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Okay, my situation is kind of complicated (at least it seems that way to me), but I will try to simplify it as much as possible.
I am 25 years old and I graduated from high school in 1997. I took a year off school to get a job and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I then started attending a 2-year community college very part time while also working 40 hours a week. Last May, I graduated with an Associate in Arts. I have decided that I want to get my Bachelor's in Political Science and Public Policy and maybe even go on to law school.
Now here's where things get kind of complicated. I currently live by myself in the state of Michigan, with no dependents and a job making about $32,000 to $35,000 gross per year. Therefore, according the the government, I am rich and can afford to pay my tuition and college expenses out of pocket without any assistance (just got my financial aid assessment back).
To make matters more complicated, my fiance and I do not currently live in the same state... she lives about 5 hours away in Kentucky. When we get married (our wedding date is still a ways away, in the second half of '06), she wants me to quit my job, move to Kentucky, and enroll in school full-time to get my degree. Doing that would solve one problem (how am I going to ever going to get my Bachelor's -- or law degree -- while working 40+ hours every week?). However, I don't know how I would be able to afford that... I do NOT have the $10,000 in cash that the government believes I should easily be able to cough up for tuition expenses.
My grades in community college were exemplary (3.82 I think), I have some community service under my belt as well as a few years' work experience, and good ACT & SAT scores in high school (if they would even care about that). Also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. What do you think my options would be for doing this? Being able to focus solely on my coursework would be a Godsend and I know I would be able to pull straight 4.0's under those conditions... it's just figuring out how to afford it. Any advice?
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