School Payments

[Alfonso]

Hello, I was wondering if anybody knows the best way to finance school through loans or another source of payment other than a 9-5 job. I mean since i would like to focus on school so work would not really be an option. Thanks for you time.

[hermione]

Try the financial aid department of whichever school you're attending or applying to and see if you qualify for any financial assistance or scholarships. There are many kinds of scholarships for various types of people - field of study, income level, gender, ethnicity (minorities), background, etc.

Even if your school doesn't offer many options, there are many organizations that do - non-profits, companies, and the government. You can probably search and apply online for scholarships these days. Just be careful and make sure the site is reputable and established.

[gt0163c]

Depending on your school and major, a co-op program might be possible. Generally a full co-op program takes five years to complete, but for the middle three years you alternate terms between working full time for a company in your field and going to school full time. Depending on the company, school and such, it's often possible to be flexible with what terms and the number of terms thatare worked, when you start working, etc.
I was able to pay for about three quarters of my degree through my co-op job.

[72Tiger]

Part time work is a good option if you can't do 9-5. Look into scholarships, internships, co-ops, junior college to start, living at home, etc. Any little bit that you can avoid borrowing is a good thing.

If the school you are looking at has a work-study program, try to get hooked up with it. A lot of those positions are very flexible when it comes to working around your classes.

[Megan]

Don't ignore the small, locally offered scholarships. Lots of places offer $100 scholarships, which might not seem like much, but that's $100 less you have to borrow from somewhere. I have a friend who financed a chunk of college this way.