Financial Aid question...new grads?

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

I am going to be starting nursing school in July. Currently, hubby and I both have full time jobs. I will be quitting my full time job soon. I don't have any experience with Federal Financial Aid, but I filled out the FAFSA. Right now, hubby and I are not hurting for $$ but we do already have debt payments that take a chunk of my income. While we have some savings, when I quit my job, we are going to have to use some of that money for the debt payments and I plan to work atleast PT.

Problem is, I don't know how this works. I did the FAFSA and it said that my EFC was in the area of $17,000. I plan to go to a community college that will cost around $5,000-$6,000. I get that I won't get "free" money, but would I still qualify for some student loan programs? I was looking at getting a loan thru a lender that offers a 0.12 interest rate if you are attending a nursing program within Az or Ca. Would my situation change if I quit my job? Or would it only change next year when I fill out the FAFSA for this year?

Bottom line is..........I need some sort of aid to go to this two year program. Even if I can make just enough PT to cover my share of the bills, I will need more $ to pay for just school.

Do I still have options even though my EFC is high and the cost for this school is low? I have really good credit. In addition, should I even bother applying for any scholarships?

Thanks for any/all info....

[AnnaN5]

Some schools will take into account that you will be quitting your job and not making the same amount of money that you stated on your FAFSA. You should go to your financial aid office and see if they have a form you can fill out for a change in income. Back when I had to use my parents income info on my FAFSA my mom ended up losing her job and we were able to fill out an income change form and they adjusted our EFC a little. I'm assuming that most schools have something like that.

While you may not qualify for "free money", pretty much everyone is offered low interest federal loans. There are Subsidized Direct Loans that are from the government, do not accrue interest while you are going to school and have a low interest rate when you go into repayment. My interest rate on my loans is 2.8% which is tons better than any private bank loans I looked into.

Of course it never hurts to apply for scholarships. Some are need based but there are a lot out there for nursing students regardless of income. Also look into hospitals in your area to see if they have some sort of scholarship program or if they have tuition reimbursement. My employer will give me $1000 a year for tuition and I'm not even employed by a hospital.