Please help me pay my tuition!

Hello! I'm fundraising to pay my first semester of tuition for massage therapy school through Vancouver College of Massage Therapy. The whole sordid tale of why I do not currently have the funds is detailed below. :)

This has been something I wanted to do for over a decade. However, I had a lot of trouble believing that I could accomplish it, and I was put off by the expense as well. I finally decided to go for it, and was accepted into the full-time program on March 19th. The program begins on May 2nd, which is when the money for the first payment of tuition is due. I have already paid the deposit to hold my space (it is a very competitive program) thanks to my savings.

With the quick turnaround time, I started working immediately to try to gather the funds I would need. I didn't have a BC Services card in order to apply for a government loan, so I applied for that first.

After several weeks of waiting, I received a letter from BC Services that they could not process my request because I was apparently wearing non-religious headgear (spoiler: I was not. It is just my hair. Even the lady at ICBC was baffled when I went in to have my photo retaken.) Unfortunately, despite several phone calls to confirm, there is nothing I can do to expedite this process, and they cannot process a student loan or grant until I have the BC Services Card, as the ID number is generated at card creation. So, although I can apply for a loan in the future, I won't be able to do so in time for the first semester.

While all the above was happening, I also applied for a student loan through my bank. I then waited for a few weeks (again) as the financial officer asked for various documents, which we sent promptly, and then there was... radio silence. Finally, he got back to me on Tuesday (April 12th) to tell me that no, they could not give me a student loan, even with my partner as a guarantor. However, I could apparently request the credit we have on our STEP account.

I spoke to various people at the bank, including a different financial advisor, and it seems that there is nothing they could do for me. So I asked him to go ahead and give me the STEP credit.

Today (April 14th) he contacted me to tell me that he could not do this, as it needed to be done through the home branch that initially created our mortgage, and when we called to do this, we were told there were no appointments at all available.

I don't know what to do. I'm feeling so helpless and afraid, because if I do not have the money by May 2nd, I will lose my spot in the program and may not be able to get in the next time I register (not to mention I would be left in limbo for six months). I already quit my job as I wanted to give several weeks' notice, with my last day being tomorrow.

I didn't anticipate this being an issue. I had thought there were several routes I could go down in order to get the money I needed, even though it was so last-minute, but I have been stonewalled at every turn and am now facing the possibility that I may have no choice but to use lenders charging exorbitant interest rates.

But there is good news! We are selling our condo, and will have money on May 17th. Obviously, that is too late to cover my first tuition payment, but I can pay back anyone who donates to me. Yep, I am saying that if you want your money back, I can and will repay you. I absolutely hate asking anyone for anything, especially as I haven't been in the financial position to donate much to others. But this really seems like the best and safest option.

If anyone donates, I will assume that you will want to be repaid. Please provide me your email for an e-transfer once I receive the funds from our sale. All repayments will be completed by the 30th (I'm not sure if there's a daily limit to what I can send). If you do NOT want to be repaid, then please add a note saying that there is no need. Otherwise, you're getting your money back!

(If you prefer, anyone donating $50 or more can ask for a free massage in lieu of repayment. Just say 'massage please' in the comment and we will book a time for it after I've gotten some training under my belt!)

For full transparency, I will post my acceptance letter and tuition schedule etc. (if I'm allowed to do pics and so on here?). My first minimum payment is $7,314. I'm asking for a little extra so that I can buy the equipment and textbooks I will need and cover the gofundme fees.

Thank for reading this. If you can help, I am so grateful to you. If you can't, I totally understand - I've been there, and I'm happy to have you supporting me as a friend. <3