What is the best way to pay for college?

I’m trying to figure out how to go back to school. The first time around, I was a fine arts major and dropped out as a sophomore. At the time, my family and I were not on good terms and I started working right away.

A couple things that were obstacles then are no longer an issue now. The federal financial aid application uses parents’ income to calculate financial need until you are 24. So if you are personally broke and your parents are well-off but not helping, there is no provision for this. When I was younger I also had no positive credit history and a couple bills that went to collections. So it didn’t seem like I could get financial aid or a student loan.

Right now I’ve been accepted to the community college, and I’m gathering documents to fill out FAFSA. (My tax return should come in the mail any day now.) That’s the first step in their enrollment process. It would be great to take classes in the fall semester, but that starts in about six weeks. My bank also mentioned that they offer student loans, but I heard that private loans are a last resort if federal aid/loans won’t cover everything.

How do I get from here to there?