Funding prerequisites for grad program

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I’m looking at a career change in to occupational therapy. I have a bachelors in fine arts, which means that I would have to take about 48 credits worth of prerequisites at a community college to get in to the graduate program. I am already well-qualified through excellent recommendations, extensive volunteer experience, and high marks on the GRE. But the only thing keeping me from blowing through the prerequisites is difficulty paying for them. My job barely pays rent & living expenses, and I don’t know how to pay for the roughly $15,000 worth of credit hours.</p>

<p>Do I have any options for financing these non-degree prerequisites aside from taking out a private loan with a cosigner?</p>

2

<p>I’m surprised that none of your prior coursework/gen-eds satisfy any of the pre-reqs but $15K seems unusually high for 14-15 classes at a CC! Most CC’s charge $500 or less per class. Will you be a matriculated student? If so, I think you can take a Stafford loan, instead of private, for your coursework provided you haven’t already hit the $31K limit for undergrads and you meet the other conditions. Other than that, you won’t qualify for any other federal (or probably state) aid.</p>