<p>Today my aunt asked me to help her figure out a plan for going back to school. She is in her 50s and has not attended school since she dropped out in her early teens. She is also a recovering meth addict (she's been clean for a little over 5 years). Last year she made around $12,000. </p>
<p>She would be going through a vocational program at a community college in Arizona. I think she is looking at around $4,500 in tuition for an AS, half that for a certificate. Maybe a little more since she would have to take a lot of developmental classes.</p>
<p>The other issue is that there is no way she could work in her current job and be successful in school. She works 10 hour shifts at night in a warehouse. With her age and health it would be impossible for her to continue that job while trying to go to school.</p>
<p>I realize she will probably get ~$1500 or so in pell grant for the upcoming year, but are there other grants for people like her? Is it prudent for someone her age to take on student loans?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t advise student loans based on your thumbnail sketch of her life. </p>
<p>Can she just try 1 class to see if this is really something she can handle? </p>
<p>My thoughts are that if she really wants the education, she will slowly and organically shift her life to accommodate the education – the community college will have some resources such a counselors or adult reentry programs that give emotional and logistical support. Occasionally through community colleges there are small scholarships for reentry students and she would most likely learn about those through the counseling offices as well. </p>
<p>Other issues I’d keep in mind are whether or not she has the mental capacity to handle college classes after her meth addiction - thus the importance of having a professional support system in place if she has any residual learning disabilities.</p>
<p>So - considering all the unknowns, the “take one class and see how it goes” is what I’d recommend. If she <em>really</em> wants more education after that taste, then <em>she</em> needs to start advocating for herself. It may mean in the long run finding a different job… at 12K a year ($6/hour) she can switch to almost any entry level job in order to make her work and school schedules line up better.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>