So, I've decided to go back to school

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Now, before anyone starts discussing college, I’m NOT going back to school full-time. I plan on taking a few classes (two, I’m thinking) every semester to try to beef myself up on journalism and a few other things, and rack up some credits. Our local community college has a very good associates program for journalism, and if I decide, after a few years, that I want to go farther, I can take the bachelors program at the university up in Reno.

For those of you who don’t know, I already work in the journalism field - I write news briefs, community briefs, business briefs, education briefs, and obituaries for my local newspaper, and I’m a staff writer for an online gaming and technology media network. However, I feel that having the credentials to back that up might get me taken more seriously, and I feel that it’s something to work towards. However, because I work two jobs, I can’t be a full-time, or really even a part-time student. One or two classes per semester, at max, is all I can afford with my time constraints. Luckily, the newspaper I work for is 100 percent behind me and is willing to be flexible with my schedule.

This is where you guys come in.

I haven’t been in school for over three years, almost four, since I graduated high school. I have no idea how a college works, and I have no idea how to procure fundage for such an education. I’ve signed up for FastWeb and submitted a few applications for scholarships, but I know for a fact that I can’t qualify for financial aid because of my parents (I went through this about six months ago when pondering school) and that stupid “dependant until 25” or whatever rule. Despite working in my chosen field, because I have no degree, I make very, very little money - going to college without some sort of outside funding is neigh impossible for me, even at community college rates.

So.

I’d like advice. Flat-out advice. Tips you’ve learned from college, any places you’ve heard of that might fund my education in part, ANYTHING you think might help. Or the occasional “Good luck!” which would cheer me up immensely - everyone is in favor of this, but it’s very daunting at times and good words help, even if you don’t mean them.

I have until the second week of January to sign up for the spring semester - I plan on taking one or two classes at the college and I think I have the funding sorted out for this semester, but I have no clue as to what to do after that. So…any help would be very gratefully accepted and appreciated. :smiley:

~Tasha

2

Well Tasha, I was fortunate that I never had to worry about paying for college (the Navy paid for it), but I’ll just go ahead and get the obvious out of the way. Start with the tuition assistance office at the college you plan to attend.

3

Well, first of all - Good Luck Tasha!

But yeah, college is a little daunting. My biggest advice is just a quick way to save money. Buy your books off of eBay if you can. Or Amazon. I get most of mine used off Amazon for 2-3 bucks instead of 40-60 in the bookstore.

Brendon

4

Thanks. :smiley:

I actually used to work at the college bookstore, and the part-timers got half off new and used books, so I think I’ll go that route again (they love me there) and pick up a few hours a week at the bookstore - extra cash AND cheap books.

I’m a little excited, but mostly nervous, about this decision. Also, trying to figure out how to tell the Tashaboy that I’ll be gone even more is going to be hard. But I know he’ll support me - in fact, he’ll be delighted, but frustrated with my absence. :smiley:

Thanks, everyone.

~Tasha

5

There are 2 tax credits that can be applied to college tuition, and from what you’ve said it sounds like you’re eligible. Read up on the Hope and Lifelong Learning tax credits – there are a lot of specifics, so I won’t go into it here, and any financial aid office should be able to explain this too. I took the LL credit for a few years while I was a part-time grad student, in the end it added up to several thousand dollars. And keep in mind that these are tax credits, not deductions, so basically you know when you pay your tuition that you’ll be able to subtract part of it off of your 2007 taxes.

Good luck, and for sure call the financial aid office.

6

Oh, to follow up on last post, I believe you are eligible so long your parents don’t claim you as a dependent, even if you’re <25. I’m almost certain I was 24 when I took it the first time.

7

You might also talk to the chair of the journalism department to see if you can get the basic newswriting course waived on the basis of experience. That’s one course you wouldn’t have to take (or pay for!).

And I’m going to second talking to the financial aid office. They’re used to dealing with people in your situation, and between state and federal aid, it may even be worth it to quit one of your jobs to focus a little more on school. They’re usually happy to crunch the numbers with you. Talk to the newspaper you work for to see if they offer tuition assistance.

Good luck.

Robin

8

Tasha, can you take any kind of part-time job at the school itself?

I realize that juggling that on top of the other stuff will be like hugging a greased pig, but in some colleges there’s jobs requiring as little as 5h actual “presence” that carry some sort of tuition waivers.

And, 7th or whatever the “speak with Financial Assistance”. They’ll be able to tell you about things like “life credits” too.

9

Even if you think you may not be eligible for financial assistance because of the “under 25” clause, fill out the FAFSA. Many scholarships will request your EFC (Estimated Family Contribution), which is information gathered from your FAFSA report. The scholarship applications may also want to know if you’ve even attempted to get federal financial assistance, and if you haven’t even attempted, that doesn’t look good either. (Even if your EFC is a ton of money, you may have a chance to explain “I’m under 25, but am completely self sufficient” in an essay or other section of the scholarship application.)

10

Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate this.

I’m going to go talk to the college people this week to see what I can do. I already asked them about the journalism class - journalism 101 is required. It could be Dan Rather, and they’d still want him to take journalism 101. I’m going to talk to the instructor, still, because he’s the guy who has final say on it. I’d much rather take “media writing,” (Journalism 102) than “The place of media in society,” which I pretty much could teach at this point as both of my jobs involve the media.

I can’t quit the jobs I have now, because they pay the bills - but like I said, I’m going to get my books halved by putting in a few hours at the bookstore (they’re always after me to come back and work for them in their Internet department). And while I’m at the college, I’ll stop into the financial aid office, and see what they can do for me.

Also, someone asked if I can get financial assistance from my newspaper - and I can, but only after I’ve earned my associates. They have programs to help journalists get their bachelors and masters degrees, but not to gain an associates. So I have to plod through that before they’ll help me. But after that college will be essentially paid for.

Thanks so much, everyone. If you have anything else, I’m totally open to suggestions right now.

~Tasha

11

It seems to me that others have posted such good, practical advice that I don’t think that I can add to what’s been said, so I’ll just say this: GOOD FOR YOU, AND GOOD LUCK!!!

The other thing that I want to say is this: I empathize.

I don’t work two jobs like you do (OMG!), but I work one nearly full-time job while going to school, and I work during the graveyard shift. When I returned to school seven years ago (not community college; a four-year school), it wasn’t so bad. Now that I’m almost 37 years old, I’ve had to come to terms with the undeniable fact that my body’s **really ** not diggin’ the whole work all night then go to school for half of the day thing, and it’s caused me enough serious problems that I was forced to withraw from the most recent semester, and I’ll be taking a much-needed medical leave of absence next semester.

When I return next fall, I’ll be cutting my work hours in half (assuming that they don’t fire me when I tell them this shit), and though I have no idea how I’m going pay.the.fucking.bills.or.save.any.fucking.money–oh, right, it’s called increasing one’s debt load–I know that this is the best thing for me to do for the next 5-6 years until I finish. (Or, rather, second-best thing, as the best thing would be for me to quit working, but that’s simply not possible given my situation.)

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is this: Pay attention to everything that goes on with you while you’re on this journey. What’s your body telling you? What’s your heart telling you? If you find that you’re getting mental or physical warning signs, please don’t take them lightly. Act on them as soon as possible, and make the changes and sacrifices that will be most beneficial to helping you reach your goals.

Some of the changes and sacrifices you might have to make (and I’m hoping those will be kept to a bare minimum) may be painful and difficult, but just keep your eyes on the prize, and you ought to be okay. And, hopefully, a lot of what’s ahead will be easier for you since you’re in your mid(?)-20’s, and not an aging queen like me. :wink:

Again, the very best of luck to you. Now you go and kick some ass, girl! :slight_smile:

–Li’l Pluck

12

You’re right, I’m 22. But I hardly think 36 is old; that’s how old the Tashaboy is. But you’re right about managing my workload; luckily, one of my jobs is essentially a work-from-home gig, and then there’s my full-time job. But like I said, I’ll only be taking a few classes a semester (while looking through classes I found a video editing class I’d love to take, so I might do three, and take care of my media network stuff at the newspaper, since I have 'net here), so I think I might be alright.

I’m this weird combination of excited/scared/nervous at the whole idea. My boss (for those of you who haven’t read that thread, he’s the young-looking hot editor I talked about in the workplace passion thread - rawr) is totally supportive of this decision, and last night I talked to the Tashaboy and he was all for it, as well, even down to accepting that it is now his responsibility to make sure the house is sparkling clean because if I come home from two jobs and class and the house is a mess he’s dead. Haha. He’s such a sweety to me. Now I just have to tell my parents - because they have to give me their tax information to try to qualify for financial aid. They might not like that. My dad’s a conspiracy theorist like you wouldn’t believe, and I think he might have been doing something weird with his taxes last few decades. No clue, but anyway, this could be an issue.

Sigh. This is hard - but damn, I’m excited. I’m gonna get all edjumacated and stuffs.

~Tasha

13

I went back to school in 2004, after being out since getting my Master’s in 1997. The biggest surprise was that probably 2/3 of students take class notes on laptops now. (One more semester and I’ll have my law degree.)

Good luck! And thanks to sugar and spice for the link; I had no idea I was eligible for a tax credit on my tuition, but it looks as though I am.

14

Don’t you live in your own place apart from your folks? I’d double-check the idea that they can claim you as a dependent until you’re 25. That’s only if you’re like, dependent on them. They can choose not to - why not ask them to not claim you?

15

I assure you ZipperJJ, my recent dealings with the FAFSA people have confirmed that everyone under the age of 25 are supported by their parents. At least that is what they assure me, even though I’ve lived on my own for the past 5 years.

I feel your pain tashabot, I too am trying to figure out how the heck to pay for college while only 22 years old and a current income of about $8.50 an hour. Good luck to you too.

16

Zipper, I’m from Spain, but on my first year in the States IRS was grumpy about me filing independently. I got a phone call asking for the SS# of the parental units to verify that they were not claiming me as a dependant and had to explain that my parental units SS#s are from Spain, not Uncle Sam. The person on the other end of the phone had a working brain and understood it fast but it’s still a pretty weird situation.

17

See, I seem to recall some sort of kafuffle about dependency and FAFSAs when I went to college, regarding my best friend and his dad.

Tom (my friend) told me his dad (an ass) was asking him for money that Tom “owed” him in exchange for not claiming Tom anymore as a dependent. The money that his dad would have gotten on his tax return had he been able to claim Tom.

Tom was living at home at the time. I would assume this didn’t transpire the year he got married (before he was 25, while still in school) and moved out.

I’m not sure how it worked out, though, and not even sure if what Tom says is true (that simply not being listed as a dependent anymore makes one no longer a dependent) but it might be worth a shot to see if it’s possible for your parents to not claim you and thus you would not be a dependent.

I don’t have any real input to add. I never got student loans - just have heard a lot of people bitching about them.

18

One more thing to consider is that because you are a working journalist, the cost of journalism related classes you take may (I repeat may) be tax deductible as a business expense). You should consult a qualified tax advisor about your personal situation and whether and how they may be deductible.

I am not your lawyer or tax advisor, and I don’t know your personal situation (or specialize in this area of the law), so please consider this just general information, not personal advise.

19

My biggest advice would be to keep the attitude that you have right now, which is “I am going to do this, I just have to find a way” and the means will come.

As far as the whole FAFSA under-25 thing, fill it out and, as others have said, contact your school and explain your situation in detail. They should give you a ‘special circumstances’ adjustment form of some kind. Use this to explain: I support myself and have for x-number of years on y-dollars per year. I have had to do this each year for the past 3 and it’s always knocked the EFC at least in half, and one year when I was having a really hard time paying rent (school is in a very expensive neighborhood and I need to live close to campus) one of the financial aid advisors pulled some strings and got me a new scholarship that helped a lot.

Also, your parents don’t have to give you their information, they can fill it out themselves and submit it directly, just set yourself up on the FAFSA website and give them the password. This is what my mom does, just for efficiency’s sake, but it helps with privacy too. If your dad balks, try to explain to him that he’ll be screwing you pretty badly (in nicer words of course) if he won’t fill out the form. One of my good friends from HS had her life messed up in a big way by this. She moved in with a guy her parents didn’t like during her Senior year (she was 18) and in a last-ditch effort to control her, her dad told her he wouldn’t help her pay for college if she didn’t come home. She didn’t, and her wealthy parents’ high EFC kept her from getting scholarships. Her dad messed her up even more by calling the school and telling them that he was refusing to pay the EFC, which made them think it was all a scam when she tried to get an adjustment for living on her own.

20

I’m back - and almost done - and I hadn’t been back for YEARS.

Tuition is (fortunately) not an issue for us. But what I’ve noticed with my classmates for whom it is an issue:

  1. Don’t take more classes than you can handle. One class slow is better than three classes you pay for and don’t manage to get good enough grades in to move on. I know a guy who failed BOTH his courses last semester - and he can’t afford the first set of tuition, much less the second.

  2. Buy your books before class starts - if there is a book that is “light” on the syllabus, don’t buy that one - get it from the school library or share it with a classmate. We’ve had a few books that were little more than pamphlets - and they are on reserve at the library. In my previous major we always had books that weren’t textbooks and could be gotten from the public library.

  3. Don’t work so much that it affects your grades - its related to the first one. If you are already working full time, and you pick up a few hours in the bookstore, and you take two classes a semester, something will need to slip.

  4. If you are in it for the degree, don’t fret the GPA more than “I’d like to get Bs - As are nice” One of the women I go to school with wants to retake a course she got a C in - that’s just a waste of money.

  5. Listen to the school grapevine. If there is a particularly hard course/hard instructor, arrange your schedule to give that course more attention. If there is a good but easy instructor, register for his course. If there is an easy instructor who doesn’t teach you a darn thing - try a different instructor unless its outside your major - college coursework builds and you don’t want to be at a disadvantage having not learned anything in the 101 course.

  6. The best deals for books are made in the classroom the previous semester. I sold my Stats book for only slightly less than I’d bought it for used. The student I sold it to got a break off bookstore prices, didn’t pay Internet shipping or worry about quality (I hate used books where someone has been dilagent with the highlighter - and clueless as to what is important. With the stats book, the used copy was only slightly used - almost no highlighter and I’d erased the few pencils margin notes as I went through it.