Need help paying for college while working full-time

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi folks, I have been going to college for quite some time now. I am now 25 and have my associate's degree and have taken some classes towards my bachelor's as well. I was going to "The University of North Florida" for their Information Science degree. However, I am now realizing that I just can't afford to go here anymore, the financial situation has become drastic, and I now need to go to a place that will allow me to both work full-time and go to school part-time. </p>

<p>So I now plan to go back to my old college at "Florida State College at Jacksonville' where I originally got my Associate's Degree. I want to do this because FSCJ offers a lot of night classes and online classes and caters more to the working class like myself. UNF did not cater to the working man at all and it seemed like most of the students there were well off financially and were living off of their parent's dollar. I am a grown man and am not this lucky, so I have to work. </p>

<p>Anyway, FSCJ told me last time that when I went there, that I got an A.A. general education degree when there. I am now trying to get into there B.A.S. degree in information technology with an emphasis in computer networking. However, they require that you get a separate A.S. degree in Information Technology before being accepted into their B.A.S. degree.</p>

<p>The problem is that financial aid refuses to pay for another A.S. degree for me because I guess it would be almost like getting another A.A. degree. However, they will pay for a bachelor's once I get to that level. Also, I am not eligible for private loans from Sally Mae because my credit sucks. They also won't even let me take out federal loans to take out money for these classes. Is there a way that I can repeal this financial aid decision and convince them to pay for this A.S. degree for me? </p>

<p>Another thing that I should mention is that the degree is a "working man's" degree and sets you up for the IT certifications after taking the classes. For that matter, just after taking the Hardware and Software configuration classes I can at least get a help desk job at an IT company and make at least $10 an hour. Really even if financial aid would just pay for another A.S. degree I could probably just pay for my other college expenses out of pocket at that point. Is there a way to convince financial aid of this? </p>

2

<p>Since you want to pursue IT, why not try out some free online courses rather than pay for more courses at a local college? Many IT computer people are self-taught, and have to constantly new things throughout their careers and college programs have a hard time keeping up with the rate of change within the techology industry. You should focus on learning what you need to learn to get an entry level IT job, and use the free resources to do that rather than continuing on in more college classes that are expensive and the bureaucracy is getting in your way of earning more money and getting on with your career.</p>

<p>It sounds like to me that you might be better served trying to take some online courses and then use your knowledge to go ahead and get an entry-level IT help desk job. Then once you are working in your chosen field, let your employer help you earn another degree, if they want you to have another degree.</p>

<p>There are so many free online courses available that you could take at any time of day or night. Check out the Alison website - it offers a lot of IT related courses, and you can even earn a certificate that confirms your knowledge. You are going to be working in an industry that moves faster than traditional brick-and-mortar universities can, and challenging yourself to complete some of the ALISON self-paced learning programs would demonstrate that you are in touch with what is going on in the world of online learning. I have included the website below.</p>

<p>By the way, there are help desk jobs that you could get today for at least $10 an hour even with minimal help desk experience (in other words, using what you already know about computers.) You can go into an Employ Florida service center (like the article below describes) and let them assess your current knowledge and help you figure out which skills to focus on based on the kinds of jobs available in your area. Do a job search on their site to see the requirements for entry level IT help desk positions - most require high school diplomas and then knowledge of particular systems (which you could teach yourself using online resources.) Also, go to Dice.com and run job searches and read the requirements. </p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>Websites:</p>

<p>ALISON</p>

<p><a href=“http://alison.com/”>http://alison.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>An article about the ALISON website:</p>

<p><a href=“Open Education for a Global Economy - The New York Times”>Open Education for a Global Economy - The New York Times;

<p>DICE.COM Job Website</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.dice.com/”>http://www.dice.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Employ Florida Website</p>

<p><a href=“Employ Florida”>An error has occurred;

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<p>I think there are federal rules against giving financial aid once you already have a degree. They don’t just keep giving associate over and over, so I don’t think there is any way to convince, I think it is a strict rule. The college gets the money from the govt, the govt doesn’t pay for multiple Associates. </p>

<p>Did you find out exactly what classes you will have to take to get admitted to the 4 year program? Then you should be eligible for perhaps the Pell Grant and definitely the Federal Direct Loan. Otherwise consider enrolling in a college were you are a regular 4 year student.</p>

4

<p>Sit down with a counselor at FSCJ and find out which classes you need to take to finish off the difference between your AA and the AS that they ask transfers to have. My guess is that you would only need major-specific coursework. Your Gen Eds should already be completely covered. You also need to meet with the IT department, and ask them to evaluate the IT related classes you have taken thus far. Some of those credits might transfer.</p>

5

<p>@chesterton</p>

<p>Well I appreciate that and I will definitely check out that website. I also guess that I could take many of those IT courses for free, and that would be awesome. My only thing is that I have sacrificed SO MUCH to go to college that it would just simply pain me to have come this far just for nothing. I REALLY want to earn at least some type of Bachelor’s degree. </p>

<p>@BrownParent</p>

<p>Okay I won’t try to convince them to do this. I guess I will just have to pay for the classes out of pocket. It won’t be too much of a hastle though because FSCJ is one of the least expensive colleges in the USA. It’s only like 102.00 per credit hour if I remember and I would only be taking like 6 credit hours a semester. Plus, now that I’m paying for classes I could get my books a lot cheaper by paying for books online. I guess that there’s no other way to do this other than to pay for it out of pocket and that’s what I’ll do. </p>

6

<p>You have likely met your maximum amount of financial aid for that school (like an excess credits thing for financial aid purposes). The school won’t give you anymore and you can’t appeal - the final decision rests with the school. You should be able to deduct the cost of tuition on your taxes - just keep rolling that tax refund back into schooling and before you know it you’ll be done.</p>

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<p>The dream of getting that bachelors is not over for you if you pursue some of that IT online for free. If you can get to work in your chosen field, you will start earning some good money and then either continue working on your bachelors (maybe a university’s online distance education program?) or perhaps your employer will pay/reimburse you for your college degree. But right now, based on your post, the financial concerns are starting to get overwhelming, and I just hope you can find a way to go ahead and start making some money, gaining the hands-on experience that you will need even if you do get that bachelors degree. You sound like someone with a lot of talent and perseverance, so hang on, and hold to your dream. Best of luck.</p>

8

<p>Try Baker College, DePaul University has an online IT bachelor degree, University of Maryland has an online degree. Financial aid eligible.</p>

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<p>@cmgrayson</p>

<p>No, no you misunderstand. I have not hit my maximum financial aid for that school. I could go to any school to finish an IT bachelor’s and financial aid would pay for it 100%. It’s just that the program at FSCJ that I was applying to was a Bachelor’s of Applied Science program and I would need to get an additional A.S. degree in IT before applying to that IT program. Then once I paid for out of pocket and finished the A,S, degree then financial aid would once again pay for the rest of my B.A.S. degree.</p>

<p>However, with my A.A. degree financial aid would still pay for me to get any Bachelor’s degree that I wanted as long as it’s a B.S. or a B.A. program. So I guess what I need to do is to find an online degree program that would allow me to take classes completely online and I would also ask for a college degree program that wouldn’t make me pay out of state tuition as well, and would gear me towards IT certifications. Now I found one college like this called, “West Governor’s University” and they say that they are regionally accredited but it kind of sounded “iffy” as to whether or not the credits would easily transfer to that college. So I am now trying to find a good college that set you up for IT certifications with credits that would transfer. Does anyone here have experience with West Governor’s? </p>

<p>Also, all of those colleges that you mentioned (Baker, Depaul, and U of Maryland) do any of those set you up for IT certifications? </p>

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<p>I am only familiar with the following college from a homeschool program that has a partnership with the school, but the college has been around for a long time and specializes in working with adult students: Thomas Edison State College. Might be worth checking out.</p>

<p>Here is their website: <a href=“BS Degree in Information Technology at Thomas Edison State University | Bachelor of Science”>http://www.tesc.edu/ast/bsast/IT.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And a NY Times newspaper article about the college:</p>

<p><a href=“Thomas Edison State College Pioneers Alternative Paths - The New York Times”>Thomas Edison State College Pioneers Alternative Paths - The New York Times;

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<p>University of Marylan University College has extensive online distance programs, and will accept up to three years of transfer credits. Penn State World Campus is similar. Both are more expensive than FSCJ.</p>

<p>If you just want a BA or BS in something and don’t care what your major is, sit down with an advisor at FSCJ and figure out which degree program you can finish quickest. It really is OK to do that.</p>

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<p>OK, gotcha. Well go ahead and check them out. UC Irvine also has some online courses that are more technical than classroom type work. What type of IT work do you think you want to do. Programmer, desktop support, data center, server support? Microsoft? Cisco? Microsoft has a ton of free (yes, free) material online with virtual labs. Yes, also Penn State World Campus has some really nice stuff all distance. Do your own research, all of this stuff is online and easy to find.</p>

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<p>@happymomof1</p>

<p>No you misunderstand. I don’t want just ANY degree. I want a computer based degree specializing in computer networking. My goal is to get a job setting up Cisco systems and what not. I am looking for a degree program that will be a bachelor’s degree but will also provide training for and to pay for the computer certifications that I need to enter the IT field. After all, all the IT companies that I have ever talked to tend to put a much higher emphasis on certifications then they do degrees. I really want a program that will set me up for the CompTia A+ Certifications, the net+, security+, and most importantly the CCNA (cisco) certification. The cisco cert is the one that tends to make the big bucks. </p>

<p>@cmgrayson</p>

<p>I looked at the Universities that you folks have provided and it looks like none of them really gear towards the certifications like I want them to. However, I’ve found that “West Governor’s” does, so does FSCJ that I was attending before, and also this school called, “Colorado State University” might as well. But it doesn’t say whether or not they set you up for the cisco certs. Here is that school here…</p>

<p><a href=“http://csuglobal.edu/educational-programs/bachelor-degrees/information-technology/”>http://csuglobal.edu/educational-programs/bachelor-degrees/information-technology/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>To tell the truth, right now I’m really leaning in the direction of going back to my old school at FSCJ (Florida State College at Jacksonville) and just paying out of pocket. It will only be like $677.28 per semester + books. I think that I can find a way to swing that. After all, I’m going into SO much debt right now because I just keep taking out loans. I think I’m in about 35k worth of debt now because I’ve taken out so much money in loans. </p>

<p>Also, one of the MAIN reasons why I don’t want to take the free online classes is because of this loan money. You see, as long as I’m enrolled in 6 credit hours each semester, I don’t have to pay back the loans. God knows that right now, I can’t afford to pay back these whopping loans right now so I need to find a place that I can enroll in 6 credit hours each semester. As long as I am degree seeking then financial aid won’t make me pay back the loans. </p>

<p>Also, I don’t want to go to West Governor’s because it just sounds like a made up university and I don’t think that employers would take it seriously. </p>

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<p>OK if you want the COMPTIA certifications you can study that stuff on your own. Get the books from Amazon and an old computer to play with and start breaking it down. Also be prepared to break into the field at the very low end (like a desktop support) before anyone will let you touch their Cisco switches. Good luck, sounds like you have a plan though. You can also take a FORBEARANCE on your loans if you are at a low salary (I have one now) so you don’t need to keep chasing the 6 credits just for loan purposes.</p>

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<p>Have you considered working an entry level help desk technical job from home while you are continuing with your studies? I am including a link to a reputable company that hires remote technicians - the work is not Cisco related, but it is tech support, and it is entirely based from home. I know a few people who have worked for this company in years past. It is not the only company that hires people to work from home. I worked in tech product support for Apple from my home for a couple of years. So there are opportunities for very entry level remote tech support that might be valuable for the extra income and flexible schedule, but also for using some of your skills while you pursue that degree. Just FYI :)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.support.com/about/careers/openings”>http://www.support.com/about/careers/openings&lt;/a&gt; In case this link does not take you directly to the Remote Services Technician, then just go to Current Openings, choose US, and it shows up there.</p>

<p>Ok, enough unsolicited advice from me LOL Best wishes to you!</p>

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<p>@cmgrayson</p>

<p>Yeah I do want the certifications, but that’s what I like about the FSCJ degree. Their B.A.S. degree will allow me to get both a bachelor’s degree AND that particular school will train you to get the certifications AND pay for you to get the certifications. You can’t beat that. I checked and all of my credits will transfer to FSCJ because it is almost like a sister school to UNF. In fact, what most students do is to get their A.A. at FSCJ and then their Bachelor’s at UNF. So the schools work very well with one another. </p>

<p>Also what I like about UNF is that they offer a B.A.S. degree and the degree is more hands on and is more geared towards getting you the certifications and towards giving you REAL WORLD experience. This is unlike most IT degrees that tend to be more theoretical in nature. For instance, in networking, most Universities will teach you the theory of how networks are set up, but don’t really teach you how to physically set up a network yourself. From what I have found employers could care less if you understand the theory behind networking, all they care about is whether you can physically do it or not. This is why I prefer this IT degree to most colleges. </p>

<p>Also, thank you so much for telling me about getting loan forbearance. I didn’t know about this. My question is how does this work, and who is eligable for this and for how long?</p>

<p>@chesterton</p>

<p>Yeah I know I need experience and that most IT guys start out at the help desk. However, from my understanding, most IT companies want you to have your A+ certification before you can work the help desk. It seems like the A+ certification is the gateway to entry in most IT companies. Isn’t this true?</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am definitely not an expert about these things, but I am married to an engineer, and after being out in the Silicon Valley for so many years, and knowing a lot of people who worked with computers, it is the hands-on experience that gets the jobs. My husband has worked with many people who never even finished their degrees, but learned the work on the job. In later years, as contracts required more people to have the education credentials, then the companies often send their employees to classes and pay for them to get the certifications or even the college degrees. My husband has taken graduate level courses that dealt with his industry (software engineering) and as smart as the professors are, they are usually not well-versed in the reality of the software industry - they are still talking theory. IT moves fast like software engineering, and while getting that degree will be valuable, getting to work somehow in the industry is going to put you on that path more quickly.</p>

<p>Certifications are great, but even pursuing those usually requires some hands-on experience before you take the tests. I guess that is why I have recommended you might want to find some work doing some of this hands-on IT (you mentioned working already, so maybe you are already working in an IT-related position.) If you are not already working in IT, then finding some work in IT gets you a headstart on the hands-on work experience, and the pay might be better, even as an entry level job, and then as you complete any further education, and take those certification tests, you are already prepared for new, higher paying opportunities.</p>

<p>Here is an interesting link discussing the A+ Certification, and you will see that the certification process assumes that students attempting the certification already have 500 hours of work experience. From the website:</p>

<p>“A student attempting the A+ Certification should have approximately 500 hours of work experience with operating systems, computer hardware, system files, maintenance, networking, configuration of hardware and software, and troubleshooting computer problems.”</p>

<p>Here is the website: <a href=“A+ Certification - Wikibooks, open books for an open world”>http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/A%2B_Certification&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I know you are so busy, but have you thought about getting involved with IEEE (a technology related professional organization, and UNF might have a student chapter) or the AITP (website <a href=“http://www.aitp.org/”>http://www.aitp.org/&lt;/a&gt; ) just so you can start networking with people who might have leads about entry level IT jobs you are interested in? I just looked at the AITP site and it says that there is a student chapter of AITP at UNF. Checking into the student chapters of these organizations could be very valuable - one, you can talk with others to get feedback and hear how they plan to pursue careers in IT and other computer technology,and, two, you might get some job leads.</p>

<p>Anyway, you have chosen an exciting field. Sounds like you have some great options at either FSCJ or UNF, with both offering a hands-on approach, and so I hope you can figure out a way to keep working on your degree, but I also hope you can find some opportunities, if you want, to go ahead and start getting that work experience.</p>

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<p>If your loans are federal government loans you are eligible for forbearance, just call your loan servicer. I have one now, I just needed to say what my take home pay is and in about a day it is approved. My loans are all serviced by Sallie Mae. You can do it a year at a time. Sounds like you have a good plan.</p>

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<p>@chesterton</p>

<p>Well I agree with you that hands-on experience is what gets you the job. In fact, at UNF there is a help desk there and there is an IT guy that I know and he has a full B.S. degree from UNF in IT. However, he waited until he got his full-bachelor’s degree to start working and now they started him at a low-end help desk job. He has the full degree but yet he only makes $10 an hour, and that’s pretty pathetic if you ask me.</p>

<p>I know that most employers want the hands-on experience and the certifications. My plan was to get a help desk job once I get my A+ certification and immediately start getting that hands-on experience. Also, I have friends that I met at UNF that are now working in the networking field. They told me to get a help desk job once I get my A+ cert, and then once I’ve worked at for a while, once I had my CCNA cisco certification, he would get me a job in networking. Apparently not many people know about networking, and there are bountiful job opportunities in my city for computer networkers. There’s many jobs in it, and with high pay. </p>

<p>I just want to earn skills that are in high demand in this economy that I can get paid a lot for. I no longer believe in the age-old adage that you can do “anything you want to do” or “be want you want to be” anymore. In this economy, it seems like that rule went out the window. </p>

<p>Also, in order to start generating income, I have talked to a friend of mine that is a security guard at a large company in my town., He says that he talked to the boss about me, and to come in on Tuesday for an interview. So if can convince the manager to hire me, they will ask me to pay $150 for classes for a security guard license. The classes only last like a week or two. After I take those classes the company guarantees you a job at their company. It’s also $10 an hour and 40 hours per week. I know that’s not amazing, but it would at least allow me to live and to fund myself through college. So I do have a plan in mind here. </p>

<p>@cmgrayson</p>

<p>Well I would try to take at least 6 credit hours each semester anyway. The only semester when I may have to ask for forbearance is when I am forced to take business calculus, because I know that class will be very hard and time consuming. Other than that, I think I’m good. </p>

20

<p>On a side note, which IT fields require you to be on-call all the time. I don’t mind being on-call every now and then,. I just would be very upset if I got woken up during the middle of the night from my sleep. Can someone please elaborate on this for me? </p>