Mother of five starting college late HELP! Online courses waste of time? Where are all the grants available?

Question

I am a mother of five & I have recently decided to stop avoiding college & just do it! I want to make enough money to live comfortably but with gas & grocery costs it is impossible without a degree but I will need to work while in school. Are online colleges like University of Phoenix worthwhile degrees? FAFSA only pays like 4K a yr but college is like 14K a yr. Is there a way to go to school and avoid a 40K debt in the end? I hear there is help for us parents but I can't find it anywhere. HELP! Thanks. xoxo Misty

Answer 1

First of all, congratulations on going back to school. I'm 54, just finishing my BBA and going on to a masters in Forensic Accounting.

There are MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of scholarships- if your Mom was in the PTA, if you drive a Ford, if you're a displaced home maker...the list goes on and on. Google it sometime. OR ask a college advisor. Grants largely depend on your income, and it has to be low. Of course, for a mother of 5, every income is low! Pick a school, see a counselor!

I go on line to Davenport University (www.davenport.edu) and I love it. I won't go back to class unless I'm forced to. I can work on my schedule, goof off one day, work twice as hard the next. And they don't put "on line" on your degree. I know Davenport is cheaper than Phoenix because I compared them. Davenport is based in  Grand Rapids, MI, but of course goes anywhere.

Go for it, girl!

Answer 2

paying less than 850 with books tution diploma ect

http://www.pennfoster.com

i make monthly payments..they have many different classes to chose from and you can go at your own pace!

anyways...good luck and good for you girl!!  

Answer 3

May be this site can help you

http://www.sgpak.com

Answer 4

Visit this site

http://www.a1onlinecourses.com

Here you will find enough information that will help you solving your question.

Answer 5

Misty:

First of all, good for you!!  I too am a mother who went back to college and graduated two years ago.  Believe me, it will be worth it if you can get into the right program at the right school.  You need to do your research, though.  Beware of online schools like Phoenix, Kaplan, or others who may not be accredited.  If an online degree is best for you, look for legitimate programs at well known schools.  They may be more, but at least you know what you are getting.  If a local school is an option, look into community colleges to take "core" classes.  These classes are basic (Eng 101, History 101, etc.), cheaper, and they easily transfer to other colleges or universities.  As for assistance, look into scholarships being offered at your school.  I was able to secure a returning adult scholarship each year.  Also, look into state programs which might provide grant money.  Again, I was able to secure a Pell Grant from PA.  Finally, go to your local library.  They might have materials/books to assist you with finding money.  Good luck and email me if you have any more questions. :)  

Oh, if you are going into the medical field, look into local nursing homes or hospitals that may offer reduced or free training in exchange for employment.  Also, look into state or federal jobs.  There are a lot of great paying jobs which don't even require schooling.  

Answer 6

I want to go into greater detail about why you should pursue education, but let me make a few things clear from the start:

Check out the Princeton Review's list of school's with the best financial aid.

The average amount of debt a kid leaves school with is about 18-grand.

In-state tuition at a public school will usually be your best option from a financial standpoint. For instance, last time I checked the tuition at UIC (an awful school) was 6 grand for illinois residents, and if you are super poor you can get close to 4 grand in Pell grant money from the government, and that doesn't have to be paid back.

The only other way to avoid debt besides federal grant money is through institutional aid (money from the school) and scholarships (public and private). Institutional aid amounts to a school cutting its sticker price (often because they're having touble recruiting and want the federal money you will bring); they'll do this if you make them feel you'll stick around for four years and hence provide four years of revenue.

Education is noble and beautiful; growing in awareness is the responsibility of anyone interested in living as opposed to merely surviving.

There are many ways to become educated, and some of the best ways do not involve crushing debt.

Phoenix is a scam cooked up by ex-professors who lobbied congress to make their "school" eligible for federal aid.

A degree from Phoenix will not improve your earnings potential as you will not learn any directly applicable skills even in the abstract (giving Phoenix the benefit of the doubt that they don't deserve). Any employer that will open a door for you a crack because of a Phoenix degree, will open it all the way if you present youself to them as not a complete dumbass. You can expect the door to be flung open if you have some experience, which is a billion times more meaningful to an employer than any degree, muchless a Phoenix degree. In short, a Phoenix degree, and pretty much any online degree, means nothing to employers you cannot already be hired by.

You don't get taught anything, really, when you study online--instead you pay to be evaluated by either hack adjunct faculty or kids that just got their masters and have no clue how to teach or evaluate under perfect circumstances, muchless online. In short, you're paying to be judged by someone who hasn't really earned the right to do it yet at the college level.

The only decent online programs are Penn State's and Maryland's (in that the evaluation you will recieve will be reasonably competent; your grades will mean something).

Paying to be evaluated is a very insecure thing to do, and usually doesn't wind up making you feel better about yourself.

Any intellegent person realizes that when they complete a Phoenix degree, that it was a rather hollow accomplishment. Phoenix scams it's students and there's a very good New York Times article on this from a about 16 months ago. Most leave with a bitter taste in their mouth and the others willfully delude themselves.

The entire second-tier (and lower) of higher education is made up of schools that are glorified diploma mills, and they are either public or "non-profit" ventures--that is, they s***w their students royal. What do you think a "for profit" corporation will do to you? Answer: sell you a useless, meaningless piece of paper. You can derive the full benefit of what Phoenix does by getting your hands on a course plan and reading the required reading yourself and then spending time thinking about those readings and talking about them with pals. In fact, thats probably a good deal better than Phoenix.

The state of higher education is so bad that loads of emplyers do not trust their recent graduate hires to write simple business letter. They no going in that their new hires know nothing, have no skill, and will have to be trained from the ground up. With guile, you can have them make that investment in you without having a degree.

Now, why you should pursue education. Pursuing a degree at this stage in your life with five kids is an honorble and difficult thing to do. If you do it, you should do it to expand you intellectual horizons becuase the practical advantages will be mostly lost to you. Realize that a 21-year-old graduate will take their piece of paper into the world and barely cut any ice with it. A degree, today (from a non-elite school) is generally a ticket into the lower middle class. But for a woman in her age, it may be worth even less from a financial standpoint.

The point is, an average degree opens meager doors. Not all degrees are created equal, and some degrees open no doors. People that wind up making more than $35,000 a year, never needed a piece of paper to get to where they got.