Money for Collge?

Question

I'm 21...I'd like to go to Northwestern State University in Louisiana to major in Business Administration..i'd take the 2 year course to get the Associate's Degree. I went to a technical school already for audio engineering and my mom paid for that. Since i want to go back to school...I must pay for it myself. How can I get enough money to pay for school...and pay for housing off-campus which I think is a seperate cost that the loan may not cover? A friend of mine who goes there said the housing cost is totally seperate. I need money for schooling, housing, food etc. What can I do?

Answer 1

I once considered changing careers and looked into the financial aid situation. Unfortunately, even if your mom paid for your first education if an associates degree, FAFSA will not pay for a second associates degree. An idea might be to go for your Bachelor's degree. To minimalize student loans, I recommend seeking out scholarships. Another idea might be to work for the campus radio station since you have an associates in audio engineering. I will include some free resources to locate college tuition money. Good luck!

Answer 2

"dawncs" is incorrect about not being eligible for federal aid for a second Associate's degree.

It is AFTER two Associate's degrees do you no longer qualify (so you would have to already possess two Associate degrees and be working on a third).

So, with that said, your first step in applying for assistance for your new goal is to complete a FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Your school will determine what you may qualify for in grant money (that you don't have to pay back) but that is likely to not cover all of the expenses of off-campus housing. You may take out a federal student loan, but if your school considers you a freshman, you will qualify for a maximum of $3500 for the full school year--definitely not enough for housing.

The best thing for you to do would be to work a part time job during school. This can help pay for personal expenses like the food, rent, etc. that you mention. While working and going to school can be difficult, it is possible with determination and dedication (been there, done that!)

There are also alternative loans that can fill in the gap between your educational costs and federal aid, but these loans are based on credit and therefore carry a higher interest rate than federal loans. If you decide to go the route of an alternative education loan, be sure to shop around for the best rates you can find because, unlike federal loans where the interest rate is determine by the federal government, the lender has sole discretion of determining your loan terms and interest rate. Most major banks offer private education loans (think Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank) or you may want to check out www.teri.org (The Educational Resource Institute).

Good luck!

Answer 3

You can try applying for scholarships, you can find many through the various scholarship engines that have already been listed.

But realistically, you probably need the money to get back to school faster than a scholarship would provide. If you did get a scholarship, most likely it wouldn't be enough for all the expenses you will have for an associates degree.

Since you're 21, and have been out of school, I presume you have some credit and employment history. You could try applying for a private student loan. These are not the same as federal student loans that you've probably heard about. They do have a deferred payment option, like a federal loan, until after you are out of school. The difference is these loans are provided by private lenders. As such, there is no standard as to rates, terms or qualification criteria.

If you decide to go this route, remember that each lender has their own guidelines and you should apply at a couple to see what is available. The two I highly recommend is Student Loan Advisors at http://www.StudentLoanAdvisors.com/ and also Chase Bank has a private student loan division you can reach through http://www.usadegrees.com/chase/

Private student loans will carry a higher interest rate than a federal student loan. But they can be a good tool for someone in your position to accomplish your goal.