Going to college when you don't have much money.

Hi Cassandra,

There are typically financial aid options for situations like this. I strongly suggest that you stop by my organization's office, uAspire, so that you can sit down one on one with one of our financial aid advisers. If you're local to Boston, you can stop by our office for open walk in hours, every Thursday from 3-6pm. We're located at 31 Saint James Ave, Suite 520, in Back Bay. If you can't stop by during these hours or don't live locally enough to commute, please call us at 617-778-7195 and we can schedule an appointment or try to help you over the phone.

Best,
Ross

Hi Cassandra,

While I'm not familiar with Astrophysics and where you could possibly study it,

Did you consider studying overseas?

Unless you are living at home, a new country might offer arbitrage opportunities, that is, lower cost of living and potentially, much lower tuition fees.
Some countries allow you to take part-time jobs or work on campus. Also, you can always tutor kids if it can help you financially.

Best,
Pascal
@psamsoon

Hi Cassandra,

Excellent question...I think it is great that you're thinking through these big questions!

In my opinion, for you, now is the precisely the time to make this kind of change and to take this type of risk.

While it won't be an easy change to make (no big change ever is), it certainly won't get easier as time goes by. I know there are countless people out in the working world today who chose to 'be practical' instead of pursuing their dreams when they had the chance. After college, once you get the taste of a steady paycheck and settle into the routine of day-to-day life in the 'real world,' it becomes much harder to break out into something new. My advice to you then would be to make this change while you are still accustomed to a student lifestyle and haven't yet firmly established yourself in a particular field, job, etc.

Some might question you...'what are you going to do with a degree in astrophysics?'...but if that is where your passion rests, I think you'll be motivated to make the most of it and find lots of opportunities to succeed.

Can't offer much in the way of tactical advice for how you should make it happen, I'm not smart enough...certainly not an astrophysicist myself...but I hope I've at least provided you with some needed encouragement!

Good luck to you in whatever you decided to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Geoff