Loans in Community College

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I have one year of pre-reqs (chem and lab, micro and lab, a+p2 and lab, growth and devel and one other minor class) before I can apply to a two year ADN or a one year accelerated ADN. The CC said that I should "save" my four semester's worth of loans I can use for the program when/if I get in. Since they were considered a two year college, their students only have access to two years worth of loans. What if a student is going PT? Does this mean that I cannot use loans to complete my pre-reqs? Also, I have a previous BA in Theater (code for waitress) that allows me to skip many pre-reqs. It also causes me to submit an appeal to the school in order to receive aid since I have a lot of credits. Simply put, I already went to school and got a worthless degree (in this economy). The cost of the program is not the problem, it is the cost of living while in the program. I now have a two year old and her dad in my life (not technically married, but it's just a piece of paper). Unless I can get loans to cover my COL while in school ($1800/mo), I can't do this until I save enough to pay out of pocket. Which will take about 5 years. PT won't work because I would have to demote myself at work to set my schedule to attend school (won't bring in enough to live on), so it's sort of all or nothing. Advice and/or resources are appreciated!

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Sweetie I hate to break it to you but you will not be brining home $1800 a month even if you got the maximum student loans! Perhaps it's time to take a look at your budget and become more frugal. I am a single mom and have to work as a CNA while in school to pay rent and have to max out on student loans to pay for my kids daycare!

I would suggest becoming a CNA and working while taking pre-reqs part time. Good luck

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nope, not an option. CNA's make 9/hr where I live and there's no way I can take a $4 or $5/hr pay cut. If I demoted myself I'd still make over $9/hr and still get all my benefits. I'd love to get experience in healthcare, but health insurance / healthy food for my daughter comes first. $1800/mo covers three people. I don't think you can get more frugal than that, unfortunately. We take the bus, don't have cable, use internet at friends houses, have basic phone plans without fancy phones. We meal plan and coupon. We don't eat out or have an entertainment or clothing budget. We would have to dowgrade to a studio apartment to get cheaper rent and that would only save a couple hundred a month. Not worth it because our daughter would never be able to sleep with everyone in the same room and me coming home from work at all hours of the night. The only thing we could become more frugal in would be canceling the health insurance and eating rice and beans, which I'm not willing to subject my daughter to since she's 2 and nutrition is crucial to her right now. Currently we are not far from that, but fruits and veggies are expensive, but necessary for her! Thanks for the advice though! I'm always looking for ways to cut down on costs. I love Dave Ramsey's quote "Live today like no one else so you can live tomorrow like NO ONE ELSE!". I was able to pay down $5400 in debt this past year on a salary of $23K with a child to support and a husband with a job loss! What seems impossible can be possible, it's all in how you get there. Does anyone know if 4 semesters / 2 yrs of loans are all that are you can take out for CC? As in, no loans for pre-reqs?

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Also, I have a previous BA in Theater (code for waitress) that allows me to skip many pre-reqs.

lol Many of us here have this kind of degree!

I am paying cash, but after slowly working through my science pre-reqs, I got a letter from the school saying it had taken me too long and I was no longer eligible to apply for financial aid. Annoying. I'm not sure how they expect people to do it. Get in touch with a financial aid advisor and see what they can do for you.

Good luck!

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