I need so major help!

Paying for College
1

<p>I’ve recently was laid off. I’d like to take the time to change my life and attend school for the first time. My layoff package will last about 12 weeks with full pay and 1 year of full benefits. My husband is also off work, due to an injury, so y income will be it, until he can get paid from workers comp. I need to get enough money with unemplyment to last me long enough to get my 2yr degree. My credit isnt that good, so I need to know what kind of federal loans I could apply to get about $40,000? Any ideals or advice??</p>

2

<p>You don’t need $40K all at once do you? What type of school are you looking at (CC?)and what status (full or part time)?</p>

<p>You would need to file the 09/10 FAFSA form first. As a full-time freshman at an accredited school, you would be eligible for up to $5500 in federal student loans, aka Stafford. Any other aid, like state, federal, or college grants will be based on the expected family contribution (EFC) number you’ll get from the FAFSA filing. You may be able to work with the FA office on other types of aid by asking for a special circumstances review due to your unemployment and your H’s injury.</p>

<p>Here’s a guide to FAFSA:
<a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/111408EFCFormulaGuide0910.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You will file your FAFSA online here, and it lists exactly what information you’ll need:
[FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/)</p>

<p>Finally, this site has tons of info about all the different types of student loans, grants, and general information:
[FinAid</a> | Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/loans/]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/loans/)</p>

<p>It seems like alot of info at first but just take it a step at a time and post your questions as they come up…good luck!</p>

3

<p>can we xerox this and pass it out to all the newbies :-)</p>

<p>excellent answer.</p>

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<p>You might also contact your local No Worker Left Behind office. There is a lot of money available to adults who are upgrading their skills.</p>

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<p>kelsmom, is that just in your state or is it federal? Sounds like a GWB program (and I’ve been trying so hard to forget him…oops, wrong forum, lol!) but I haven’t heard anything about it here.</p>

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<p>I never thought about it … I guess I assumed it was a national program in which our state participated. However, I looked it up & it was actually started by our Democrat governor (so no GWB!). It’s actually a great program, and it is a godsend to some of the MANY who have lost jobs in my state: <a href=“SOM - 404 - Page Not Found”>http://www.michigan.gov/documents/nwlb/NWLB_Fact_Sheet_Final_203216_7.pdf&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>kelsmom, it’s a Michigan program. I remember when Granholm signed it in and all that.</p>

<p>However, I believe Ohio has a similar program so maybe your state has something similar.</p>

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<p>Nice…would be great for the OP if she’s in MI! NY’s gov has a truckload of new taxes for us and was ready to cut state aid for higher ed before the ARRA. Still no budget, afaik, and not expecting any godsend programs here.</p>

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<p>Go straight to the financial aid office of the college you want to attend. Often there is local money for people returning to school. Good luck.</p>