How does one pay for school?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by farmboy, Nov 1, 2011.

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  1. farmboy

    farmboy Member

    Friends, Neighbors, countrymen, lend me your ears (and any loose change you might have),

    When it comes to distance education...
    Student loans yes?
    Student loans no?

    Does anyone know of any DL schools out there that provide reduced tuition based on the income/dependents equation for "MIDDLE AGED" students? My teenage daughter will be applying for school this winter. She has found a website that shows how much the school itself expects her to pay based on that equation.

    I thought perhaps it might be the same for the one who actually is bringing in the income and has the dependents. Is this erroneous thinking on my part?:eek13:

    I am looking at graduate schools, possibly M Div.:squareeyed:

    Any help would be appreciated.:doh:
     
  2. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I paid with some cash but mostly tuition assistance.

    What are the requirements for you as far as the school? Regionally accreditied, Nationally accredited, no accreditiation? NationsU is not accreditied but respected (from what I understand) and only $100 a year. NationsUniversity - Tuition-free Online Christian Education - Master of Divinity
     
  3. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    Well, you are eligible for whatever federal, state or institutional financial aid programs would be available at your degree level too. I'm going to guess the calculator is based largely on Expected Family Contributions after whatever she is eligible for from Pell Grants, etc. It might add institutional scholarships on top of that. Does it actually reduce "tuition" itself?

    If I'm not mistaken Pell Grants are only available for graduate studies for certain teacher credentialing programs, and there's no similar big federal grant program.

    Institutional financial support, financial support from the school itself, is common in many departments in traditional graduate school, if the student is going to work as a graduate assistant, teaching assistant, etc.

    For graduate school by distance, not so much. If you're looking at M.Div. or other religious education, the deepest pockets able to help you will probably not be the schools themselves, but your church or ministry or the one to which you'd be training to serve. You'd want to reach out to them and see what they could find; they might have formal programs to help ministerial candidates, etc.; there might be something possible on an entirely individualized basis.

    Could you have tuition assistance from an employer? Any program for veterans?
     
  4. farmboy

    farmboy Member

    Nations U - I have done some coursework with them.

    Ekklesia Theological Seminary - I have looked into this M Div program.

    Antioch School of the Bible and Church Planting - Another avenue I have explored but there is a need for a mentor and some in person classwork. Not opposed to that just nothing close enough.

    My preference would be some sort of accreditation, and trust me, I have lurked the hallways of DI long enough to understand the nuances of all sides of that debate. That being said in my financial circumstance, I can't see paying out that kind of money. Not when I am about to launch a number of teenagers into the land of post-secondary education.
     
  5. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    You either write out a check or you take out a loan. Some people are lucky enough to have an employer who will pay all/some and some people have been in the military and get that benefit. That's it.
     
  6. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    If you share what you are willing to spend that might help narrow down the options.
     
  7. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    If you have to pay out-of-pocket, you might can find a good, affordable school for an MDiv or similar. Here is one I recommend for you to try: Veritas Evangelical Seminary. I know that the undergrad school associated with it is really cheap, so maybe this will be too. It is currently unaccredited but they are in the application phase to receive TRACS accreditation. It employs Norman Geisler, Ravi Zacharias and some other leading minds in Christian apologetics. If I have any energy left after finishing my EdD, I might go for a master's there too.

    I hear that there is a degree mill with a similar name to this, so you have to be careful.
     
  8. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    You won't, but you'll do the Master's anyway. :wiggle:
     
  9. farmboy

    farmboy Member

    My sister is finishing up her EdD also.

    Thanks for the heads up on Veritas. I will check that out.:You_Rock_Emoticon:

    As for what I am willing to pay...that's a great question. I guess it's like my father used to say "Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it." I guess I will know the right price when I see it. FREE always catches my eye but I understand that in the realm of DL I should learn to look the other way.
     
  10. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    What? Are you saying that I'm an addict? That I have some neurotic need to keep earning degrees even if I don't need them? Is that what you are saying? .....I guess you know me pretty well.
     
  11. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    American Express
     
  12. BobbyJim

    BobbyJim New Member

    Any chance of denominational support?
     
  13. farmboy

    farmboy Member

    She says that it does.

    Employer help is not likely at present.
     

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