The Waiting Game

So after deciding to go back to school, I apply, fill out financial aid paperwork and sit back and wait.

I get accepted, but am required to do the testing.  No biggie, figured I would as that's how it works.  Go down take the tests, meet with a counselor and set up my tenative schedule for the next year to get all the pre-requisites out of the way.  Jump forward a few more weeks, and I'm now registered for classes.  Biology, Math and English, but I still don't know if this is actually going to happen, as I don't know about my financial aid.

I'm told mid July for a response and possible award letter.  So I wait, mid July hits and nothing, I'm checking the mailbox daily, logging into the financial aid section of SCC's website, and still nothing.  So end of July I call them, and they say due to budget cuts they are working very limited hours, and I ask when I might hear something, and they ask when I turned in the paperwork.  May 26th I say, so they say I should get a response by the end of August.  Here comes freakout #1 as now I"m not sure if I can afford to go back to school as tuition is due September 9th.  They say don't worry we'd put you on a deffered plan if we haven't processed your application yet.  So I return to waiting, thinking I need to hear so if I need to drop any classes I can, since paying out of pocket is not really an option, at least to take a full load, and even then it'd be iffy.  August 20th I receive my award letter, hurray I don't need to drop any classes, in fact I don't have to find a way to pay for books outta pocket.

With all that finalized I get to sit back and wait for the financial aid check to arrive, so I can pick up the books I've reserved, all $300 worth, and thats with renting one of them.

Looking at my schedule and all I need to accomplish I took the first day of school off work so that I can show up and pick up my financial aid, run and cash it, then run back to the school get my books.  The lines will be long, but hopefully organized so they will move relatively quickly.  Since my books are reserved I'm hoping there is a separate line for that.  We shall see.

After all that running around, its time to return home, log into the Angel site and see what I need to do for 2 of my classes that are online, and prepare to be at the college by 5:30 for Biology.

So here's to managing a fulltime job and fulltime school. Its not impossible, many people do it, but how will I handle it?  Time will tell.