“Higher Education can’t be a luxury-it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford”-President Obama
So you made the decision to attend community college while balancing a busy work schedule. 
You support yourself and perhaps others financially.You decide to take 12 units because you feel like you feel you can handle it. The cost per class is $36, which adds up to $432. Then you have the student health fee, which is $17 (no big deal). You decide to drive to school because you have to hustle to work right after class, but there is never any parking on the street near campus so you decide to purchase a parking pass.. $40 (hmm…ok). So now you are at $489.00. Starting to feel a little nervous you decide you will power through it and figure out a way to make partial payments. Just when you are starting to feel at ease, you attend class and your teacher assigns you the newest edition of a textbook , and used versions are not available. The costs is roughly $120.00- the same applies for your other 3 classes. Let’s add up the total for your semester at community college:
12 units: $432
Student Health Fee: $17
(4) Text Books:$480.00 =$929.00 (Yikes!)
I didn’t even factor in the costs of supplies. At this point you are freaking out because you don’t know how you are going to pay this before the semester is over. The administration sends your registration dates mid semester and you can’t add classes because there is a hold on your account as a result of not being able to make a payment. Months pass , your tuition finally get’s paid, and now you can register. But wait.. you missed your deadline and now the classes you need are full. The first day of school approaches and you end up running all over campus looking to add classes while competing with a handful of students who also are trying to add.
Next semester you decide to pursue financial aid so you visit the office just to see a line to the office all the way down the hall and out the door. You decide to come back the next day and it’s the same thing, next day…same thing. Finally you find a way to talk to a counselor who tells you to go online and fill out the FASFA
which you do but find yourself feeling overwhelmed of all that is being asked of you. There are so many steps in this process and some of these questions you don’t understand and need assistance, but no one is there to help. So you decide to come back and complete it later but never do because you don’t have time, can’t seem to get the help you need, and feel like you probably won’t even qualify. So you abandon the idea of getting financial aid and fall back into the same cycle.
At this point you are feeling stressed and confused about the process of community college. The impression has always been that it is a convenient and resourceful environment, but since you have been attending classes your life has become difficult because you are also balancing a work schedule and paying for the costs of living. It was not supposed to be this way.
You made the decision to attend a community college based on these reasons:
1. You THOUGHT you could afford it.
2. You want to improve your grades before transferring to a four year University.
3. The scheduling is flexible
Now that there are all these obstacles, you feel behind and discouraged. There have always been resources out there for people in this particular situation, but it is difficult to take advantage of these resources as they don’t provide the “one-on-one” help that you really need. I’m happy to let you know that there is a program out there that will change your perception and restore your confidence in pursuing a college career.
Say it out loud to yourself and believe it: “I Can Afford College”
ICanAffordCollege.com is a website designed to meet the needs of people that are in your situation by educating Californian community college students who are unaware of their eligibility for financial aid. This amazing website will lead you financial resources that will cover the cost of enrollment fees, books, supplies, and even rent. You have probably heard of websites like this before, but what separates ICanAffordCollege.com apart from others is they provide the one-on-one assistance that you need. If you are still skeptical, just visit the website and read success stories of people who were in your same situation.
All you have to do is visit the website, enter your zip code, and a list of financial offices with direct contact information to a financial aid officer will pop up. You can wave goodbye to that long line at the financial aid office on campus.
The truth is none of us will ever be able to predict what happen with the enrollment fees in California Community Colleges. Fees rise all the time, books will always be expensive, and whether you choose to buy a parking pass or not, there will always cost for transportation. In general, education has a lot of financial demand around it. Luckily with websites like I can Afford College.com,
the support you need to have a college experience that doesn’t hurt your pockets and sets you sets you on the road to successful career is just a click away.
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Tags: Black College Expo 2012, California Community Colleges, ICANAFFORDCOLLEGE.COM, National College Resources Foundation
