STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kmd · Kate Spade

scholarships/grants for first-time adult students

Elle · Hermes

I'd check with the financial aid office at the school you're thinking of attending - I'm sure they have a lot of info for you, and may have access to things you wouldn't be able to apply to on your own.

Good luck!

Kelly · Hermes

You could try scholarships.com. I remember using the site when I was an undergrad, and I liked it because you basically tell it everything about you (your age, gender, what you want to study, etc) and then it tells you all the scholarships you may qualify for. It emails you every time it finds a new one for you, if I remember correctly.

kenzie · Chanel

Fastweb.com is another site like the one Kelly mentioned.

Hermes

I received a few pell grants when I went, but I did the rest with mostly government subsidized loans. The loans definitely make you stick it out, since you'll need the degree to pay them back. My payments aren't that bad, and are totally worth it.

What you'll want to do is go to the financial aid office for your community college and apply there for the 09-10 school year. That application will determine any government grants you qualify for, as well as any government subsidized or unsubsidized loans (Stafford Loans). I personally wouldn't borrow from a bank. I used nelnet for a lot of loans, and was able to consolidate my undergrad and masters when I finished my mba. Consolidation was a big money saver.

Basically, what I did was take as much as I could get every year grant and loan wise, and waited tables to cover any additional living expenses.

http://www.nelnet.com/stafford_loans.aspx?id=618&path=bsp.fye.ufa.fnop

http://www.howtodothings.com/education/a3705-how-to-get-a-federal-pell-grant.html

forgot about perkins loans - I think I only received one of those, but you can get the loan forgiven in some circumstances: http://www.staffordloan.com/repayment/federal-student-loan-forgiveness.php

-- Edited by D on Tuesday 12th of May 2009 01:08:57 PM

Miss Mabel · Kenneth Cole

Apologies if you've already done this, but generally, your very first step is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/). You can fill it out online (just need last year's taxes).

As you fill it out, you'll be asked the names of schools you would like to have your "aid report" sent to. You can enter several schools (all the schools you think you might apply to -- you do not have to have applied to complete the FAFSA).

The Federal Govt will give you a student aid report that outlines your anticipated funding (federal grants and loans) and then after you've applied and been accepted, the schools will send you a full financial aid picture, which will include what they are willing to give you (amounts of funding are adjusted depending on cost of school, etc.) and may also include a work-study job. When you agree to attend a school, they help you select your federally approved lender (I second D's suggestion of just using the Federal govt to eventually consolidate) and complete any other paperwork.

The one year in college when my finances were really bad, I never had to apply for anything separately from the FAFSA -- the Fed Govt gave me enough grants to cover tuition, and I had the option of working or taking loans to pay living expenses. So I would definitely start there.

kmd · Kate Spade

Thank you so much, ladies. I really, really appreciate it. :)

kenzie · Chanel

D wrote:

I received a few pell grants when I went, but I did the rest with mostly government subsidized loans. The loans definitely make you stick it out, since you'll need the degree to pay them back. My payments aren't that bad, and are totally worth it.

Yep, me too. I did it with undergrad and I'm using loans for grad school. I'm going to be in hock up over my eyeballs, but student loan payments are pretty manageable and it's practically my only debt to speak of. I just fill out the fafsa form online every year and the government and my school take over from there.