Sometimes I think things...

Hi, 

My name is Arraine Siefert, and I can’t go to college next year because it is physically impossible for me to work full-time and maintain a reasonable GPA while going to school full time. 

I don’t get any money from the FAFSA because my father makes too much per year, and I don’t get any money from my parents because they feel entitled to my education. I don’t want to feel entitled, and I am very willing to work for my education, but like I said, it is physically impossible unless I have some help. I’m sure there are thousands of other students in my position right now. I can’t apply for independent status or get any federal financial aid because I grew up in a happy, well-enough-off family and was not stupid enough to get married or pregnant as a teenager. 

I don’t qualify for scholarships because the stress about money (which has caused multiple medical and psychological complications) has forced my GPA too low. I’m also a middle-class white female, so I don’t have any special underprivileged background to draw from. Except nobody thought about saving for college.

But I do deserve an education. So what do I do? Do I leave and call my first year of college a very expensive mistake? My first year of college: a loan that will take me years to pay off. A loan that my parents refuse to take out for me in the years to come. Please tell me what I can do.

Thank you for your time, 

Arraine Siefert