Hello. I am a 25-year-old medical school student. I am finishing up my second year and have already accrued over 85K in loans which will continue to increase as I pay tuition for my third and fourth years. My family consists of only me mother and me. She lives on social security and has many health issues. She has been facing financial difficulties as well due to macular degeneration and iron deficiency anemia. I cannot ask for help paying my tuition because there is nothing she could do. In undergrad, I was able to apply for scholarships and grants based on my financial need. I also studied endlessly to be at the top of my year and was rewarded several academic scholarships. Because of this hard work, I was able to complete undergrad without taking out student loans.

However, most of these opportunities were no longer available once I earned my bachelor’s degree. I was accepted into my medical school in New York City and moved myself a thousand miles away from home into university housing for the first year. Then starting second year, I moved into a tiny apartment in the city that I share with four other people. I have funded every penny of this through federal loans.

We have been required to purchase and provide our own textbooks and medical equipment. I have applied to as many scholarships as I am able, but I am competing with my entire school for one or two reward spots. With the pandemic, my school switched to virtual classes and I left school housing to take care of my mother. The school did not offer any of us our money back for the months we did not live in their housing. We were required to pay for our yearlong contract upfront, we were unable to convince them to refund us any of it. Additionally, the school continued charging us the full amount for tuition and services such as on campus activities that we were not even on campus to use. When the students asked about that money, we were told it was redistributed for coronavirus precautions and Zoom licenses. We tried to get a breakdown, but the school refused. They told us we would have to independently pay for an audit if we wanted to know that information.

I have been trying to be as frugal as possible and have maxed out the amount of money I can get per semester. Still, I have found myself often skipping breakfast to save money or buying boxes of noodles and having that for all my dinners. It’s already stressful to be in classes and working shifts at the hospital and wondering how I am going to feed myself this week is another added burden.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this. I truly appreciate your empathy. Stay safe.

Peace and love,

Regina

 

https://paypal.me/murphyr2?locale.x=en_US

 

 

I NEED HELP!

I have always been the type of person that refuses to ask for help. I’m stubborn. I would rather be absolutely wrong and fail 1,000 times over before I ask for help with the most minuscule issues. I feel as if the smallest of requests will inconvenience everyone. But sometimes there is nothing wrong with asking for help and I’m slowly learning this.

2020 was a rough year for everyone (myself included) and 2021 seems to keep kicking me when I’m already down. The only thing keeping me sane this past year has been my studies and my friends. And this is too great of an ask for my friend group (as loving and wonderful as they are) I can’t worry them more than I already do. I’ll start with this: I’m 20 years old soon to be 21 in the summer and I’m a full-time community college student (a semester away from transferring to a 4-year) who works part-time. I’m a double major in theatre arts and social justice studies. I live with my parents but my financial situation has always been “figure it out kiddo,” and I respect that my parents are trying to teach me some responsibility. For the last few years, this method has brought me to a point where I can be proud of myself. Which for a long time I couldn’t say about myself without being sarcastic. I had a wonderful credit score being so young and a sense of budgeting: paying them rent, paying my phone bill, buying my groceries, paying for my monthly bus pass, and paying off my credit card (to maintain my credit score.). But as the pandemic has closed my job off and on consistently in the last year my income has drastically changed. Also somehow amongst all of this Covid-19 scare, FAFSA has decided that my parent’s income has increased to a point that leaves me no longer eligible for grants to pay for my classes. This is in fact not the case and this whole spring semester I’ve been on call with FAFSA and my school’s financial aid office to figure out how the fees can be waived and I can get the hold taken off my account to register for my final semester. They refuse to look at only just my income because I reside with my parents and am under the age of 24. In the eyes of taxes, I’m independent, but to education and financial aid, whether my parents help me or not I am a dependent.

 

As you can see from the photos provided I came out of pocket for the fall semester with what I had left of my savings and I have found myself taking an emotional downward spiral since. My friends are doing what they can and have been sending me money to cover my phone bill or groceries when I (explicitly ask them not to once again that stubbornness), and my parents seem to think I’ll find my way out this time because I “always figure it out.” I don’t think I can. I’m so close to being done. I’m so tired and I have no idea what to do. I do not make enough at my part-time job to pay for this. I’ve worked so hard and I feel like I’m going to lose everything. 

 

This is me coming to terms with the fact that I DO NEED HELP, and that I cannot believe do everything by myself. So if there is anyone out there that can help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Venmo: @Angelsweetmusic

 

Thank you for taking the time to consider donating to my cause. You are a kind soul if you are here to help people. I do not like to ask for money and this is awkward. I am a 57 year old widow with 2 children. My husband died 3 years ago and as a result I find myself in a terrible predicament. My late husband died with no real life insurance- just a small policy that didn’t cover much ground. He and I are both only children so there is no family to rely on for financial help because everyone is gone. I intend to sell this house but have waited until my son graduates from high school which he will do in a month in May, 2021.
I need to sell my home because I can no longer afford it and the equity will help me buy a tiny place somewhere. The mortgage on this house is high so I really need to move but I hate to leave the home my late husband and I raised our children in, the home we built together, the home he died in but I see no other course of action because I am running out of resources.
I am looking for employment after being a stay-at-home mother for 20 years. Prior to having my kids I worked full time for the same group for 18 years. The kind of work I am trained to do involves technology that has changed drastically. I’m not sure I’m equipped to do the job I was trained to do which means jumping out of that field and into an entry level job somewhere making minimum wage, which I’ll certainly do but it isn’t going to pay my current house payment and bills. Also, if I get a job, my daughter would need to Uber to her weekly appointments because I won’t be able to take her. That would be anxiety provoking for her and expensive but she might have to.
My sweet daughter has been hospitalized 3 times for a mental illness and now has weekly therapy appointments that I drive her to. Sadly, her appointments are not covered by her insurance. I owe the hospital for her last hospitalization a tidy sum of $10,000 that I’ll be paying for for the rest of my life. I also pay health insurance premiums for her yet I have to pay for every, single, weekly and sometimes biweekly appointments because the insurance won’t pay for them. Unfortunately the insurance company isn’t contracted with any specialists my daughter needs.
But that is not why I am here.
I am here today to ask for help for my precious son. He is 18 years old and was only 15 when he lost his Dad. He is graduating from high school. His dad and I were not prepared for his Dad’s cancer diagnosis. This would mean my husband would have to stop working due to the chemotherapy and the terminal prognosis. His medical care costs really depleted our savings and college savings. My son is the most awesome human being on the planet. He is smart, kind, trustworthy, helpful, loves his mom (ME), helps his sister, and is overall a special kid. I really want him to get a college education. He would like to start out at a local community college. He would then like to attend a state university for his bachelor’s degree. Next, hopefully he will get a graduate degree. This is where I need your assistance. As a widow left in a financial pickle, I don’t know what to do so I’m asking for help.
I think $50,000 would get us part of the way through his education. It may end up costing closer to $100,00 but goodness knows I will appreciate anything anyone can do at all to help us.
I am ashamed to ask but desperate for help. I’ve sold everything. Without my late husband’s income I can’t catch up- I’m drowning in debt and I promise it is not money spent frivolously. I do nothing for myself. I just can’t keep up financially and cannot bare the idea of my son not getting the education he was promised before his daddy died. The money I have from selling off assets goes towards bills but the assets are gone. I’m desperate to send my son to college. Thank you for considering us. We will be forever grateful.
Below is the link that will allow you to donate to my son’s college tuition if you will. I will privately provide a death certificate or answer questions.
Kindly,
Jenny
Paypal.me/JLHuffman

Hello! I am a junior in college and this summer is my last chance see my grandfather before he passes away. I was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States when I was five years old. Since then, I have never been able to visit Korea, either because my family was too poor or because I had to focus on my studies. This will be my first time seeing any of my extended family in more than fifteen years.

I worked very hard to get into my college and maintain a high GPA, and I am preparing to apply for medical school next year. This summer is my last chance to study abroad because my school does not let seniors study abroad. I have already been accepted to a study abroad program, but the price is very steep, amounting to an estimated price of more than $10,000 (this price is based on tuition, meals, airfare, additional educational costs and a mandatory quarantine period for which I have to pay out of pocket upon entry to Korea). This study abroad program is extremely important to me for two reasons:

The first is that this may be my last opportunity to see my grandfather before he passes away. When I was living in Korea as a child, I lived with my mother’s family, which included my grandparents and my uncle. In the last few years, my grandfather’s health has gotten increasingly worse due to heart disease, and this has only been made worse by the fact that COVID has restricted his ability to freely go outside. I would like to be able to see him in person one last time before he is gone forever. In addition to my grandfather, I would also be able to see my baby cousins and my grandmother. Again, I have not seen them in more than fifteen years and it would be my first time seeing my cousins in person.

The second reason is that I would like to learn more about my culture and language. In a society where Asian Americans are expected to bury their unique cultural identity, I am struggling to find opportunities to learn about this part of myself. I have fought to maintain fluency in Korean for my whole life, and although I can communicate well enough, I would like to expand my Korean language skills. During this study abroad program, I will be taking a Korean language class for three hours four days a week, which will allow me to fulfill this goal. I will also be taking Korean culture and history classes to expand my knowledge of my own culture, which is very scarcely taught in the American education system.

My college has informed me that they will not be giving me any loans for the summer, which means I will have to pay everything out of pocket. In addition, my parents just bought a house and they are still paying for repairs and renovations. They have told me that they will not be able to contribute to my summer study abroad at all, meaning that I have to raise all the money on my own. Anything helps and I am very grateful to everyone who donates! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

My paypal link: paypal.me/SooahS