I am supposed to be heading off to New York City to start my masters degree at Union Theological Seminary at the end of this month. Today, I got into my first car crash— a head-on collision— after working all morning to save money for my housing in NYC. Due to FAFSA’s change in systems this year, lots of students are having to pay large expenses out of pocket that they cannot afford and had anticipated being covered by scholarships and federal aid— I am one of those students. Throughout my years of undergraduate, I have paid almost entirely all of the cost of school, living, and medical bills on my own and with lots of scholarships and work study programs. I’ve worked extremely hard and to the point of being granted full ride to graduate school, in a program I’ve wanted to pursue since I was sixteen. Without the ability to pay for my living situation and without a car, I cannot go to grad school. I’ve got full ride for tuition but need a lil more help with housing funds— so I need help from my community.

So what are the numbers?

What’s left of my housing that needs to be paid by August 1st is $1500. The good parts about my car crash (if there’s anything good about getting into a car accident?) is that no one’s hurt and I’ve got great insurance! My deductible is $500 and the rest will be covered by insurance. I am also putting an additional request of $500 on the gofundme to help with the cost of food while I adjust and wait for my college job to start. I am setting my goal as $2500 to afford the repair of my car, the remainder of my college costs, and a small food budget.

Anything helps and with so much love,

-Rae Milstead