<p>I plan to go back for another Bachelors in Nursing Science and I like to know if I am eligible for any kind of financial assistance other than tuition assistance with the military. I only ask because</p>
<ol>
<li>I already hold a Bachelors degree, however, during my college years, I have never applied/nor received financial aid (was not eligible at the time)</li>
<li>I am 24 years old, considered automatically as "independent"</li>
<li>I'm a US citizen, and a soldier with the US Army Reserves.</li>
<li>I made 24k last year.</li>
</ol>
<p>From what I hear, since I already hold a Bachelors, I am ineligible for the PELL grant...which is a bummer. Is that true?</p>
<p>Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.</p>
<p>Yes, it is true. The Pell is for first time bachelor degrees only. </p>
<p>It’s a moot point as you are not eligible, but If you have no dependents, an income of $24k for an independent student would be too high for Pell anyway.</p>
<p>Are there any other types of grants or assistance? Thank you for your replies</p>
<p>Not for federal aid. grant aid is pretty much for first time undergrads. There are federal loans. Other than that, it will depend if your school offers any institutional aid. Tough, again, grant aid is usually reserved for first time bachelors.</p>
<p>I don’t know if there is anything specific to nursing out there.</p>
<p>Since you already have a BS, why not just get the RN thru a AA degree? Getting a second bachelors won’t get you more money. You’ll get many of the same pay benefits since you have a BS already.</p>
<p>What will the military pay for?</p>
<p>BTW…as a single person earning $24k, you’re going to have a high EFC anyway…about $16k…way beyond Pell anyway (which you wouldn’t qualify for anyway).</p>
<p>My plan of action was to knock out the pre-reqs in a year and apply for an accelerated BSN program for degree holders. BSN is usually required for CRNA degrees which is the end goal eventually.</p>
<p>Military pays up to 4k a year for tuition…slim pickings.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies, I appreciate every bit of it.</p>
<p>I used to be the financial aid liaison for the school of nursing where I worked. I always warned students up-front that they would not be able to get any grants for the accelerated program for degree-holding students. You can borrow up to $12,500 per year in federal loans (assuming you will be considered a junior when you begin the program), to a maximum of $54,500 in total undergrad loans. If you have to borrow for pre-reqs, you will have to be approved for a Post Bach program, which will most likely be limited to one year and $12,500 in loans. $12,500 might not be enough to pay the bills, so the rest would have to be borrowed in private loans. Our nursing school participated in a government nursing loan program that had really good terms, and they awarded it to students themselves based on their own criteria (I imagine the top students got those loans). You can also look online for scholarships for nursing students, returning students, health science students, etc.</p>