How do you finance your education?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by NorCal, Jun 15, 2010.

Loading...
  1. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Man guys/gals I have to tell you, sometimes I wonder how I'm going to finance my education. I own a home, so I'm what you'd call house poor, and until now I have been using the GI Bill to pay for school. With that coming to an end, its becoming apparent that I may not have the means to move forward.

    Granted I haven't looked into grants or loans, so those are a possibility, but the school I'm looking into requires the tuition is paid in full prior to attending any courses.

    How have some of you folks financed your education?
     
  2. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I am lucky enough to have tuition assistance from my emlpoyer. All of my education cost me about $14K cash out of pocket over 12 years (~$1,170 per year average).
     
  3. perrymk

    perrymk Member

    I used a predecessor to the GI Bill, VEAP and Army College Fund. This along with a part time job and occasional help from my dad got me through my undergraduate. I had a teaching assistantship in graduate school. I never took out a loan nor received a grant.
     
  4. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    You have got to look into any type of grant you might can qualify for. It's all based on your income and unfortunately, they don't take into consideration that you are "house poor". The financial aid office at your school can point you in the right direction there. If you don't qualify for grants or any other assistance, then you have to pay for it out-of-pocket or get a loan. Right now, there is a tax credit on higher education, I don't think that will last too much longer, though.

    If you have to get a loan, you must carefully consider the amount you need to borrow and evaluate that against your future ability to pay it back. The mistake that so many people make is in assuming that they will be able to pay it back somehow because of some awesome job they will land, but they don't look into that aspect any further. You must research the job market ask yourself these questions: How much will I owe when I have my degree? What job will that realistically land me? Will that new job earn enough extra money to pay off my debt? Get the advice of a professional, if you can. If you don't carefully do your research, you may find yourself $100K in debt with no way to pay it off because of an unmarketable degree. I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying be very careful.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 15, 2010
  5. eilla05

    eilla05 New Member



    In the beginning I actually got pell grants because I was with my now husband but we were not married (and shouldnt have gotten married until AFTER I finished my degree). Now it is all loans and out of pocket for me. When I get done with my Bachelors I will have about 22k in loans and I plan to get the MAIS from WNMU that will add another 7ish.

    Just research options, scholarships, grants etc and proceed. You can do it using loans if you are smart about it and choose a school that has what you want for the least amount of cost so that when your done you will not have that much debt to pay back.
     
  6. Go_Fishy

    Go_Fishy New Member

    I pay out of my own pocket. Needless to say, that slows down the rate at which I can take classes, but that's okay.
     
  7. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    BS - some scholarships, some grants, mostly working part-time.
    Out of pocket expenses: $5000
    MBA - Got some deals from Heriot-Watt's former partner, Financial Times, and found some used courses on eBay.
    Out of pocket expenses (includes living in Scotland): $8000
    MS/PhD - Graduate Assitantship
    Out of pocket expenses: $-60,000 (UF paid me 20k a year for 3 years)
     
  8. rickyjo

    rickyjo New Member

    I am trying to take full advantage of FEMA, NFA, Straighterline, and only intend to go to an institution that will award credit for IT credentials I already hold. Basically I'm just trying to keep the costs way down. So far I've paid for everything.
     
  9. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Uncle Sam, and by proxy you fine folks. Thank you!

    AAS Electronic Systems Technology
    AA General Business
    BA Social Sciences
    BA Psychology
    MBA IT Management.

    No debt, all paid with military tuition assistance, and the GI Bill. I even made money on the 2nd BA and the MBA.

    My price? 2 missed Christmas's, 2 missed New Years, 2 Missed Thanksgivings, 3 Missed anniversaries, 2 missed birthday's for my oldest, 1 missed for my middle son, and so far (knock on wood) none for my youngest. I have missed 5 of my wifes birthday's...but she does not complain.
     
  10. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef


    Save. Work. Save more. Sell stuff. Save more. Take a class. Sell more stuff. Work more. Take more classes. In short, I don't finance anything. Cash all the way baby. We are a family of 6 living on 1 modest income. We own a home. It can be done. Also, you can't get a pell grant if you have a bachelor's degree, but you can take out a student loan....just be very very careful. No. Just sell more stuff. How many jobs do you have?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 17, 2010
  11. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    Very wise reply......Wait a minute. Family of 6? One income? Paying for school too? You are awesome!
     
  12. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    >>

    Just lots of practice. I take my role as CFO seriously. :) If I can turn a profit for a business, why not for my family? It's all in how you approach the problem.
     

Share This Page