College Financial Aid for adults

[Joe Bob]

Has anyone have experience with Financial Aid for older students?

I am looking to get assistance in my quest to further my educational credentials and change my career path. I am currently enrolled and taking a certificate class but I eventually want to transfer back to a 4 year school.

NOT an online school.....

Let's try and keep the comments professional and helpful, mmmm, K?

Already applied for FAFSA.

[genrex]

Not sure I understand the question.

Are you asking what FA programs are available for certificate-seeking students, or are you asking what's available for degree-seeking students?

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[Rikao4]

ex-military ?

Rika

[genrex]

In Washington State, if you have a BA you're not eligible for government grants (pell, etc). There may be non-government grants (I don't know). You are eligible for many scholarships (vary from school to school, hundreds - thousands of $$, so definitely worth looking into). You can also borrow up to the lifetime cumulative limit of Stafford loans (not sure what they're called now); I'm not sure if you can "re-borrow" any Staffords that you've repaid.

NEVER assume that the FA office is giving you accurate information.
Always try to double-check anything they tell you.

I think RWebb knows a lot about this stuff...

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[Joe Bob]

My prior education was paid for by academic and athletic scholarships. No loans.

[genrex]

As an older student, you are of course considered "independent" of your parents, and that means your FA package (aka your "FA budget") can include living expenses, medical + dental expenses, computer expenses, etc.

The FA office should have a list of all the expenses you can add to your budget.

The total FA you are eligible for every school term is = your budget.

There is a limit to the Stafford amount you can borrow each school year.
I think that amount is $12,500 (verify with your FA office). You can use a combination of grants + scholarships + Staffords, to try to meet your budget.

If your budget exceeds the FA you can receive, you could try private financing (alternative student loans, for example a Signature Loan from Sallie Mae, or a CitiAssist Loan from Citibank, or a private signature loan from a bank).

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[genrex]

Re: certificate programs...

You'll want to read the entire FA website for the school/program, and also talk "in person" with a FA counselor if possible (make an appt, being a walk-in often gets poor results). You'll want to confirm their policy on adding expenses to your budget, and get a list of grants and scholarships (and the eligibility requirements for them, so you know if you're eligible to apply/compete for them).

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[bell]

Going through the same exact thing With my wife......absolutely zero assistance available cause I ”make too much money”.......yea......and i'm barely scraping by, no car payments,cc's.......etc.......
Now of she was pregnant or we had a kid AND were on welfare she would get paid to goto school....literally....
How ****ed up is that?

[Mericet]

Going through much the same thing. It really depends on which school you are going to. In my case, my wife makes too much money and I am not eligible for any government assistance. But, having applied for FAFSA, I am eligible for scholarships at my school (received 2 BTW). That is most likely going to be your best bet.

[RWebb]

I dunno much anymore - it has all changed, but the college itself will have people to help you.

[VincentVega]

Many schools offer a no interest payment plan, helps in the short run. Make sure you fill out the FAFSA and any/all scholarships you can remotely qualify for. After that either borrow via a student or personal load or credit card.

Make sure the class/program you take is really worthwhile with a positive ROI.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

NO STUDENT LOANS!!!!! (yes, I am yelling!!!)

I never took any but know others who did, bad slope!

Grants and scholerships, employer assistance, etc. Payment plans to university. Try all options.

[jcunning]

You can get private student loans if your credit history is good. The interest rate is 6.8%. Also, these loans accrue interest as soon as you receive the money. That means you must make payments right away.

After just finishing paying off my wife's 32K student loan, all I can say is DON"T GET STUDENT LOANS!!!

I will give the same advice to you as many younger people. Be sure to understand what the starting salary will be on your next job after school. If you insist on borrowing money, only borrow up to the starting salary. In many cases this is usually 30-40k. This will allow you to pay them back in 10 years but still have a life.

FYI, a 10 year 40K loan @ 6.8% = $460 a month for TEN YEARS!!!
The interest on this loan = $15,000... Ouch.

The best way is to cash flow the schooling. Work at night and save the money to pay for 1 semester at a time. Or sell something like a toy car/boat that can help pay for it. In most cases, school is more valuable than a toy.

[vash]

if you have a target school in mind..why not make yourself presentable and walk into their financial aide office? the powers of pelican will never cease to amaze me, but hard for me to imagine we know more than the nice lady over at the school.

thanks for reminding me..i need to take a CAD class.

[Joe Bob]

Well got my grades and all 'A's, for four, three unit classes.......financial aid applied for.....been 2.5 months and no word....

[59GS]

Something's not right here. Call me 805.653.8373. I'm a financial aid officer at a college

[genrex]

Definitely agree! Also, I suggest making appointments to see two people...

First, the director of the financial aid office. This is a preliminary step to try to resolve the problem "in house" within the financial aid office. If you don't have money in hand within two weeks, or if you get a b.s. run-around cover-up story, proceed without hesitation to see the president of the university.

The secretary in the president's office is often able to quietly resolve problems by making a phone call. But as my father once told me, sometimes you have to go to the top to get things done. And he was right.

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[Joe Bob]

No loans...going for grants. As to the delay, they tell everyone it takes that long not just with PITAes like me....they estimated 4-5 months.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by 59GS

Something's not right here. Call me 805.653.8373. I'm a financial aid officer at a college

Dude, delete your phone # and PM it to him!!!

[59GS]

Mike and i spoke today. This is a school issue not a federal Dept of ED issue. He is attending a California community college. They probably have 15000 students. The people in the CC staff offices are from the same gene pool as DMV.

How they expect people to attend college and wait 4-5 months for their financial aid funding to kick in escapes me. At my college we have every student packaged and all funding scheduled before school starts for that semester or academic year.

Mike, I missed the fact that you already have a undergrad degree. Even though the pure FAFSA application numbers would normally qualify a student for PELL grant in your case you are disqualified because you already have the degree. Best case you'll get BOG benefit but PELL and Cal-Grant are out of reach.

For Hugh ... Dude, I appreciate you looking out for me but that number is my office number and screened nicely and is already all over the internet. I will wear my helmet this weekend though. Thanks