financial aid advice

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I was just accepted into the ASN Nursing program at Santa Fe community college in Gainesville FL. The only problem is I need to get financial assistance. As of right now my EFC # is about 4900 (last yr income tax). My husband and I moved to Gainesville because he was accepted into UF (electrical engineering program). My husband did not work from August06-March07 and my income was reduced to $7 an hour. So far we have been living off my husband's grant and student loans and he has a pt job, 20 hours that he started in May 07 but that barely helps. I will not work during nursing school it's not possible. Counting from Aug06 to this month, we have only made about $7000. I will stop working in Aug 07. I will be doing a special condition (fafsa) so they can revise it and hopefully they will count this yr instead of last yr. If my income is less then 8,000 for both I and my spouse how much do you think I will receive in aid? We only have $900 left in saving and $1000 in checking!!!!... and we have a mortgage too. I don't know what to do. Not to mention we owe a lot in credit cards about $14000. We keep transferring them to 0% interest rates but soon enough the banks will catch us.

I posted this a while ago, and this is what has happened.

My situation is different. My financial aid adviser stated since it's my choice I will be going to school from 9:00am-3:30 and quitting my job. I cannot do a special condition which will not allow me to revise my financial aid. I need to pay the bills, and I can't work full time. My husband is a student as well and since we are students and left our jobs on our own we cannot do a professional judgment. This is crazy !!!!!They tell us education is the most important thing....lmao

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Perhaps one of you could be going to school while the other works and then do the reverse? Not ideal I know, but it may be the only way. Or could you sell the home and rent to save money? I worked a lot of hours at part time jobs when I was a nursing student, and I wouldn't call that ideal either, but it is possible. I'm sorry finances are an issue.

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I feel the sooner we complete our degrees the better. It's already difficult to get into the program. I don't want to risk it. My husband feels he has prolonged his education way too long. thanks for the advice.

Plus I just want to make sure the policies are correct and the financial adviser isn't lying. Due to moving to another city and because it's my choice I moved and lost my job. I can't do a special circumstances form? Does anyone know how this works?

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I'm not sure how it works at your school but when I applied for financial aid my efc was also high due to last years income. I only work part-time hours now and explained this to the financial aid advisor, who then told me to bring in my last two paystubs(biweekly) and it was adjusted based on my current income. Maybe you can ask to speak with someone else to find out if this allowed. Hope this helps.:uhoh21:

Erika

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.
I feel the sooner we complete our degrees the better. It's already difficult to get into the program. I don't want to risk it. My husband feels he has prolonged his education way too long. thanks for the advice.

Plus I just want to make sure the policies are correct and the financial adviser isn't lying. Due to moving to another city and because it's my choice I moved and lost my job. I can't do a special circumstances form? Does anyone know how this works?

I used to work in Financial Aid. Unfortunately they can be heartless. They usually don't have a lot of mercy on people that already have degrees, b/c they figure, "you already have a degree, why don't you have a job?" I know it's not fair. I've noticed that they usually approve people who said they had to drop classes b/c of work, and then they show in their letter how their situation has changed so that now they will be attending classes. I've rarely seen cases when they've had a lot of mercy on people that got sick, which really bothers me. The people who get sick usually have to jump through hoops to prove it(especially mental illness):angryfire and this makes me very upset. I don't know if each school is different. I hope everything works out for you.

P.S. I thought that Fergus had a good suggestion.

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Specializes in Jill of all trades, master of none?.

I feel for you! I've had similar problems financing my education, but I finally broke down and borrowed money from Sallie Mae so that I can work part time--you might contact them at www.Salliemae.com or 800-392-4856. Also, if you have been rolling at 0% (I do that too), you must have a decent credit rating. I was able to use a convenience check from one of my cards at a really low interest rate--have you checked with your credit cards to see if that is available? I took the money from both and stuck in in a savings account, so that I can divvy out what I need each month. I may have to live in a toolshed and drive my trusty Corolla for the rest of my life, lol, but I will get through school. Oh, one more thing--it is too late for this year, but between January and March, you might apply for every scholarship you can find. Even the small ones add up. Good luck!

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I feel for you! I've had similar problems financing my education, but I finally broke down and borrowed money from Sallie Mae so that I can work part time--you might contact them at www.Salliemae.com or 800-392-4856. Also, if you have been rolling at 0% (I do that too), you must have a decent credit rating. I was able to use a convenience check from one of my cards at a really low interest rate--have you checked with your credit cards to see if that is available? I took the money from both and stuck in in a savings account, so that I can divvy out what I need each month. I may have to live in a toolshed and drive my trusty Corolla for the rest of my life, lol, but I will get through school. Oh, one more thing--it is too late for this year, but between January and March, you might apply for every scholarship you can find. Even the small ones add up. Good luck!

thanks .

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Studnet Assistance Foundation. That is where my loans are through. You can check them out on the web @ http://www.safmt.org/. I got a really good rate on my loans. Hope this helps you. Oh! They are a non-profit organization, too.

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One thing to mention about Sallie Mae. My hubs had them et I had SAF. We could get a better rate with SAF et we wanted to consolidate for one payment with lower interest on his. Sallie Mae gave us a really hard time about releasing the loans. They wanted us to refinance through them et not with mine. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get them to release the loans for consolidation. Not sure if anyone else had this experience with them or not.

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Have you already been denied loans? My EFC was more than my estimated cost of attendance, plus it's a second bachelor's, and I still received enough loans to cover tuition and books with a little left over. I'm in FL too. My husband is not a student however - although he may consider finishing his degree after I graduate with my BSN and before I go back to grad school - we'd never dream of both being in school at the same time, but then he likes his job and it pays OK.

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just thinking - can you get a loan to pay off the school?

That way you would still be paying it back, but the school would be looked after so they give you your transcript.

When I was a nursing student, I asked at the bank for a car loan while I had a part-time job & attended classes. He said okay and asked me how much I thought that I could pay each month.

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Specializes in MSN, FNP-BC.
Perhaps one of you could be going to school while the other works and then do the reverse? Not ideal I know, but it may be the only way. Or could you sell the home and rent to save money? I worked a lot of hours at part time jobs when I was a nursing student, and I wouldn't call that ideal either, but it is possible. I'm sorry finances are an issue.

That's what my husband and I are doing. I'm in school right now and working PRN at a hospital which requires only two shifts per month but for the time being, I'm working about two per week because it's nice to have the extra money. When I graduate, the plan is for him to go back to school. Realistically he could go back now but we would both be so crabby and tired all the time that it would make for a not so good marriage.

If you have to wait it won't be that bad. Sometimes you have to sit back and see if it's really worth the extra stress or not.

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