Get Free Help Filling Out FAFSA Forms

This coming Sunday, there will be free help to students around the country in filling out the federal student aid forms (FAFSA). College Goal Sunday will be observed this year on February 8th at locations all around the country. Find the place closest to you and contact them about getting assistance on the 8th.

 

Even if you can't get there Sunday, the College Goal page is a great source of information. For instance, did you know that you can apply for FAFSA even if your parents are undocumented? Or the newest online practice sheet? The blog page is a cornucopia of goodies for families and students.

 

And while you're at it, check out this listing of state student financial aid. Many states have financial aid unique to their students.

Tuition Assistance for Active Military--State and Federal Levels

Much is written about veterans and their educational benefits, but there's financial aid for active military members, too.  The website MilitaryTA (tuition assistance) pulls several things together: eligibility, how to apply, and amount of aid for the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard.

There are also links with information on tuition and financial aid for active members of the military in each state--like many types of assistance, there are programs on the state as well as the federal level.  There are also some state programs for veterans, spouses, and the children of veterans, and these are linked, too.  Every state is different, so check them out.  Some of the benefits may be listed at state veteran's offices, or they may be listed in state offices of higher education.  Try them both as well as Military TA.

Detroit High School Graduates Can Get a 2 Year Degree. For Free.

If you apply before June 30th, 2013 graduates of high schools in the city of Detroit (NOT ONLY Detroit Public Schools) can get a path to a free 2 year degree from a local community college.  Here's how: the Detroit Scholarship Fund will pay for the cost of school beyond what Pell and TIP can pay (but you must apply for those), if you attend one of these two-year schools: Henry Ford, Macomb, Oakland, Schoolcraft, and Wayne County Community College.  Just register by June 30th, 2013, and you could go through the first 2 years of your post-high school, free. 

Also, check out this article on other financial aid opportunities for community college students.

Financial Aid for Deafness and Hearing Loss

Several sources of legit money to help with hearing loss exist, mostly with lower cost or free hearing aids and some resources for cochlear implants.  However, some educational money exists as well.

For hearing aids, Miracle Ear has no-cost hearing aids for low income children who are 16 or younger.  The Alliance for Accessible Hearing Care has low-cost hearing aids for qualified applicants, adult or children.  The Starkey Hearing Foundation's So the World May Hear program donates recycled hearing aids to needy applicants. 

In the area of cochlear implants, a couple of organizations may help.  The Gift of Hearing Foundation does provide aid, but does NOT take applications directly from patients--only referrals from implant providers.  Contact your implant providers for a referral.  The Colorado Neurological Institute provides financial assistance for cochlear implants and also the Baha device.  For information on other resources, see this article by Cochlear Ltd.--it's a few years old, but the links still hold up.

There are some other listings of financial aid information, including this one from Gallaudet College and the Hearing Loss Association.

Finally, there's some help in getting private education for children with moderate to profound hearing loss in the K-12 grade level and pre-school educational intervention for children from the Alexander Graham Bell Foundation.

Getting Four Years of College, But Paying Less. Part II

A short while ago, we put up a piece on working towards a four year degree without paying for four years at a university.  Here's some more ideas.

Besides advanced placement testing to "test out" of taking classes whose knowledge base you already have, at many high schools, you may have the option of "dual enrollment."  A college or university may offer college classes at a high school, taught by high school teachers, for which students can get college credit.  You might want to ask your local school if they offer this.  For a look at this and a comparison with advanced placement, see this article from Princeton Review.

Another possibility aimed at disadvantaged students--those who are first-time college attendees or minorities--is early college.  There are over 240 in the United States.  These institutions are kept deliberately small to give extra attention to the students, and they are designed to increase the chance for these students to complete college by creating a challenging curriculum over four years that will end with students obtaining an associate's degree, and well on their way to a four year degree.  Your chances of getting in are limited because classes are so small--only 400 students for the whole school.  But if you fall into a group of students that your local early college targets, it might be worth your while.

Getting Four Years of College, But Paying a Lot Less

In snooping around for a cheaper college education, sometimes stuff is hiding in plain sight.  There's a real problem with debt run up to get a four-year degree, and the impact it leaves on the debtor's lives.  While I've written about student loans and possible remedies for them, another path is to not dig that debt hole. 

The Ohio Board of Regents website devotes a whole page to low-cost pathways to getting a four year degree in Ohio through community college/university partnerships, in which universities accept all the credits gained through less expensive community colleges.  And if you are a veteran, many colleges now accept military experience as university credit.  On this page, you can find out what military experience transfers directly to college credit for participating universities around the country, and what previous college classes will be credited with at participating colleges. In fact, there's a page that Ohio has a page dedicated to high school students which can tell you what your advanced placement test exams translate into (credit and class-wise) among the public colleges and universities in the state system.  There's also a page to convert high school career/technical courses to credit, and college-to-college credit (within the state of Ohio).  There's lots of ways to get a four year degree without four years of major college debt.

Check out your own state's department of higher education for more information on your own state.  Contact the school you want to attend to see what classes you can "test out of" with advanced placement testing.  If you are a veteran, check your university for the office of veteran's support and resources.  While all universities are different in what they accept and credit, the American Council on Education has recommendations for military experience credit, and it might give you ideas of what to expect.

Some Follow-Up on Appealing FAFSA Decisions and Job Retraining

Readers sometimes write.  We got a good posting from an anonymous person the other day, full of good stuff, and worth posting for more readers. It was written in response to a posting on retraining/education for older workers:

FAFSA does indeed use an applicant's previous year's tax return to make financial aid decisions BUT the decisions (usually "turndowns") can be appealed with the information about the applicant's current status. This requires "lead time" so a prospective student for Fall 2013 should begin the process no later than January 2013 - because by April 2013 the grants, need scholarships and federal loan availability will largely already be spoken for. SECOND beware of the "Plus" programs, not all are good. In my area (Oregon) the "Plus" program only gets you trained for and then employed in a minimum wage/part-time call center job - few people's idea of gainful employment - a minimum wage part time (20-30 hours) job isn't even a decent "survival" job. THIRD - in some states there is a federal continuing education grant offered through a state's unemployment department twice yearly.

1) On the possibility of appealing the decision to not provide financial aid for a student because of changing financial circumstances, such as a job loss.  Anonymous states that you can do this, and a check of various college, university and government websites prove that this is true.  In fact, some institutions have several forms depending on the cause of the appeal--job losss, loss of dependency on parents, etc.  When you are hit with unemployment or another disaster you should check with the institution that turned you down.  But the devil of it is that you still need some "lead time" to appeal while the institution still has funds available.  If you have a calamity after they run out of money, you're still stuck.

2)  "Beware of PLUS programs."  The funding behind the PLUS program that I mentioned as a career training program for people over 50 in that same entry is specifically to enter careers in health care, education and social services, but many programs aim to retrain workers, may use the word PLUS, and essentially train you for stuff that is low-paying and a waste of time.  You should beware of PLUS as much as any other offer for job training.  Take the time to check out how well-paying and in-demand the job for which you would be training is. In this entry, I mention some research you can do to find out.  You can also check the salaries in job sites for positions offered in indeed.com. 

3) Some states do offer job retraining through whatever agency handles unemployment in your state in various forms and guises, because it may come through different federal funding streams.  It may be twice a year, or it may be continuous.  And by "continuous," we mean until the money runs out.  And since a program might be funded by programs meant to serve different constituencies (displaced workers, veterans, etc), there might be funding for you if you fall into one category of worker, but not another.   Still, the department that handles unemployment claims is an underrated source of retraining money.  In this blog, we have covered stuff from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Families, including their listing of eligible training places that you can get funding to enter (when the department has money for your type of worker).    To identify the department in charge of unemployment in your state, see this site, then check out the site for worker and job retraining, or contact them.

 

What Are Plus 50 Unemployed People to Do? Possible Retraining Courses of Action

A few weeks ago I got a heartfelt comment from an over 50, unemployed anonoymous person who was between a rock and a hard place.  He or she pointed out that many scholarships and financial assistance programs are not set up for people over 50, or for people who have suffered a sudden reversal of fortune--say, who were thrown out of work and don't have time for that loss of income to be reflected in their FAFSA documents.  What are such people to do?

I didn't have a very good answer at the time, except for commisseration, which isn't much of an answer at all.  I could have linked to other entries on money for retraining, which would have been better.  But this week, I was turned on to another possible avenue of help.

It seems that Owens College near Toledo has been chosen as one of the recipients of a grant from the Plus 50 Initiative, which is a program by the American Association of Community Colleges to broaden educational opportunities for baby boomers.  The goal of the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program, a part of the program, "aims to help 10,000 baby boomers earn high-value degrees or certificates in key fields that give back (education, healthcare, social services) by 2014."  Right now, Owens College's program consists of a reduced-cost program to help people prepare for the job search and overcome work barriers.  It will expand in the near future to programs that will help potential workers over 50 to prepare for careers in these three areas, with emphasis on high-demand careers.  For Toledo-area boomers interested in the program, call Gary Corrigan at 567-661-7455.

If you're not in Toledo, you can check out your nearest community college to see if they are part of the Plus 50 Initiative.  The Plus 50 link above listed some of the original participating community colleges, but a distressing number of links are dead.  If you call your local community college, ask for the department dealing with continuing education, or for the Plus 50 program.  They may have a lower-cost program dedicated to helping you recareer.

School Vouchers On the Move

One of the shake-ups taking place on the state level across the country to to establish or expland not only charter schools, but the availability of vouchers to parents who wish to send their children to private schools.  In Indiana, a new law takes effect that creates vouchers on income. A family of four earning less than $41,000 a year is entitled to a $4,500 voucher for a student in grades one through eight and $4,964 for a high school student. Families of four that earn between $41,000 and $61,000 can receive up to $2,758 per student in any grade. The voucher bill law also includes a tax deduction of $1,000 for each child currently enrolled in a private school or home school.  However, the number of students eligible will be limited for the first two years.  For more information on the new tax credit and voucher program, see here.


Wisconsin is moving to expand its voucher programs outside of Milwaukee, and Ohio is edging towards expanding public financial support for attendance of private schools beyond the current program, which allows vouchers for kids in academically failing schools.

But the latter two states have not had everything hashed out just yet.  For the most up-to-date information on your state, see the map here and click your state on school privatization support.  It's biased in a pro-voucher way, so you can interpret the analyis of pro/con at your own discretion, but it is well updated, and if you want to see what your options are to support your kid attending private school, this might  be a good place to start.  Another place is at the website of your state's Education Department. 

Some more ideas: scholarship providers for private schools, the MSU website for individual education grants,  and more state, regional, and local scholarship and voucher programs.

A New Way to Use GI Bill Benefits...for Your Spouse or Children

Service members looking for a new way to help their family members attend school now have another option.  In 2009, the VA offered the opportunity to transfer GI Bill education benefits from eligible veterans to their spouses and children.   To be eligible, a service member has to have 10 years in active duty or select reserve, or six years with a committment for four more.  Spouses can use the benefit for up to 15 years after separation from the military, while children aren't bound by the separation date, but must be 26 years old or less.  The benefits can be used by one person in the family, or split among eligible family members. 

Go to the transfer eligibility website to see if you are able to get this transfer, then your family members can apply for it.  Then, family members can apply for the benefit.

A List of Stuff to Check for Your College Scholarship

The first place to check is...the school or schools that you are considering.  Many scholarships are offered at only one school, not all of them.  Therefore, the famous scholarship for left-handed student that everybody asks about is only available at Juniata College, because an alumna at that school gave them the money for it.  So see what is available through the scholarship web page of the school(s) you are thinking about. 
Another place your local service clubs, like the Lions, Rotary, Optimists, etc..  Many local chapters will set up scholarships for local students. 
State, local, and national organizations in your future line of work.  Check the Gale Encyclopedia of Organizations for national and state organizations.  For example the American Culinary Federation, which has a national scholarship program, and has links to other scholarship programs for professional cooking specialties, as well as scholarships for specific schools. Here's more scholarships for culinary school from the Reluctant Gourmet. On a local level, the Maumee Valley chapter of the ACF has its own scholarship program for Toledo-area students.
Check the governing body of public higher education in your state.  Every state has one, and there are often statewide scholarship or financial aid programs that originate there.  Check out the agency for your state, and see if there is anything for you. 
And if you are a high-school student or the parent of one, start looking around in the beginning of junior year so that you have plenty of time to get the lay of the land and apply.
Check some of our other entries on scholarships, too. 

Another Place to Look for Funding for K-12 Education

Here's another source to explore funding for K-12 private education: the Center for Education Reform lists organizations that give local and regional grants to parents who want their children to attend private schools but don't have the means. See this link, too.

For-Profit Schools and You

The Department of Education published proposals to change the rules by which for-profit secondary and vocational schools are eligible for student aid. It’s crucial because for many institution, this eligibility is their bread and butter—no federal aid, no students. The feds have been concerned about the low federal loan repayment rate from students of these institutions (at about 36%, even though the rate for nonprofit and state institutions are not anything to write home about, either—barely more than half). Even worse is a report by the Education Trust, in which they reported that for profit schools have a six-year graduation rate of about 22%.  More to the point, the feds feel that students are oversold on expensive courses of study that will not result in equally high-paying jobs, leaving the Department of Education on the hook for those loans. Under the proposed rules, institutions would have to have a track record of fairly decent repayment among their graduates, and/or their graduate would have to make money that makes them “gainfully employed,” (with a student debt/earning ratio of 12% of their total income, or 30% of their discretionary income. Schools that fall in-between may have restricted eligibility for student aid. The final rules are expected by November 1st.
In the meantime: how do you protect yourself from acquiring an overpriced, worthless piece of paper?
1) Check all the schools in your area for programs in which you are interested. See which ones may be less expensive. See which ones offer different types of aid. How much of the expenses does that aid cover? And, if the aid is in the form of a loan, it’s still not at all worthwhile unless you graduate and make the money to cover it. Could you study the same thing more cheaply at another school in your area? If your library has it, look at the College Blue Book's volume on occupational education, and the volume on college majors to find all schools that carry a particular program.
2) Check out the occupation that you want to enter. Does it require accreditation or graduation from an accredited program? Is the institution you are considering accredited? If not, your education may be entirely wasted, and your job prospects dim. Go to your library and find some national professional organizations for that profession and see if they give accreditation (for instance, the American Library Association accredits library schools. In many places, only graduates of these programs are considered for higher-ranking or even entry positions.)
3) Watch out for the hard sell and misleading information. This problem was featured prominently in the GAO report. If a person from the institution says the occupation is high-paying, there are ways of checking this out. Above all, don’t sign anything right away. If the school is a good deal, it will still be a good deal after a couple of day’s investigation. Also, use sources like the online Occupational Outlook Handbook to see what the job outlook is for that profession, and what you can reasonably expect to make.
4) Does your state require a license to practice that occupation? If so, what are the requirements? Would this school help you obtain them? A good place to start is Govspot. Click on your state and find the part re: licensing. See if your occupation needs a license. Call the state licensing board for that occupation and find out what their requirements are.

***Update***: the U.S. Department of Justice and the states of California, Florida, Illinois and Indiana have filed a massive fraud suit against Education Management, claiming that the second largest for-profit higher education company in the country: "...consistently violated federal law by paying recruiters based on how many students it enrolled. The suit said that each year, Education Management falsely certified that it was complying with the law, making it eligible to receive student financial aid."  Stay tuned.

Free Online Training Vouchers Open Up in Ohio...and Elsewhere.

If you wanted some online training in a Microsoft product—and, for employment purposes, would like to be certified in it—Microsoft has brought its Elevate America program to Ohio. It’s the 32nd state to participate in the program, which gives vouchers for free online classes and certification. To participate, you need to contact the Adult Workforce Education Center near you, and arrange to get the vouchers. Nearly 60,000 vouchers will be available in the state for products like Office 2007 and 2003, Windows Vista, and IT Professional Products. If you need to strengthen your basic skills beforehand, Microsoft also offers a free online tutorial to help you bone up. All vouchers must be claimed and accessed by August 26th.

If you are not an Ohio resident, you can check your own state for eligibility. However, they don't update their own map much, but this will give you some q and a.

Educational Opportunities for Veterans and Their Families

Via the office of Ohio State Representative Barbara Sears (District 46), there is a pamphlet with links to information about help and opportunities for veterans (insert frowny face here, because she didn't create an online resource.) But I'll put some of them up for Memorial Day.

One whole page is devoted to links about education and training opportunities available to veterans and their families. Among them are links to a page on the GI bill, the Ohio Department of AMVETS job skills training program, and the Ohio jobs skills training program for veterans through the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. Ohio's GI Promise program is a bit hazier--from what I can read, it involves broadening the eligibility for in-state tuition rates for veterans and their families, and some cooperative work between the public and private sectors to create more opportunities from veterans, and is still evolving.

Then there are the scholarships, like the Ohio War Orphans Scholarship, the Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program (offering a fully paid scholarship to a public Ohio college or university, and an equal monetary scholarship for a private school, after committing to a six year Guard enrollment), the AMVETS scholarships for the kin of wartime veterans, and the American Legion American Legacy Scholarship.

What About Money to Go to School BEFORE College?

One of the thorniest questions I get as a librarian is how to find money for K-12 private education. It's not easy. There are few sources, and often the wait is long. But a few sources of information exist that are worth checking out.

One is the page on financing a private school education by the National Association of Independent Schools. That, in turn, provides a link to organizations that provide scholarships to private schools. Note, however, that these are arranged by state. Many funders give to particular geographic areas. In addition, some of these organizations only give to the schools, not the students.

Another place to look is at Jon Harrison's page at Michigan State University on precollege scholarships. While it's heavy on Michigan resources, it has other states, too.

In the state of Ohio, some children get an interesting option from the state: if they live in a school district that has substandard schools, they may be eligible for scholarships to attend private schools in the area (EdChoice).

In the Toledo area, the Northwest Ohio Scholarship Fund, Inc. makes scholarships to low-income K-8 grade children in Lucas, Fulton, or Wood counties to attend non-public schools as funds become available. If they are not, parents can apply to be put on a waiting list. When the funds do become available, a lottery is held for the eligible recipients, but the demand is huge, and the funds not nearly as much. Maximum scholarship is $1,000, and families must make a minimum contribution of $500 per year. Currently, 71 area schools qualify as recipient schools. Income requirements apply. For more information, call 419-244-6711, extension 219. In Michigan, the Education Freedom Fund provides scholarships for children to attend private schools, also with a minimum contribution by parents of $500 a year. Contact them at (616)459-2222.

Stuff Out There For Working Moms

A short post about some resources for working moms trying to get back to school:

Project Working Mom is a project of ELearning and various online schools that provide some information on finding money for online learning programs.

Singlemom.com has information on general scholarships and loans, but check the bottom of the page for programs aimed at single mothers.

Scholarship4Moms.net is another program for single parents. It offers scholarships of up to $10,000.