Why can't you get Financial Aid with a Bachelors Degree?

tothepointeLVN, LVN · Apr 18, 2012

The rules are to prevent the government funding lifetime students. Can always take advantage of Lifetime Learning Credit on your taxes.

I am totally for this. I think your first foray into tertiary education should come with some financial encouragement but if your going back for second helpings well then you should pay the menu price

thelema13 · Apr 18, 2012

I'm working on my 3rd degree, and I still get federal student loans. I never got a grant though because I am not a citizen. I want free money:crying2: I pay my taxes!

FitMommyRN · Apr 18, 2012

I'm in Georgia too. The Hope Scholarship paid for my bachelor's at UGA (THANKS Lottery players!!!). Then I used some federal loans in graduate school to cover living expenses because my tuition was covered through my assistantship.

I'm in an ADN program but they put a cap on hours you qualify for federal loans. I had to make several rage infused trips to financial aid (because their level of idiocy was astounding) to get things cleared up, but finally got the hours extension. Now I qualified for basically two semesters of aid before it runs out so we'll be paying out of pocket for the second two semesters.

I know that some schools don't participate in the federal loans program. Chattahoochee Tech, I believe, was one of them. Did she say, specifically, that you don't qualify for federal loans or that you don't qualify for grants? Federal grants are out the window once you finish that Bachelor's degree. And did you take out federal loans in undergrad? There's a cap of, I believe, ~$50k for undergrad loans. So if you're either at a school that doesn't participate in the Federal Loan Program, or have ~$50k in loans from your previous bachelor's, you're out of luck.

I would never consider private loans except maaaaaaaaaaybe from a credit union. And even then I'd be wary. Check into work-study. Search high and low for nursing grants and scholarships; $200 here, $800 there really adds up. If you're not white, search for scholarships that require applicants to be of your ethnicity. There were many scholarships I didn't qualify for based on race. Buy second hand uniforms. Buy older editions of books. He11, I bought my older edition fundamentals book for $3.99 and have a 96 in the class. OR consider attending a school that participates in the Federal Loan Program. OR make it work your first semester and then get a PRN tech job for the final 3 semesters. Not only will you get more comfortable in a hospital setting while making some cash, but hospitals love to hire from within and it's tough job hunting out there.

Good luck dude!

BlueEyedGuy · Apr 22, 2012

Because you have a previous Bachelors, you have taken your "bite of the apple" when it comes to the Grants/free money. You could possible get government funded student loans if you haven't capped out of those, but the free money is only for those seeking their first degree.

When I got my first bachelor's, I didn't qualify for things like Pell grants, because my parents 'made' too much money; they were both public employees who happened to live in a high cost of living area (FAFSA doesn't account for cost of living adjusted income). I didn't bite any apples.

Mama_Cashew, ASN, RN · Apr 22, 2012

Oh good grief. I was speaking to the OP who asked why they couldn't get grants. I didn't say I agreed with it. If you didn't use loans or grant money for your first degree then you should be able to use them now, but I don't make the rules.

WorldTravelingYogi · Apr 23, 2012

I am in a Second Degree BSN program and I was able to get Financial Aid. I recieve Subsidized and Unsubsidized federal loans. The only thing I wasnt eligible for was grants. There is an overall cap on how much you can borrow for undergraduate and as long as you havent hit that cap you should be able to use loans.

Exact same situation for me. I am in an accelerated second degree BSN and getting both subsidized and unsubsidized Federal loans.

A friend in my program has a Masters and she is able to get Federal loans as she never maxed out her loans on her first Bachelors.

There is a cap for undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees and they are separate and the money is there until you max it out.

holli_80_73 · Apr 23, 2012

Its not crap. The government (meaning the taxpayers) cannot afford to finance people's degrees to the extreme of "well this one didn't work out so now give me money for THAT one". What does need to happen is better education for the first time degree seeker so that they understand this is their one time shot at the free money.

Sure..I totally agree..better education the first time around and a job to go with it when finished

HM-8404, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2012

The ADN program I am looking at lost their ability to offer Subsidized loans because so many of their students in the past defaulted on those loans that the Feds told the school they had to give up offering those loans or Pell Grants. According to the lady in Financial Aid.

mmodupe · Apr 23, 2012

I live in TN and was told the same thing when I wanted to get scholarships and such-all I was doing was taking a few pre-req courses and ended up having to pay out of pocket. Praying for something besides loans to come through for BSN program I would like to pursue.

ericaej · Apr 28, 2012

There are federal loans available for nursing school exclusively. See if your school offers that. The Nursing Scholarship Program is open right now as well. Search and apply for scholarships! I spent 2.5 years in a liberal studies program while preparing for nursing school. If you don't have a certain amount of prereqs done, then you can't even get into the program so I'm hoping my years don't count against any pell grants. I am on part time basis now at 10 credit hours though, so I get to take out more loans. It's all good though and I really think these comments about "wah wah taxpayers" can go where the sun "don't" shine. Seriously, I'm pretty sure corporate America and political America spends a lot more in taxpayer money (with pork spending) than some person that is trying to get a second degree in nursing.

rubato, ASN, RN · Apr 28, 2012

It's all good though and I really think these comments about "wah wah taxpayers" can go where the sun "don't" shine. Seriously, I'm pretty sure corporate America and political America spends a lot more in taxpayer money (with pork spending) than some person that is trying to get a second degree in nursing.

While that's true, I think that those of you who already got scholarships for a degree got a lot more money than the kid living in an urban ghetto that has no chance if that money's not available to him. If you are going to compare, compare both ways.

I'm not trying to be petty, I'm just trying to say that if everyone in this country were given the chance to get one education through scholarships, and no more, it would be a better use of our taxpayer dollars than letting some people get two and then, not having enough money for others.

Of course, corporate greed, and wasting our tax dollars is a whole other issue, but there's not enough time to address all of that. I could, likely, go on for weeks on end about that one.

PMFB-RN, RN · Apr 28, 2012

Such crap.

*** Seems perfectly fair to me.

I have gone back to get my BSN, bc A I wanted to get into nursing/medicine B. my previous degree in sociology was unable to obtain gainful employment except retail

*** What? A degree in sociology didn't lead to a good job? Come on, wasn't that pretty predictable? I am curious what good jobs you thought you were setting yourself up for when you decided to doo al that work and spend all that time getting a degree in Sociology? I imagine that you knew what job, or what field you wanted to work in and looked at what education people sucessful in that field had and found that sociology was it?