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I am currently attending a 2-year junior college in the town where I graduated from high school. I have been taking classes there on and off since my first dual enrollment classes in 2000. Small community colleges are great educational alternatives to jumping straight from high school into a major university. Usually, most of the credits you earn will transfer to certain universities, while the benefit of small classes and being close to family and old friends is great. I earned my Associates Degree in Business Managemnet in 2006, without ever using one penny of federal financial aid. All my classes were paid for out of pocket. Struggling to maintain part time jobs to cover living and scholastic costs is not easy.

When I started taking more of my basics in 2002, I inquired several times to several different faculty members and the staff of the administrations building as to what I needed to do to qualify for some kind of financial aid. Invariably, every straight answer I was given told me I was ineligible because of my criminal history. Upset with the government at the time, I figured I didn't want any help from these robots anyway. Accepting my burden without complaint, I continued my education. While attending classes, I was unable to afford books most of the time, so I would either share books with other students or go to the library where a copy of every class's required text is supposed to be available. Just about every book is well over $100.00.

This semester (spring 2008) is the first semester I have ever qualified for financial aid, and let me tell you it was a blessing. The major thing preventing me from qualifying earlier was, of course, the fact that I was told, falsly, that I did not qualify. Only campus related drug felonies disqualify a person, I believe. Another factor was the complexity of the FAFSA forms. One student claimed that, ". . . filing for financial aid is more taxing than filing for taxes!" Now the college has special financial aid agents that do nothing but help students register and figure out what needs to be done to get the money. Currently, I have a 3.875 GPA and thanks to the government's financial aid, I am achieving a more secure financial foundation for myself.

Learn more about this author, Dereck Albrecht.
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