AboutGina Boykin Expertise Financial planning, debt management & credit cards, and money-saving tips for adults and teens. Saving vehicles such as CDs, treasuries, bonds, and money-market funds. I provide honest, objective and relevant information to help you made the best decision for your money.
Experience Over 10 years of combined experience in accounting, audit, investing, entrepreneurship, real estate.
I am the CEO of Atlanta Y.E.S., a nonprofit organization dedicated to financial literacy for youth.
Education/Credentials B.S. Accounting, 10 years of experience in accounting, audit, and investing
Question I'm 13 at the time and I make straight A's,only for B's this year,I'm getting ready to go to high school and I am african american,Indian runs in my family but I am not Indian.But I want to go to medical school and I am low income.My mom doesn't work,not because she can't but she just chooses not to.My dad is old even though he has a lot of money,a lot,I just don't want to depend on him.I signed up for this program that helps pay for medical school but I don't want to depend on it fully.Neither of my parents went to college.So how do I pay for college or medical school?Does this mean that I can't go to college or something?
By the way,I want to be a psychiatrist.
Answer You can do anything you want to do, if you set a goal, make a plan, and take action. None of these things have anything to do with your background or your parents. It's all up to you!
It sounds like you have a goal already, which is great! Now we just need to work on the plan. You have a lot of options to pay for school.
There are hundreds of thousands of scholarships every year to help people pay for college. The best thing you can do to be able to get these scholarships is to keep getting good grades. Also, while you're in high school, you will be able to take the SAT and ACT tests. These test scores can also help you get scholarships. Many high schools offer classes so you can study and get prepared and do well on the SAT and ACT. You can also get SAT help at the websites www.collegeboard.com and www.vocabulary.com.
There are also scholarship programs that are especially for minorities. You can look into these as well.
Take advantage of scholarships. The purpose of scholarships is to help you get an education, and are a reward for doing well in school. They are not just to help poor people get an education. So, just like you should feel good about receiving a reward in school from your teacher, you should also feel good about getting scholarships.
If you want to be independent, but your parents have money that could be used for college, why not just get a loan from your parents? It is very common for people to get loans from family members. You can do a promissory note, which is a legal agreement, just like an agreement you would have if you did a student loan from a bank. You and your parents can agree on an interest rate, and decide when you need to start paying the loan back (which should be after you graduate).
