Paying for College

So, in order to keep from having to start selling body parts for money in order to fund college, I've taken on some seasonal work.  Fun, fun, right?

Interestingly, the only place hiring here at home is the bookstore, which is short on employees and then some.  The good news is I get to work a lot, which means I'll get to make some money over this break.  Yeah for minimum wage!  

Meanwhile, the bills from school are starting to make my parents (who agreed to help me pay for college) panic.  Costs add up quick, and I'm not even at the half-way point yet.  

So, my big question is: How do get costs down to a point where my parents will cease to panic?

The answer?  Well, here are my ideas...

• Regain HOPE. (It wondered off at the end of last semester and refuses to come back until I have 60 credit hours.)
• Avoid foreign languages for the time being. (I think Spanish 102 scared off HOPE.)
• Find scholarships that aren't income or luck based. (Grrr... why does land make my dad's income look high?  It's not like you can sell it in this market.)
• Take some transient courses at smaller colleges.
• Work like the Dickens!

Any other ideas?  Because I'm out.  Financial aid was beyond unhelpful with this question.  They told me I should make up a budget in order to pay.  Thanks a lot.  If you get paid $50 a week for part time work, and you owe $300 at the end of the month, it doesn't matter what you do, you are going to be short some cash.

So, I'm almost ready to give in and do something really crazy in order to pay these college bills, like sell a kidney...  I can just see it now on ebay:

1 Kidney in Fairly good condition - Is slightly used and smells a little funny but does what it is supposed to... most of the time anyway.