WOOHOO MsRobyn!!! Good for you. Let me put in a second to part of what RTFirefly said. I went to college right out of high school because, well, that’s what I was supposed to do. I got through and with good grades but was not into it at all. I waited 10 years, then went back to grad school. I was much more serious about it then and got my master’s in a field I truly love. You are soooo gonna kick major ass at Shippensburg U!
It’s not hard at all, Opal. The key to everything is the FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s what the federal and state governments and colleges base their aid decisions on. Need-based aid is very plentiful. When I went to UMBC, my entire tuition was covered between various grants. Now that I’m at Hopkins, about half is covered with grants, and the rest with federal student loans.
The most important thing to do is to file your FAFSA as early as possible in the year that you want to start school.
Oh, and WTG, Robyn. You are exactly where I was four years ago, and I’m getting my BSN this May at the ripe old age of 36 (with a 4.0, I might add ).
Well, I know there are loans out that everyone can qualify for, but it’s still very important to file a FAFSA. You may qualify for more aid than you think, and regardless of your income, the school’s financial aid department still bases everything on it.
If you are thinking about going to school this year, I would go ahead and file one. You can have the information sent to several schools.
Nothing’s final yet. The financing is there, but until I get my acceptance letter, it’s not happening, although there are still other avenues, like finishing my associate’s at the local community college.
Even though I’ve got the cost covered, I’m still filing a FAFSA once we do our tax returns. This way, if I’m eligible for grant money, I can get it. The less I have to foot out of pocket, the happier am.
Way to go! I am glad I waited until I was older. I take it much more seriously now than I would have at 18. I dropped out of high school in 9th grade and worked full time for 8 years before I decided to go to college.
I even had a 4.0 until last semester, when I got a B in a class I don’t even need. Now I have the much dreaded 3.96 GPA.
Time to take that baby again and test out of it. Can’t have these bad grades on my record.
Robyn - if they have a math requirement, feel free to holler for help when you’re taking the class.
Opal - pretty much everyone qualifies for some sort of student aid, these days, even if it’s only loans. If you’re interested in pursuing a degree, fill out the FAFSA, and talk to the the financial aid office of the school you’re interested in. You have nothing to lose by asking.
Lucretia - 4.0, huh? Woohoo!!! Summa cum laude, coming up!!
Not that it surprises me that you’re doing well, because you’re both smart and self-disciplined. But getting through a program like a BSN without getting snagged for as much as a B even once, somewhere, is one hell of an achievement.
Hey Opal, fill out the FAFSA and talk to a financial aid counselor at your local Community College. Even if your hubby makes a decent salary, there is TONS of money out there in the form of grants. Much of it doesn’t get used even. Companies get tax breaks for donating to people, but they don’t have money to advertise this fact. A friend of mine back in the day found a list of all of the grant money people/companies out there. She wrote literally HUNDREDS of letters and got $500 here, $1000 there, $250 for books, etc. She financed her whole degree this way. If you look for the money, you will find it.
But if you just want to go the loan route, try and max the Perkins (what it was called when I went). It was a Federal loan, so the interest was tied to the Tbill…cheapest money around.
Awww, gee, thanks RT. Have I told you lately that I love you?
But to echo lots of people in this thread, it’s really amazing what a little “Ya ain’t gettin’ any younger, you’d better make this count!” motivation can do for you.
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