Scholarships for a part-time student?

Question

Before you ask: yes, we have calls out to the college's financial aid department. No, they haven't called us back yet. Hence the reason I'm asking.

Background: My husband, now 31, went to Purdue to pursue a degree in engineering. He fell into the partying scene, became lazy and ended up droopping out just 1 semester away from graduation. It's in the past and now he wants to return to school soon to get a degree in k-12 education for teaching math.

Here are a few numbers for you:

- has 61 transferable hours (transcript is official released next month)

- will be getting the degree from a state university that offers distance learning and is known accross the region for its teaching college

- will be getting about 16-20 from a community college

- just paid off $5K from Purdue. Still have $25K from gov't. (I should mention: this loan and our mortgage are our only debt.)

Here are my questions (to follow):

Answer 1

The government has loan forgiveness practices in place now for people who take out certain loan types and then go into high demand teaching areas like math and science.  If he takes out loans he needs to make sure they are the kind that can be forgiven in this manner.  I'll attach a book that has a chart with the specifics.  

Also, he should check with the local Workforce Center (employment office) and ask to talk to a WIA (Workforce Investment Act) counselor.  This is a department of Labor funded program to sometimes pay for schooling for those who have a desire to go into high demand occupations.  What occupations they fund is greatly effected by where you live, but I have heard some WIA programs paying for math and science teachers.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You still need to apply for FAFSA, but I'm sure you knew that.  Frankly, there are very few scholarships for people going back to school.  And alot of scholarships are based on academics, and with your husband having fallen into the party scene, his grades may not be the best.  

What you both probably need to do is save every penny you can to pay for one semester, and be prepared to pay for it all yourself.  There will be scholarships, but he will have to work his butt off to earn them.  Also, going to school online actually cuts your scholarship chances.  Professors have alot to do with who gets scholarships, and being in their classroom helps you develop a relationship with them.  If he can, have him take evening classes instead of online.

The good thing is you should be able to stop paying his student loans temporarily if he goes back to school full time.