I guess obvious thing to ask here would be, why can't OP just borrow the money from parents and pay them back afterwards?

>>If someone ever said to me, "you've already waived your ability to become a rockstar, paid for two decades of my life and spent four years caring more about my high school grades than I did and despite this I am going to ask you for another three grand," I would laugh him out of my office. Or my portable toilet.

How is e-begging random strangers more of a right thing to do here then?