus graduate school in order to make my dream come true. My family is fully supportive of me finishing this degree. During this time period I would continue to work, although I would probably drop some of the tutoring and other stuff I'm doing in order to concentrate on classes. Any money raised would only go towards my education, nothing else. We have no credit cards, car payments, etc. that we would need the money for.
Registration for summer and fall semester is coming up in April with fees due in May! Any help anyone can offer is fine with me. Thanks to everyone for reading. You can keep up with how things are going on either the "What's New" page or in my blog http://christinascollege.blogspot.com The link to the blog is also on the contact page. Once the time for classes starts I'll be posting more.
