I really like Spiritus’ advice, but let me add:
Find a roomie to split your apartment with and work 10 hours a week or so.
Go to a different school. Those fifteen hours could make all the difference in the world. Have a bunch of us Dopers write you letters of recommendation. Only, don’t refer to us as Dopers.
I understand. I lived in the dorm for a while and it was hell. Fortunately when i went back to college I was married so they could not make me live in the rotten dorms.
Some dorms are better than other. Go and smell them. If they smell like beer and urine, the $6000 will be well worth it. This could me the difference in your grades. If you live in a place you hate it is harder to do well. I wish you luck whatever you decide.
I spent my last year of college living on Top Ramen and Cream of Wheat for weeks at a time, taking cash advances on my credit card to pay the rent, no car, no money to go out ever, working almost full time and taking 21 units because I knew I couldn’t afford another year of tuition. 6 years later I still can’t rent an apartment without a co-signer because I reamed my credit rating so thoroughly. I was planning to get a PhD, but I burned out so bad that year I can’t imagine ever going back to school.
I’d take the money. Plus I sound like a big whiny schmuck right now, and you certainly don’t want to end up like that.
So I think I’m leaning toward the loan. Here is my reasoning, other the the obvious (I like my cat, I like my apartment, I hate living with large groups of people, etc.) [ul] [li]It is possible that I could get a loan through the foundation that’s giving me the scholarship. In which case, the interest rate would be low, low, low. However, it is also possible that that possibility is not possible, in which case, I’m already WAY ahead financially because I don’t have any debt (other than to my parents for my car) and I don’t have to pay my own tuition. There is also the possibility that my godfather would outright give me the money, but I highly, highly doubt it. (he initially offered that, but then changed his stance to ‘well, if you lived on-campus, the foundation could pay…’ I really don’t want to put him in a position where he’s giving me money flat-out.)[/li][li]If I stay at UVM for a semester, and get kick-ass grades, I can transfer to a better school, as I am would be entering this fall as a matriculated 2nd semester freshman. Therefore, I could transfer as a first semester sophmore.[/li][li]No moving is involved in this plan.[/li][li]No storage of my stuff is involved in this plan. (Mom and Dad’s garage is already full of SisterRiddles’ crap.) [/ul][/li]
Of course, I’d still have to work. But nothing could be as bad as taking three intense classes while working a fairly stressful job. OK, a lot of things COULD be worse, but you understand what I’m trying to say.
I still haven’t decided, I’m waiting for the information the rude secretary at Res Life sent me. Thanks for the advice, I’ll keep yall informed.
I’m with Chief on this one…
I don’t want to sound like the father I am, but, nothing is free. We all make sacrifices for the things we want, this is your sacrifice.
Get a leg up on other people your age, and don’t start off in debt.
The cat giving up thingy is a tougher nut to crack.
The pro’s far outweigh the cons.
I know that it’s hard to listen to other people, especially
when your leaning towards the loan…but we have something you don’t, expirience…or atleast more of it.
I’m not trying to talk down to you Swim, but I ignored the advice of people who knew better, and I’m still kicking myself for it.
You’re much better off starting out debt free, and knowing that yougave up something to get what you wanted.
Best of luck…do what makes you happy…in the long run.
Regards, Graeme
I’d just rent a room somewhere. You didn’t say one couldn’t have two places to stay…
why in the world would I do that, handy? The only reason to get a dorm room is to save money, and that reason is pretty much defeated if I keep my apartment.
I’m still mulling over what Graeme said.
Swiddles - if you stay in the apartment,
a) could you still eat on campus, and
b) would your godfather’s foundation still pay for it? (After all, they could pay the college directly, which sounds like it’s key.)
Free meals would make a difference, even if it still leaves you paying rent. Either way, my feeling is that you should borrow as much money as you need to avoid working entirely, if you can pull that between Stafford loans and your godfather. Use the time and energy not used up on work to kick butt in your classes this year, and consider other schools for the following year - should be somewhere out there which has good programs in the areas you’d be studying, and has some sort of college-owned apartment-style housing. Good luck!
stay in the apartment, it seems like you’re happier that way.
i think that you should maybe get a roommate or something, but since youre used to living on your own, dorms wouldn’t suit you.
i know that i couldn’t move back after living in an aparment for a few years…
think about where you will feel the most comfortable and happy…
I’ve never lived in the dorms myself, but it might not be as bad as you think. You say you don’t want to live with 18-year-olds, but some of them may be more mature than you think and you might make some friends there. (As a side note, this might explain why the 23±year-old students don’t want a 20-year-old moving in, they don’t want to deal with perceived immaturity.)
My personal recommendation would be (as several other posters have already said) to avoid debt if you can. I’ve never heard a student say “Gee, I’m so happy to be paying off student loans!” In the long run, the money you spend from your first job paying off those loans could be used for investments instead, which will definitely help you later on in life. I’m sure you’ve seen those charts that show "if you had invested $x a month starting at the age of 25, you would now have $$$$$X. Sop those $6000 you’d be borrowing would be worth how much if you invested them instead and let them sit there for 20+ years?
But you seem like a pretty smart young woman and I’m sure you can figure out what’s best for you. It’s important also to make sure you’re in a situation where you can focus on your schoolwork without too many distractions, which might be one of the drawbacks of dorm life.
Another thought just struck me: if you’re living in a dorm, I imagine you could make mucho extra $$$ by setting up a webcam and allowing people to watch you and your roommates every minute of the day. 
Walks into the thread without reading and backhands SwimmingRiddles walks out without looking around
I would like to ask a question. Why UVM? Your grades might not be good enough yet to get into a better school, but you could move laterally. The world is your oyster right now. You can go literally anywhere. Concentrate on finding a school with a nice campus, quiet dorms, and single rooms. There have to be a few out there. Vassar gave single rooms to freshmen under special circumstances, and I can’t believe it’s the only college that will do so. Ask around. After a couple of semesters of strong work, you can transfer to a better academic school, should you so desire.
As for answers, I originally hit the reply button ready to come at you with a “Sit down, honey, 'cause Oprah’s about to talk to ya!” but upon reflection find that I have no useful advice to give. I could write a post to make Ayn Rand tsk-tsk me for long-windedness about this subject. But I’ll just skip to the concluding sentence: “In the end, dear Swiddles, it comes down to which you would find more maddening: trying to live like a hermit in a dorm full of loud kids, or denying yourself the ‘college experience’ while trying to take classes and pay for an apartment at the same time.” See? I got nothin’. Then again, as our friend Keanu Reeves might tell us, there is always a middle path. Would you be averse to possibly holding off a semester before going to school, that you could more thoroughly investigate your options? (I imagine that it’s pretty close to any deadlines for fall matriculation at most schools by now.)
If you can avoid working while in school, do it. If you can avoid debt, do it. Both of those two points will be important in a few years. Trust me, if you can avoid working your grades will be better. If you can avoid debt, your post-school life will be better. Who knows, you may even make a friend or two in the dorms.
This is the standard “Do you want one cookie today or two cookies tomorrow?” deal. Make the right choice: two cookies are better.
Still waiting on the info from the res life department. Bastards.
I had a LONG conversation with my friend who goes to UVM, has lived in the dorms, and is a wise, wise woman. Her thoughts. [ul]
[li]You’ll be 21 in November. Therefore you would be the queen of the 18 year olds.[/li][li]Because you would be the queen of the 18 year olds, telling them to shut the f*ck up wouldn’t be big deal.[/li][li]There is a possibility you might go ape shit and end up miserable, anyway. There’s a VERY good possibility of that.[/li][li]The likelyhood of securing a single this late in the year is not good. [/ul][/li]
So I’m back to waiting for the info from res life, at which time I can call them back and demand a meeting. If I can’t get a single, I’m not even going to consider it. No way am I going to share a room smaller than my bedroom with an 18 year old. If I CAN get a single, I’m going to talk to my landlords about the possibility of subletting. If I can’t sublet, I’m not going to consider moving. I have too much crap to move back into my parents, for the first time in my life I have everything I need (microwave, furniture) and I’m not selling it or putting it into storage. I could sublet the place furnished to one of my friends that I know isn’t going to trash the place, and have somewhere to go on vacations. Otherwise, I’ll just work for a semester until I can transfer to a better school. I’d have to work a little bit, anyway, to get car payment/insurance money anyway. At that point, I will talk to my godfather to see about getting a personal loan from him. At the very least, he wouldn’t charge me interest. At the very most, he’d give me the money.
Lux: I’m not even matriculated at UVM at this point. I have 9 credits in continuing ed through them, and 6 through the local comm college, whose credits UVM accepts. Therefore, I could have 15 credits at UVM and be able to start as a 2nd sememster freshman. If I went to another school, the 6 comm credits wouldn’t transfer. Without them, I really don’t think my academic record is strong enough at this point. After a semester of UVM, I can transfer to something other than a cow/ski college. And that is why I’m stuck at UVM.
So that’s my update for the day. So ends another…Days of Swiddle’s Life.
Holy…you sure a heck of a lot brighter than I was when I was 20…
Kuddo’s to you Swiddles. It seems like you’ve come up with decent compromise…a single room or nothing.
Rock on sister…sublet that puppy!
Clearly neither of these alternatives are ideal.
Only you can make this choice.
My only advice would be that you truly reconcile yourself to whichever less than ideal choice you make. They both have upsides and downsides. It won’t do to hear you playing the ‘would’ave, should’ave, could’ave’ game.
Make your choice, and then go with it, completely. Accept it maturely, as a choice you made and are prepared to live with.
The one other thing I would like to point out to you is that you are standing in cold hard judgement of your fellow residence dwellers based solely on their age. Yet you don’t seem to feel this same attitude is fair when it’s applied to you to keep you from moving into the residences for 21+ folks.
Seems to me, you can’t have it both ways. If you want to judge others based entirely on their ages then you have to be willing to be judged accordingly.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Clearly neither of these alternatives are ideal.
Only you can make this choice.
My only advice would be that you truly reconcile yourself to whichever less than ideal choice you make. They both have upsides and downsides. It won’t do to hear you playing the ‘would’ave, should’ave, could’ave’ game.
Make your choice, and then go with it, completely. Accept it maturely, as a choice you made and are prepared to live with.
The one other thing I would like to point out to you is that you are standing in cold hard judgement of your fellow residence dwellers based solely on their age. Yet you don’t seem to feel this same attitude is fair when it’s applied to you to keep you from moving into the residences for 21+ folks.
Seems to me, you can’t have it both ways. If you want to judge others based entirely on their ages then you have to be willing to be judged accordingly.
Just my 2 cents worth.
As someone who works directly with student loans, you probably won’t be able to take out a Stafford Loan to pay for your living expenses if you have the foundation paying for your college. It is need based. 
However, there are other loans that you will be able to take out. I believe the PAL (that is a parental loan, avoid it if you can) and the CAL (it is a generic loan that has a slightly higher interest rate) will probably be what you can get. If you have a shady Financial Aid director you may be able to slide with a stafford or a perkins loan. I am sorry to be the harbringer of bad news.
On a plus side, you can do a trick. You say you are living on campus and basically if you have a roomate you let them live alone. You still do everything you say you are doing but just live off campus. You will then get the free food on campus and everything else as if you were a resident. No one else really needs to know. I didn’t read all the way down yet so if this advice was already given then no problem. It is not exactly ethical since the money from the foundation that could pay your rent and everything else would probably use it for a more needy student. It isn’t exactly ethical but it is done. I knew several students in school who did something similar to that.
Now it is time to read the rest of the messages. 
HUGS!
Sqrl
Um…no, Elbows, as I stated before, I lived in the dorms for a week when I was 17 and found it unlivable. After being woken up at 3:00 by drunken basketball players and waking to the scent of vomit in the bathroom, I decided it wasn’t for me. I am not judging on age alone.
Sqrl, I had a suspected that might be the case with the Stafford. But I have been told there are some pretty good loans through VSAC (Vermont Student Assistance Corp.) that I would qualify for. As for the dorm situation, UVM has two food programs, a meal based program, for which I believe you have to be a dorm resident, and a points based program. With points, you use them as cash at campus dining halls, and various local businesses accept them as cash. The negative is that you can’t get your points back at the end of the semester, so people will order a pizza, give the delivery guy a $700 tip and agree to spit it with him. I could still get points while living off-campus.
The personal loan from my godfather is still a slight possibility.
At this point, I have calmed down a LOT, and know that whatever I do will be the correct decision for me at this point in my life. And it only has to last a semester, no matter what I do.