Brittany
Biology/Nursing student, Columbia College
Hometown: Columbia, MO

I am loving life here at Columbia College so far. I transferred here in the fall of 2008 from a local community college. It has been a bigger strain on me, especially financially since transferring here, but I definitely feel like I made the right move for me and my future. I have received the maximum amount allowed by the Access Missouri program - $4,600 per school year. Even with that, I've had to take out the maximum amount of loans possible for a sophomore - $6,500 per school year. And I still have to pay nearly $4,000 to cover the rest. College is putting a financial strain on me and my family but I know it is worth it in the long run. Losing any amount of funding will make it much harder for me to return to college in the fall to pursue my degree in nursing. I don't honestly know if my family and I can afford it if I lose the $1,750 proposed to be cut in this bill.