Should I go in debt?

Hi, I’m a 20 yo college student and I need advice. I earned an associate’s degree in high school (DTA), so I have junior standing in college. After I graduated in 2022, I went to an out of state private school. I did one quarter and flunked because I was depressed and burned out, so I dropped out. After that one quarter, I’m $9,451 in debt. I haven’t been in school for a year and 7 months (apart from the two classes I took here and there at a local community college). I didn’t earn any money during most of my time off, but I managed to save $10K since I recovered more recently. During my time off, I got therapy, so I’m ready to study again. This fall, I’ll finally be going back to college full-time.

I should mention graduating from a 4-year university and living on campus has been my dream since I was 14 so going the most financially responsible and cheapest route won’t work for me :/ but any advice given my dream will be appreciated :)

The school I’m attending is another private school, which isn’t financially smart, but I have no choice because my grades aren’t enough to get into a local public university like the University of Washington. Other schools are too far away for me, and I need to be careful and ease back into school because of my depression.

My tuition and fees are covered, but the housing and personal costs aren’t. I can’t get a real apartment because it’s too sudden and complicated (credit, location, etc.). I can’t get an on-campus apartment because they’re all filled up. I can’t commute because I’m tired of living at my parents’ house (it’s toxic and gives me situational depression). It’s also a 2+ hour commute there and back 5 times a week which will be draining for me. However, if you guys tell me dorming is a completely dumb choice and to just give up my dream, I’ll do it ☹️

This sounds so spoiled, especially for someone with barely any funds, but I have to have my own room for my mental health, which in the end is going to be very expensive. Given my situation, I don’t think there’s much I can do about it. At my last school, having a roommate was just horrible, and sharing a room is just super hard as an introvert.

Dorm:

• Single room: $3,859

The cheapest meal plan:

• Meal plan: $2,313

Total:

• $6,172 a quarter
• $18,516 a year
• $37,032 by graduation

I’ll get an on-campus job while I’m there, which is $6,000 a year, but I also have my savings which can’t fully go towards this because I need dorm supplies and whatnot.

$37,032 -$12,000 (on-campus job) -$9,000 (savings)

= $16,032 +$9,451 (debt I’m already in)

= $25,483 in debt

Is this f*cking insane, or am I? I’m a first-gen student, so no one can give me advice and no one can help me financially either. This is just so much money in debt, at least to me, and nothing is certain money flow-wise. Help me, please! 😭