How do you pay for School

Hello there! I'm on the waiting list for Meramec! Which campus are you applying to?

Have you completed your FAFSA to determine whether you are eligible for any subsidized loans or grants? (Home - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid ) This should be the first step. Any college financial aid office can help you with this process if you have questions.

Most people use federal financial aid, loans or money from family to pay for school. Fill the FAFSA Form right away in Jan. because aid is given on a first come, first served basis. If you need to quit your job to attend school, have daycare expenses for your children, have a major car repair, or any other mitigating circumstance you can go to your school's financial aid office and file an appeal, which will have them take another look at your aid package and see if there is more available to you. Be very cool to the people in financial aid and ask for them to help you find grants and aid that does not have to be repaid, rather than loans.

Fill out the scholarship application at your school's financial aid office. There are good books at the public library on scholarships you can apply for. Sometimes scholarships can take away from your aid package. That's good if it lessens the amount of loans you'll need to repay, but sometimes scholarships can cause you to get less aid then you would have without them. Before accepting any scholarships make sure to meet with a financial aid rep at your school and make sure it will help you, rather than hurt you.

I took out loans :-/ I didn't get a lot because going back to school was kind of a last minute decision and I didn't apply until late summer. It was just enough for tuition and a little more though, which is all I really needed. I would definitely apply for it. You can always choose not to accept some or any of it. After this year I'm going to start making payments on them too so that the interest isn't so bad when I get out.

There are TONS of scholarships and even sweepstakes on fastweb and similar sites. Almost obnoxiously so. Not a bad idea to sign up on there and see what you can qualify for. You never know, sometimes there's scholarships for asthmatic nontraditional half Finnish students from Alabama that you might be the only one applying for lol.

I work part time at a doctors office and have financial aid. Next semester I'm applying for a scholarship. I also joined the NSNA (National Student Nurses Association) - they have different scholarships available based on need, merit, etc. I will be applying for those also since I still have to pay a portion of tuition

I'm going to go to Maryville and the tuition is comparable to UMSL. So far, I have been able to do it all through PELL grant (mostly bc I took prereques at SCC) and a $4000 loan from my brother in law.

When I actually start the nursing program there in the fall, I will have to take out loans. It's expensive but in my opinion it's worth it! I still get the PELL grant too and have applied for scholarships too.

God luck with school!!!

Out of pocket. I work and I am not eligible for financial aid so I pay out of pocket for school.

Out of pocket/personal loans

I pay out of pocket at a community college. I am applying for some scholarships to see if I can get anything. I will be applying this spring also for next fall and will hopefully get in. I can't afford a 2 year wait.

I'm a service-disabled veteran, so I'm in the VA's vocational rehab program. They pay my tuition, books, and associated costs, along with a stipend. I also have received grants and loans, since my husband works from home and isn't yet making enough to sustain the house.

Dallas I will be applying to them all. However, I want STLCCMC more due to my location in the bi-state area.

Thanks, Its nice to know I am not the only one paying for everything out of pocket. I'll actually fill out the forms this year to see if I qualify for PELL or anything. Thanks for the information.