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Hello everyone!

I hope you are doing well. My name is Linda Ankrah, I am 24 years old and I am from The Bronx, NY.

I am a rising senior at St. John’s University in the College of Professional Studies, and my area of study is Advertising Communication with a concentration on the Creative track. 

On the morning of July 29th, 2024, I was informed by the Financial Aid office in my school that due to me being 24 years of age, I am no longer eligible to receive the Parent PLUS loan, which has been covering a majority of my financial needs for school for the past two years. According to the Federal Student Aid website, my being 24 is considered 'independent by age' from my parents, so the PLUS loan application that my mother filled out on July 8 of this year is null and void. 

Both of my parents are retired. My mom retired recently, and my dad retired early due to him being on disability for over 10 years, due to a series of life-threatening health complications. My mom stopped working about the same time he fell ill — back in 2007— so she could take care of him full-time. In addition to my mother being my father’s primary caretaker, she also cares for my brother, who has autism and ADHD. My mother and I are both his legal guardians. 

This means for over 10 years, I have been the only breadwinner in my family, picking up odd part-time jobs to survive and to help my family in any way I could. And once I got into college in 2018, it became much harder to balance school and work, because as much as I wanted to obtain a degree that would enable my career in creative graphic design and provide me with better job security, I had to worry about what my family will be eating every night, and how the bills would get paid. All of these concerns I carried in my head led me to be diagnosed with severe clinical depression and anxiety, making it even more difficult to focus on my studies. It hasn’t been easy juggling all of these adversities, and because I prioritize my family in every decision I make, I decided to pause my schooling back in April 2020 to work full-time to support them. 

In June of 2022, with the encouragement of my family, friends, and fellow church members, I decided to continue my schooling. I transferred all my credits from my previous institutions to St. John’s University to be able to finish what I started and to give myself a chance at a better life for my family and me. I was desperate to see myself to the end of the finish line — securing a degree in Advertising, so I could live out my biggest dreams of being a creative and a visionary for the world. I took out every loan I was eligible for and accepted every grant and scholarship given to me by my school and FAFSA. I was set on fulfilling the purpose that God placed over my life. I knew it would be a challenge, but I’ve never been the type to be swayed by one. 

Due to my extenuating circumstances, for as long as I have been a college student, I have never been able to pay for my schooling out of pocket. I have always relied on the generosity of St. John's and the federal government for scholarships, grants, and loans to fully finance my education. Due to my full dependence on financial aid packages to get through school, this news has swept the rug right from under me, and I am not sure what to do next or where to turn. 

For the Fall 2024 semester, I currently owe $9,229.50. For the Spring 2025 semester, it is estimated that I will owe approximately $11,548.00. These costs do not include money needed for textbooks and school supplies. I would owe more in the spring because New York State’s Higher Education Services Corporation has denied my TAP aid for the spring due to me being in and out of school for so long. So in total, I would need about $21,000 to ensure that my education is secured for the final year that I will be a college student.

A lovely lady at the Financial Aid office of my school helped me explore possible options to cover my pending account balance, including becoming a commuter student to remove the housing expense from my term bill, taking out a private loan, and reaching out to Student Financial Services to appeal for aid. 

Regarding taking out a private loan, I have no one in my life who can be my cosigner. I truly wish I did. Every trusted person I asked to be a cosigner has been denied due to bad credit, including my parents. Also, commuting to school every day would be close to impossible due to distance and an unconducive home environment. Being in student housing allows me to fully focus on my education and excel to the best of my ability. I take pride in the academic progress I have made being a resident student, including making the Dean’s List every year since my journey at St. John’s started, as well as having direct access to the resources and amenities that my school has to offer without having to travel far. 

Since the devastating news I received on July 29th, I have been applying for numerous scholarships outside of the University, and I am in the process of applying for a scholarship that St. John’s is offering to seniors. I have also written a letter to my school’s Student Financial Services appealing for any aid they may be able to give me. 

I have expanded myself to anyone who would hear that can help me in any way possible. And now, I am appealing to you. If there is any way that anyone could assist me in covering my outstanding balance (even by reposting this across your social media platforms), it would be a blessing not only to me but to my family and friends who have been the backbone of my educational endeavors since day one. I am at the final stretch of my education, and I don't know how to break the news to my parents that I possibly won't graduate next year as planned. I am truly heartbroken and devastated by the entire situation. But I refuse to accept that this is the end of my educational journey. It can’t end this way. I’ve come too far. 

After deciding to continue my education here at St. John's as a transfer student, I have been blessed with so many opportunities and experiences that I could not get anywhere else. I even started a side hustle of making flyers, brochures, and other graphic designs for people because of the things that I learned from being a St. John’s student so far.

My purpose in this world has been validated time and time again as I sat in each class, connecting with other students, being a student worker for three different departments, and finding pride in being a Johnny. It is deeply troubling to think that I would have come all this way in my academic career only to watch it die because of a technicality due to my age. 

I am praying that someone will help me out of this unfortunate situation. Any way that you all could help would mean the world to me. 

Even if there is nothing you can do and you read this message alone, I will seek comfort in the fact that someone cares enough to listen to my story.

Thank you for reading this message, and God bless you!

 

Best regards, 

Linda Ankrah