Hello! My situation is a bit complicated so please bear with me.
BACKGROUND: I am an 18-year-old African-American girl who is about to graduate from an online high school this month. My hometown is in Reno, NV, but my family experienced a terrible foreclosure when I was 15. Fast forward a couple of years: My father is still in Reno, I have lived in 3 different houses, and I have transferred to my fourth high school. I live with my mother and siblings in the suburbs of Houston (Katy, TX). I have always wanted to go to college for mechanical engineering, but ever since my senior year began, I was not even sure if I wanted to go to college immediately.
HEALTH INSURANCE: Firstly, I do not health insurance due to my parents' terrible decision-making. My siblings and I used to have Medicaid, but it got taken away because my mother thought it was a great idea to lie about having no clue where my father was. Additionally, she refuses to get health insurance provided by the post office because it is too expensive. Unfortunately, I got into my first car accident in 2015 and I was badly injured by glass. I did not want to travel to the hospital via ambulance because I knew we did not have insurance, but my mother and uncle thought they would get more money from the car insurance claim if I went via ambulance. Long story short, I'm $700 in debt. Both my mother and father bluntly refused to help me pay it off, so I've been stuck with it for about 2 years. Fast forward again: I recently got deeply punctured by a toothpick which has caused me to quit my job because I walked to work. Unfortunately, I have not seen a doctor because I have not money and would rather not get into more debt. I have been gently treating it, but I'm a bit worried about it.
JOB/TRANSPORTATION: I have tried to make an honest effort to get a job in Katy. For the past five months, I have worked at Kroger, but it was a 50-minute walk from my apartment. The nearest establishment for work is a 50 to 70-minute walk. Unfortunately, with my foot injury, I can no longer walk to work anymore. Uber adds up very quickly, therefore, I had no choice, but to quit my job. There is no public transport, my mother works full-time/overtime at the post office, and I do not a car. Additionally, I do not even have a license because there is no car to take one with, plus the driving schools that provide a car are expensive. I did have a bike for some time, but the cheapest one I could afford was a mountain bike which is VERY tiresome to ride. The cheapest road bike I could find was $300, but I'm not sure if I would even like to ride it, considering the fact that Houston is unbelievably humid and hot.
MOVING OUT: Ever since July, I planned to go back to my hometown, live with my best friend, work, and save. However, ever since my injury and the discontinuation of my job, I decided that I could not survive if I did. My part of the rent would be $300 and I only have $1000 saved up. I still do not have a car or license, so I decided it was not a good idea. However, staying in Katy would not be ideal because I would still have no transportation or job. I was thinking of finding a roommate near inner Houston where there is public transportation, but I am still very unsure and a bit paranoid of living with possible crazies. Should I move out or stay in Katy and buy a car?
EDUCATION: Lastly, I have struggled between whether to study neuroscience, computer science or any other engineering discipline. I've decided that I want to study mechanical engineering, however, I just recently been rejected from all the colleges that I applied to (UCLA, USC, UCSD UC Berkeley, U of Washington, UT Austin). My GPA is 3.9 and I have a 1200 SAT score. I could have been rejected for the following reasons: lack of extracurricular activities (due to lack of transportation), low SAT score or my multiple high school transfers (due to constant moving ever since foreclosure). Although, I have recently been given the opportunity to be considered for admission at the following schools: UC Riverside and UC Merced. I have also applied to some schools with rolling admissions (U of Minnesota-Twin Cities, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Washington State, and Portland State). Yes, I do realize that it's probably too late. Anyways, I am not sure whether I should go to community college and buy a car with a loan, go to a rolling admission college without a car, or take some time off & work with either a possible junker car or car bought with a loan. Additionally, even if I do go to college, I am worried about financial aid (considering the fact that it is super late in the school year) and general expenses for college. I have made changes to my FAFSA to add the new schools that I am considering. My EFC is still 000000, but I'm so sure I will get much aid. My parents have pretty much hinted that I am on my own. I'm still unsure whether college is a good or bad investment at the moment. If I get accepted to any of these colleges, should I go immediately or should I defer my enrollment? Also, should I join the military?
I am VERY lost. Honestly, I really want transportation and accessibility to jobs. Please feel free to let me know your similar experiences and how you went about it. I would appreciate any advice that you can give me. I appreciate you for reading this long post. Thank you so much!
Submitted May 04, 2017 at 05:22PM by summer_kingslayer http://ift.tt/2pe4u7L
