<p>Hi, I've been out of school for a few years now, and recently decided to try getting back in. I applied for readmission, and I'm fairly certain I'll get back in (wasn't kicked out or anything, just stopped going), but I'm concerned about my financial aid situation. I hadn't decided to go back to school until a few weeks ago, and I'm not sure if it's too late for me to get anything from either Federal aid or student loans. I'm hoping to go back in the fall, and I don't have a job right now to help finance anything. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what type of aid I have a shot at (like if I'm too late for the Pell grant), or point me in the direction of where I should be applying. I only went to school for a year and left all of the financial aid stuff up to my mom (shouldn't have, I know) so I'm somewhat dumb in this area. Any help you guys can give me would be appreciated. Thanks</p>
<p>Submit a FAFSA.</p>
<p>If you qualify for Pell, you get it…not too late.</p>
<p>I did submit a FAFSA. I should have mentioned that, sorry. </p>
<p>It said that I’m eligible for the Pell Grant of up to 5500 dollars. So does that mean I will get that for sure? And should I apply for student loans and other grants or wait until I get confirmation of readmission?</p>
<p>Yes, Pell is a federal award and, as long as you’re attending full time and the COA isn’t lower than the scheduled amount, you will receive it, prorated by semester. Afaik, you can’t apply for federal loans until you’re accepted to a school as you must put in a specific school code, and do loan counseling, before you submit an MPN. You’re likely too late to get any state aid, but you should check with the Dept of Ed for your state. Any other grants will likely be listed on your financial aid award letter, which comes from the school post-acceptance but, at this point, most schools have very little, if anything, left to give for next fall. I would focus on making sure they have everything needed to make an admission decision and FA award. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks a ton for all the help so far. </p>
<p>Are there any deadlines on taking out student loans from other sources that aren’t federal or state? I figure I’ll have to do that anyway because of my current financial situation.</p>
<p>I don’t recommend you use private loans as it’s very easy to get in over your head and you’ll very likely need a credit-worthy cosigner in order to be approved anyway. A cosinger is literally on the hook for any missed payments and their credit is affected even if you never miss a payment. You’d be better off getting one or more jobs to help pay for your classes or to wait until next year when you should be able to get more aid during the regular application process.</p>
<p>I really haven’t had any luck finding a job for a while which is the reason I want to get back into school ASAP. I’ve been stuck in a rut and really want to make this happen this fall. </p>
<p>I think the school I’m applying for (UMass Dartmouth) has some other grants that go along with the Pell grant, but like you said, they may very well be used up. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. Again, thanks for all the help sk8rmom and mom2collegekids.</p>
<p>Be really careful about the amount of loans. Many college gradsdare not having luck finding jobs now either. What will you be studying? How old are you?</p>
<p>I’m 24, and I applied for readmission as a business major.</p>
<p>I got a letter back from the college that said I have 2 holds I need to take care of. One is from the bookstore (easily taken care of), but the other I’m not so sure of. It says “Write Offs” and it’s from the bursar’s office. Anyone have any idea what that means?</p>
<p>That sounds like you have some kind of unpaid tuition or fees debt and they put “write off” for accounting purposes. But, since you want to return, they expect you to pay that balance.</p>
<p>Where else can you go to college? Seriously, this school is unlikely going to be affordable.</p>
<p>Are you planning on taking out large loans to make this school do-able? If so, how much debt will you likely have at graduation, how much will your monthly payments, and how much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?</p>