real life
I'm not sure if I shared any pics from graduation with you guys but here's a picture of Recchi's hat. My mom made it for her : )
I now have a bachelor of science in psychology!
Nothing but good news when it comes to Campbell and finances. I appealed the decision of my case manager at Services for the Blind and, upon review, her boss granted my request for assistance with tuition. That means I will get at least 10k form the federal government to help pay my tuition. They also said that they'll give me a certain amount every month to help with rent and they will get me a new computer!!!! The process couldn't have worked out better. I can't believe I got this lucky. When that woman told me no in the beginning I was so upset but it has all worked out.
Here's the math for tuition: Campbell costs 36k a year. They gave me a 17k scholarship (dependent on my grades) bringing the total down to 19k. Services for the Blind will give me just over 10k (dependent on my grades), bringing the total down to 9k. I filled out my FAFSA and I think I'll get around 4-5k in grants (which is what my sister got last year) which would bring the total to 5k if we're being conservative. That means I would only have 15k in loans after three years, which is the amount of time it takes to get a law degree. That is a very low amount. The loan payment on 15k is like a car payment, it's actually affordable and I'd be able to have it paid off within a matter of years.
I'm amazed that this is all going to work out. Especially now that services will be helping pay my rent--the place I found is much more expensive than where I'm living now, but that's par for the course in Raleigh (the state capital). It's just more expensive than the tiny mountain town I live in now. But I have finally been able to breathe a sigh of relief about money.