Sources of Money 4: Back to College Cash for Non-Traditional Students

On Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid available to help you pay for college

Jayne, in her early 40’s, had to go back to college when her husband left her. They had married young and had the first of their four children within 18 months. Jayne had dropped out of college to raise their children. Her husband’s salary provided nicely for the family, so she had stayed home with the children. Now, with four children ranging from 12-22 she faced going back to school with almost no money to pay for it. She attended one of our workshops, worked with the coaches, and with a community program for single mothers. She obtained enough scholarships and grants to pay tuition, books, fees, and partial housing for all four years in a nursing program.

Good Resource for Adults Returning to College

Back to College (wwwback2college.com) bills itself as “an all-in-one resource for the adult returning to college.” They provide a dazzling, almost overwhelming, amount of information and helps for adults. This web site, offered by WD Communications, offers much more than scholarship searches. They include:

• Ask the Experts and FAQ on all subjects relating to going back to college
• Scholarships for Re-entry students: Grants and Retraining Assistance for Adults Returning to College is a $39.95 downloadable (PDF) “Guide for adult students”
• Their free newsletter “provides news, features, and resource updates (including information on financial aid and new degree programs) each month.”
• Search engine to find a degree program that is right for you
• Advice on choosing what you want to do in your career
• Forums that allow you to connect with other adults returning to college
• Links to sources of discounted textbooks
• Excellent list of books about returning to college later in life

Cautions About Back to College

Be aware of a few challenges when using the site

• The home page is so busy with offers that you may have difficulty discerning ads from legitimate content
• Limited free listings for financial aid (they want you to buy the book)

Thursday we outline some of the questions asked on scholarship applications