It ' s a pretty handy word to normalize the trans movement . By pairing cis and trans together , it puts them on an equal level , so to speak . For those who are opposed this normalization , for whatever reason , using cis to describe people and genders becomes distasteful . <| sep |> You ' re probably going to have to take out loans . It doesn ' t look like your parents are prepared to pay for college for you and your siblings . If I were you I would find a cheaper school , maybe a state school or community college . You want somewhere you can commute to from your parents house , ideally , so you can avoid paying room and board . I took out $ 17 K of loans over 5 years of college and ended up with a $ 40 K a year job out of school 6 years later I ' m making $ 65 K and my loans are long since paid off . I don ' t regret it one bit . You just need to be wise and choose a major that will lead to gainful employment and at a school that will minimize costs .