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The Guilt that Comes with Family Financial Contributions
A million years ago I watched the documentary about the Baltimore step team and one of the girls was heading to a top college. But she started to get concerned because the FAFSA form included a line of how much her family was expected to contribute and she felt guilty at asking her parents to give so much. Her parents got her all the way together and told her to not worry about their finances. She was their responsibility and they would make sure she got to school. Not everyone has parents with this type of philosophy or have parents that can (or maybe even want to) provide the…
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If Kim Kardashian Can Do It, So Can You? : Alternative Paths to Becoming a Lawyer
By now most have heard about Kim Kardashian’s plan to become a lawyer without going to law school. There was some confusion because a lot of people don’t know of California’s apprenticeship exception that allows you to circumvent law school and instead learn the law in a non-traditional manner. People assumed she was “buying” her degree rather than doing it the “right” way. While I am not one to support or defend the Kardashian conglomerate, the path she’s pursuing is clearly an option that’s available to people. But the real question is, is this a realistic option that will result in a practical, useful, and successful career for those of…
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When You Can’t Afford College
First, big ups to Latino USA who discussed navigating higher Ed last week and inspired this post. I recommend everyone to give the episode a quick listen. The story talks to different Latinx students finishing up their college degrees and the problems, mostly financial, that they face. Memories came flooding back as I remembered my Junior year in college and how a ton of missteps and bad luck made it so financially difficult that it looked like I wouldn’t be able to finish school. I never connected the dots that this may be a common theme many of us experience, but the fact that Latinx students struggle to graduate proves…
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Breaking Barriers: FAFSA and Proving You’re Low-Income
April is Financial Literacy Month and I want to talk about financial aid for school. For the most part, I depended on FAFSA to help pay for college and law school. I was super thankful to have access to grants, scholarships, and loans but it wasn’t easy to navigate the financial aid system with little help. While I’m years removed from filing for FAFSA, I do recall the feelings of anxiety—would this year’s package give me enough to cover everything? How will my mom help pay the family portion? How much will I need to earn this summer? Can I find another campus job? I’ll be honest that I hella…