Reginald Said:

How come my Community College won't let me use Stafford Loans for Living Expenses?

We Answered:

Being a independent student making $4,000 per year with no other income and being a full time student, you are entitled to your full Pell grant award (around $2300/semester) and a Stafford loan no interest while in school of $1750 semester. That is the federal max for whatever school you go to, even if you stayed on campus at harvard. It goes up to $2750/semester once you get tyo be a Junior. What you can do is tell your counselor that you need as unsub loan (the interest accumulates while your in school, but you don't have to make payments until you're out). The federal max for that is $2,000/semester. By law, they have to give you that , before they let you take out a regular bank loan. Good Luck!

Ramona Said:

Why is it that individuals who recieve Pell Grants don't have to pay it back?

We Answered:

Pell grants are not generally enough to cover the cost of college. I received a pell grant all four years of college (my family made below the poverty line and had NO WAY of paying for college for me or even helping me a little bit) along with scholarships and a grant from my state and still had to take out loans that I am now paying back. Without grants, some students would not be able to go to college.

That's too bad that your parents won't help you, but that's their choice. Many families cannot help pay for their children to go to college even if they wanted to.

Tanya Said:

What affordable college in New York can I go to for these majors: art, botany, alternative medicine ?

We Answered:

Alternative medicine is the outlyer. That's not a major taught by most respected US colleges. You may need to be flexible, and find a college that will allow you to design your own major, rather than one that actually has an alternative medicine major.

FIT isn't a fit, because they're an art/design/fashion school, not a broad uni, so they don't offer botany as a major. Hunter College is a good art school, a CUNY so it's cheap, offer botany as a major, and may allow you to pull together something for alternative medicine. I'd have you look at them.