Seasider Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I know many of you have returned to college and other educational training programs as your kids have aged up. I am curious how you are funding your own education, considering that you may also have your children's college tuition bills to pay. Have you found that you qualify for financial aid and/or scholarships that wouldn't have been available to you as a young freshman? Have you taken out personal or home equity loans? I am just wondering how all that works out. I'd love to go back for an advanced degree but the family budget cannot currently support it. How have you all creatively conquered this challenge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 About a year before I started my last degree, we started putting aside money for it, and then did that until I was done but that degree until took 2 years. It did help that we only had one car payment during that time period. Eldest was in college at the time but he was on a full scholarship so we didn't have to pay for his, but had been saving for it, so he actually used that savings to live on and pay for his masters. There's no way we'd qualify for financial help (nor should we, and I'm really only saying that so it's not interpreted as complaining about not qualifying). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 In a similar boat. Either saddle my kids with mountains of debt and use what we have saved for me to go back to school or try to minimize their debt and I take out mongo loans that I doubt I'll pay back before I die. Haven't figured out how to go back to school since I don't qualify for aid and not sure what scholarships would be available to someone with a 30 year old BS in Math. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I have financial aid and student loans. My oldest is 2nd grade so I figured that we can cram the girls' college funds when I start working 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4kidlets4me Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I'm starting at CC. It's not that expensive at all so in Jan I started working part time. I've been taking those checks and setting aside money for my schooling. I'll continue working while in school and will be able to fund the entire thing with just those wages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Financial aid and student loans. Lots and lots of student loans. :blushing: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Pell grant, scholarships, work study, and student loans. This degree is so we don't have to live off our kids' dime later. There are no college savings for anyone in our family, and each of us will be finding our own way to pay. The kids will have two years of CC free in our state. Anything after that or instead of that will have to be on scholarship or their own money. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 I have financial aid and student loans. My oldest is 2nd grade so I figured that we can cram the girls' college funds when I start working In hindsight, we should have done this. But I didn't anticipate such dramatic rises in cost of living and college costs, plus a couple of other unanticipated very large expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Dh luckily teaches at a college that pays for spouse and dependent tuition at the college. That's what I will (and have) been using, and what my kids will use. If they want anything after that, then they will have to contribute with scholarships and federal aid for university transfer. Same for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Dh luckily teaches at a college that pays for spouse and dependent tuition at the college. That's what I will (and have) been using, and what my kids will use. If they want anything after that, then they will have to contribute with scholarships and federal aid for university transfer. Same for me. Hey, I suppose I should look at whether there are any job postings at our in town schools. I'm sure many are covered by work study students, but maybe there's something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 1. Initially got a job that paid for someone to earn a degree in a job related field. This meant working full time and going to school at night. I was not homeschooling back then. 2. For graduate school, I went to potential future employers and asked for a deal. I eventually got 4 years of paid graduate school in exchange for four years of promised employment. I ultimately ended twelve years of school with zero debt, but four years of slavery. The four years of slavery I ended up selling to someone else who wanted the job I was promised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 1. Initially got a job that paid for someone to earn a degree in a job related field. This meant working full time and going to school at night. I was not homeschooling back then. 2. For graduate school, I went to potential future employers and asked for a deal. I eventually got 4 years of paid graduate school in exchange for four years of promised employment. I ultimately ended twelve years of school with zero debt, but four years of slavery. The four years of slavery I ended up selling to someone else who wanted the job I was promised. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 We write a check every semester. I just paid off the loans from the first time around earlier this year. We are not doing that nonsense again. I am taking classes as the rate for which I can pay for them out of pocket and that's that, because a degree for me isn't worth acquiring and carrying debt. Two classes plus books was about $1900 here, with our in state tuition rate, including nearly $600 in fees for things that have absolutely no bearing on me, like student rec center and government fees. I was rather annoyed about that, since I'm a distance student and not even on the main campus. But anyway. We pay out of pocket. And if that means we can only afford one class instead of three some semesters, okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Divorce allowed me to qualify for the Pell Grant and some state grants. Not the path I'd recommend, however the divorce was already in process and I filled out the FAFSA just to see. After the first year, I received a few scholarships, some renewable, some not. I am currently receiving two small scholarships in my department, which I am told will increase over the next few years. My school has a lot of in house scholarships available, many of which are hard to find out about unless you're a student. I also have loans. First year was maximum loans allowed, the following years have been less. I will have a slightly higher than average student loan debt, mostly because I applied too late the first year to receive anything but Federal aid. I'm also considering grad school, but hope to have that covered through aid or a research assistantship. We did not have a college fund for ds. He qualifies for the Pell Grant and because he lives at home and attends a school with lower tuition, he did not take out the loan they offered. He did receive a scholarship based upon GPA and ACT score. I hope he'll qualify for a department scholarship next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I got my B.A. almost 30 years ago, but I hope to start working on a certificate through one our local community colleges in either the spring or the summer semester. Since my son has recently started his second year of college, and my husband and I are still paying off the parent loans we took out to fund our daughter's degree several years ago, there's not a lot of extra money. However, the program I'm looking at requires only five courses (15 credits). At community college rates, that works out to only about $1,500, and I can cut that down to $1,300 by taking a CLEP exam to fulfill one of the course requirements. I plan to take a couple of years to finish, probably taking just one course per semester, and will just pay the tuition out of pocket. I figure that, at roughly $100 per month, taking a class each semester will cost me less than what a lot of folks spend on their hobbies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 CLEP! I forgot about CLEP! I will have to look into that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Also look into the possibility of prior learning credit. My school just sent out an email today that the board of regents approved this for us. This could be a real boon to us non-traditional students. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonM Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I took a job driving a school bus. It has taken me a year longer to finish than I was hoping but the work has been fun! I also have student loans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 Community college. Cash. I'm currently taking only one class at a time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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