<prompt> Human: Hey everyone, Im posting this on a new account because I dont want the personal information Im going to post here to have any chance of being traced back to me.I am a 21 year old student at a university. I was a burnout in high-school, I graduated with a 1.94.0 and spent all of my time in my room playing video games. At the time, my parents were really pressuring me to get out and find a job and I agreed, it was time. I searched for quite a few months and finally landed a job at a local grocery store. It was this experience that really made me realize, if I didnt want to live in poverty for the rest of my life, I had to do something. So pinched my pennies and saved for an entire year, working as many hours the store would give me. In the Fall, I started at the local community college: I had a lot of catching up to do; I had learned almost nothing in my time at high school. That was about 2 and a half years ago. From the beginning, it was my goal to graduate without the looming presence of student loan debt. I was going to do this by taking as many classes at the community college as I could before transferring to a university to finish my degree. I am writing this at the end of my first semester and I already cant pay my bill for next semesters classes. I dont know what my options are.I usually have classes Monday-Thursday and I work Friday-Sunday as many hours as I possible can and it feels like its killing me. Its not uncommon for me to go months without having a day off. In spite of this, my expenses are such that Im no longer saving any money. Income: 12,000 per yearTuition: 7,000 per year after grants and scholarships This leaves me with about 5,000 a year for absolutely everything else I need. Ive made cuts and made cuts. I cant afford health insurance and I dont qualify for Medicaid. I havent been to a dentist in over 4 years. I own one pairs of pants, one pair of shoes that I glue patches on when they wear holes, almost everything I own is hand-me-down or from a thrift store. My bill for this semester is 3,500 and I have 3,200 saved. So, while I might make it this semester, Im about to spend the last of the money I saved from before I started school and I still have about 60 credits to earn.I apologize if the anecdote doesnt belong here, Im at my wits end. Thank you everyone, I want to say I really appreciate anything you have to say in advance. EDIT: My major is Computer Science.Assistant: 7,000 in student loans annually is not insurmountable. Im surprised you dont discuss the point of all this schooling. Schooling is a means to an end, and that end is hopefully increased earning potential. How much more will you be able to make with your degree? hopefull it will have a pay back period of just a few years to pay off a few years of reasonable student loans, after which the education is all profit in a manner of speaking.Insurmountable might be a good word for people taking out 120k of loans to get an art degree. maybe not for you, taking out 14k in loans for something that will truly increase your earning potential.Human: Youre right I should have added that to the OP. Im pursing a BS in Computer Science.And, it might not be insurmountable but 7,000 to someone who makes 12,000 a year is almost 30,000 to someone who makes 50,000 a year. My issue is that college is sort of a gamble. I could do all of this and it might not matter in the end. I want to be sure I dont have a hole to dig out of on top of having to support myself somehow if it goes south.  <response>: Stop measuring your debt in money and start measuring it in labor hours. It will take you a bazillion labor hours to pay for college up front. If you borrow now, it will only cost you a few thousand labor hours to pay off college plus interest after you graduate. More importantly, youll get started on your career faster, which will cause your skills to start appreciating in value more quickly. 