Is it possible to attend college and live on your own with a room mate helping you pay for it?

Of course you can live on your own while you attend college, but you generally have to work as well to cover your expenses, especially if you don't want to take out loans (even loans generally aren't enough for a full-year of living expenses). Your grant eligibility will still be based on your parents income (or parent if they're divorced/separated/widowed,etc). You will continue to be a dependent student for fafsa purposes until you meet one of the requirements on the dependency worksheet. You have to take at least 6 credit hours each semester because you must remain at least a half-time student to be eligible for financial aid (grants and loans).

I would plan on at least working part-time. You may be able to cover your expenses with a part-time job if you keep them low: find a place that's cheap to rent, don't pay for cable, eat at home, watch your utility costs, etc. You may have to work full-time, but again, that's completely possible as well. It's difficult, but if you stay determined it's possible. There are many schools that offer a wide-range of classes now (online, Saturday classes, distance education, night classes, etc) to meet the needs of working adults. Good luck to you... just make sure that you have a job before you move out and sit down and write out your expenses on paper to make sure that you'll be able to cover them. If you don't qualify for any grants from fafsa, then you may need to take out loans to pay for school. Start at a community college because they're alot cheaper, and then you won't have to take out much in loans.

I have never thought about it but to attend college and live on your own with a room mate helping you pay for it could not be possible

Yes, it's a very reasonable option. A lot of students do this; its not really that hard either. You know you can actually save renting an apartment over staying in a dorm. Now you can decide if you want to do school full time/part time and work part time to pay for your expenses (not recommended, I did it and sort of regret doing it because your grades will drop and college experience is less enjoyable) or you can tap into student loans which is what most people do that don't want to work while in school. It is actually more in your interest to go that route and use your student loans to pay for your expenses because working and going to school will take you longer to graduate. The money you'll be making at a part time job won't measure up to what you'll be making after graduation so finishing school and getting a job after 4 years is best. So when you attend college you'll receive financial aid and a federal grant if you qualify which will pay for maybe a quarter of your tuition expenses. Then you barrow the rest from student loans and about half that money will not earn interest while in school. You don't even need your friend but having a room mate or two would definitely help bring down your overall cost considerably.

FAFSA - for financial aid, pell grant, student loans

Many people will flout it off as out of the question but I presume it might be probable to attend college and live on your own with a room mate helping you pay for it

Get a piece of paper and write down the following; -How much you think food will cost for a month -Depending on the area you are in this could be a little different, but put down around 100 to 150 for electrical -Some places provide water, gas, and trash, but if they don't you will need to include this in the budget -How much you think you will spend in gas for the month -Phone for the month -and any other expenses that you might have After all that, look at how much you have for rent. You might need to look for a room mate if your not making very much, or you might have enough to do it on your own. Always remember to stay in your budget and always round up, it's better to have money left over than to come up short. And for your first place you don't need 5 star accommodations, or something huge, just some place you can feel comfortable. If there is a craigslist for your area I highly recommend that you try searching on there. Good luck, and I hope everything works out with your family.

In my experience, you have to fill out the FAFSA form before you can get any type of government grants. If you don't have a dependent then you still have to put down your parents info, (i know that bites), but they will process your application and let you know if you get any type of government assistance. You can try for scholarships. Go to your high school or local college and see if they have any scholarships available to apply for or you can google for online college scholarships as well. Just be wary about the online scholarships for scams. I know that it is a pain to fill out a bunch of different scholarships but in the end it could help and be worth it. I do it two times a year. A really good website worth looking into is www.collegescholarships.org, they have info about grants as well on there.

I think it is very important for you to do the degree you want instead of what someone wants for you. I have lived on my own since I was 17 because when I graduated my parents kept pressuring me to go in the medical field when I am going to be a teacher. I hope this helps you. And good luck in your path to success!!!