College

Argh! I don't know what to do. I want to make a career out of caring for horses (barn manager, ect.) but I also want a college degree, something to make me feel like I've accomplished something. Apparently colleges who provide equine studies are slim in Florida. I can't afford UCF so I found Central Florida Community College. They have a 1yr assistant barn management certificate and 3 other actual AS degrees. I wanted to do the 1 yr certificate to get a bit more experience and knowledge of horses while still completing Something in college. Unforutnately CFCC is located in Ocala, which is 1 1/2 drive to get there (not including any traffic). That's 3 hours of driving a day for a full year. With the prices of gas going up, I'm not sure I could afford to pay for all my classes, books, and the gas to get there.
I can't afford housing and college fees so moving closer is also out of the question.

My parents arn't going to help with any of it apparently so I don't know what to do. I could just skip the college part of it for a while until I either move closer to that college or move closer to a different one. I guess I just feel that if I don't do it now, I wont ever do it and I know how much that would disappoint my parents and me but I also have to be realistic in what I can afford.

What would you guys do?

You could get some good financial aid and go to Michigan State University. They have a big equine program. I was able to get enough student loans to make it through.

I would have to pay out of state tuition...I REALLY can't afford that! Loans are out of the question.

Where I am going, I'm just half an hour away from school. At the time I applied, I had to weigh GAS vs HOUSING.

How much is housing per year? How much gas would you spend round trip every day? How much in food everyday?

Where I am going, even though it is relatively close to home, I decided it would be cheaper in the long run, and more beneficial for me to stay on campus.

One thing my older sister stressed to me was that she really regretted not staying on campus. The college she went to was five minutes from our home. She still says she missed out on so many activities because once she was home, she didn't want to go back out.

Living in the dorms is absolutely great. The food isn't THAT bad, and it allows me to be more available for campus activites.

If you need someone to vent to about this, feel free to pm me.

My friend is going to an Iowa college for her degree in Horse Management. It's cheaper than all of the in-state tuition in my area I don't know all of them, but UNL is $13,000 a year. So, it's less than that a year. Want me to get more information?