Archive for the ‘Financing My Online Education’ Category
Posted by Jeff Davis on December 12th, 2008
Since I worked full-time and have a family, I really did not have the free time available that I would have liked to have had in order to pursue the various avenues regarding financing options for school. Therefore, for my financial aid options, I chose to go the route of student loans and to pay any out of pocket expenses that the student loans would not cover. This worked well for me but may not be the right fit for everyone. Overall, I think it really depends on each individual’s needs for financial aid and how that person wants to address them.
There are many ways to obtain financing for college and an online school is no different. Among these are: student loans, private loans, employer tuition assistance, and scholarships. From what I discovered, there are more financial aid options available than ever for students pursuing online programs. If you are unsure of how to get started with obtaining the correct information, then consider your university’s financial aid department. They will have plenty of information on the university’s financial aid policies.
However, one advantage that online schools have over more traditional schools is that they can save you money. If you attend college on a traditional campus, you will have more expenses involved than you originally anticipated. Think about it. You will have to pay for not only tuition, but also you may have housing, food, books, supplies, and gas for commuting. With an online school, these costs are greatly reduced because you are attending class from home. Therefore, your only costs should be tuition and books. You also have no commuting costs since you do not have to drive to class.
Overall, you need to understand all of your options when it comes to paying for college. I would recommend that you take the time to do some careful research and be sure to apply for everything you can including federal and state aid as well as private scholarships.
When I decided to return to school, I knew that I would have to go into more debt to do it. I looked for a school that was reasonable in terms of cost, but that was still about $1000 a month for school. That was money I didn’t have, so student loans were again necessary.
I had worked while going to school for my bachelor’s degree, but wound up taking student loans to supplement my lifestyle. I think the same thing happened with my master’s degree. While my employer paid 75% of the cost, I still took some student loans. I hadn’t planned to pursue my PhD at that time, so I thought I would just pay off the balance as I progressed in the workplace.
The limits for the federal student loans do go up as the type of the degree increases. So I knew the limit for Stafford Loans was about $140,000. I am pretty close to that limit at this point. Now that I’m nearly at the end of my degree program, my cost is reduced to approximately $1000 per quarter and I pay that out of pocket.
I know I should have looked for scholarships, but there just wasn’t time. Also, there didn’t seem to be as many scholarships targeted toward my demographic, field of study, or degree level. I also didn’t think my school provided many resources for financing - they basically presented the bill and expected the student to figure it out.
Knowing what I know now, I do wish I had been more fiscally responsible and minimized my loans (and my lifestyle). I am now still in deferment, but make small payments each month to help bring this balance in line before I graduate.
Posted by Jen Zeman on December 8th, 2008
When considering financing options for school, I compared loans from private financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Education. I decided on the Department of Education and completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov. I knew my husband and I made too much money to be eligible for grants, so I secured subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Loans through the Department of Education appealed to me more than a private financial institution loan because the Department of Education offered a better loan rate, better repayment options, and deferral of repayment until I graduated from school. The deferral option is great! Not immediately coming up with the additional funds to pay for school was one less thing to stress about.
The world of scholarships is vast and the amount of money available via scholarships is astronomical. The website www.scholarships.com indicates their database consists of over 2.7 million free scholarships and grants worth over $19 billion. The problem I found with scholarships is that it takes time, a lot of time, to search through them to find ones you are eligible to apply for. During the searches I did conduct, I wasn’t eligible for most of the scholarships offered. I simply didn’t have the time to continue, but if you do have the time, scholarships and grants can be extremely beneficial in reducing your total tuition bill. With enough persistence, you may even accumulate enough to pay all of your expenses! The financial aid office at the institution you will be attending can help you get started in the process. The financial aid office can help you apply for financial aid, advise you of funding available directly through the school, and assist you essentially through the entire process.
Posted by Sharon Cece on December 8th, 2008
The first thing I did after I was accepted to the Distance Learning program in 2004 was celebrate with a huge hot fudge sundae. The second thing I did was to sit down and research financial aid programs. There were two programs I focused on: financial aid specific to my college (academic in nature) as well as FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid (financial in nature).
My situation was the following: married, two children, one income. Since I had been away from FSU for a number of years (I had originally attended on campus from 1987-89), the FSU financial aid academic aid would not have been applicable to me until I received grades for my first semesters. Therefore, I directed my attention to the FAFSA, which I completed immediately and strongly encourage all students to do so. Since everything is done online, it is very easy to track your financial aid status once you complete all the required online forms and receive your PIN.
Based on the FAFSA report, I was eligible for the Undergraduate Stafford Loan. There are two kinds of Stafford Loans, Subsidized and Unsubsidized. Subsidized are based on financial need and interest does not accrue on the loan as long as you are in school at least half time until six months after graduation. Unsubsidized loans accrue interest from the time the loan is dispersed to the school.
Once I started to build a transcript of grades I was then able to pursue academic-based financial aid through my college. Thus, in addition to receiving the Federal Stafford Loan, I also received an academic grant through FSU. This helped quite a bit in paying for supplies and the added expenses germane to the distance learning student.
Though I did worry at first about paying for college, there are financing options available for most college students regardless of status. As well, there are scholarships available in addition to federal and state college assistance. Your academic advisors can point you in the right direction to get you started. More importantly, research is your best friend. Look into all financing options to make the best choices for you and your financial situation. It might also be prudent to consider one final piece of advice: always eat dessert before dealing with finances.
At the same time I was taking online classes, my husband and I were exploring financing for our two children’s college education. Both of us work full time in K-12 public education and wanted to pay at least half of the expenses for both children. My husband’s education was paid for by his father, and I was able to secure grants, loans and work study to pay for my four-year degree. My mother was a widow and I was able to tap into sources for low income students. Both of us obtained master’s degrees and paid for them ourselves, working full time and going to school at night.
We both thought our children would appreciate their education if they contributed towards their degree. We balanced this appreciation against having them pay for college entirely on their own, or perhaps graduating with a debt the size of a mortgage. The first FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid ) we filled out revealed that at our income level, we were “on our own.” We didn’t bother to fill out any more FAFSA forms.
As it turned out, my son spent four years in the Marines and is now able to attend college on the GI Bill. My daughter lived at home greatly decreasing her costs and we were able to fund her education using our savings and paying as she went. They are both seniors in college and soon the expenses will be over. My son wants to go to law school and estimates he will need $50,000 dollars to get this degree. He has asked us for help and points out that we did not have to contribute anything to his bachelor’s degree (siblings always keep score!) I’m mulling over how, so close to my own retirement I can appreciably help him.
I either paid cash for my online courses and took free courses paid for by a large urban school district. Many courses were underwritten by organizations who want to improve the education of inner-city children.
In the back of my mind, I would like to get an E-learning certificate from an online university based in Wisconsin. It would provide more knowledge to teach online. I can’t afford tuition if my son needs help with law school. Graduate tuition has skyrocketed in Wisconsin and is out of reach for me. Yet, my son’s dream of law school looms upon the horizon.
