Finding Money to Go Back to School

A recent layoff might have you thinking about returning to school in hopes of finding a new career and making more money. Or maybe you’re ready to ditch your 9-to-5 so you can pursue work that ignites your passion. Whatever your reason for going back to school, you are not alone. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, enrollment of students age 25 and older rose 42% between 2000 and 2010. Much of this is due to increased unemployment as a result of corporate layoffs.

However, the cost of education grew as well. In the 2007—2008 academic year, the average total price comprising tuition, fees, books, materials, and living expenses for one year of a master’s degree program was $34,600, up from $32,000 in the 2003—2004 school year.

Participants of the recent black enterprise/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation symposium, “Today’s Business Crisis: Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce,” in Charlotte, North Carolina, maintained that institutions, government, and business must work together to make post-secondary education affordable. Ronald L. Carter, Ph.D., president of Johnson C. Smith University, maintains that colleges and universities “must embrace nontraditional students”–those 25 years and older. The HBCU has created flexible academic offerings and tuition options as part of its Metropolitan College adult degree programs. For more innovative post-secondary initiatives, read our report on BlackEnterprise.com.

Fortunately, there is aid available to just about anyone who wants to go back to college. Read on and discover how you can finance your career-change education.

Devise a budget.
One of the biggest mistakes adult students make when returning to school is not preparing. “A lot of times, adult students seem to make the decision to go–and then just go,” says Cynde Quinn, director of college finance at EdAssist, a division of Bright Horizons, which provides work/life and tuition advisory services to employers, as well as on-site childcare. Instead, Quinn advises that adults create a budget first and then spend at least a year researching schools and financial options.

“They need to do a budget to find out what type of capital they have available per month. Chances are, they’re going to have some out-of-pocket expenses,” says Quinn. Besides tuition, adult students must plan for commuting costs, books, and living expenses.

Quinn says, “Before we get to what type of loan to apply for and what type of resources one needs to pursue, adult students have to determine what resources and expenses they have now.”

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See what the federal government has to offer.
The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, should be the first stop for anyone seeking education funding. FAFSA is used by nearly all colleges and universities to determine eligibility for federal, state, and college-sponsored financial aid, including grants, educational loans, and work-study programs.

It’s best not to wait to be accepted to a graduate program before completing the FAFSA. You should apply early, during the application submission process, because financial aid is usually awarded at the same time as the acceptance letters.

“There are federal student loans available for the majority of people who apply,” says Quinn.  Use the FAFSA4caster calculator at the federal government’s financial aid site to determine your eligibility for federal student aid (http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/estimate). Learn more about the FAFSA by visiting www.fafsa.ed.gov and www.studentaid.ed.gov.

There are also federal government grants for veterans. “The renewed GI plan is offering a ton of money for people to go back to school,” says Todd Weaver, college planning expert at Strategies for College Inc. The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays all tuition and fees for in-state students attending public schools, and up to the national maximum rate for tuition and fees for students at private or foreign

schools, with a few exceptions. The funds may be used for college degree programs, as well as vocational, technical, and entrepreneurship training programs. One helpful site to check out is gibill.va.gov/benefits/post_911_gibill.

Apply for a fellowship.
“Colleges are one of the best places to look for aid, and the most underutilized,” says Quinn. “If you are looking for scholarships or free assistance, you have to equate it to a job search. You must handle it with that type of diligence.”

This is where 34-year-old Kendra China found financial assistance. In 2011, the former teacher walked away from the reading center she owned to return to school to become a reading researcher. China felt she could help more people if she was on the intervention development side instead of just helping a few students per day who needed one-on-one help.

“I had to make some clear financial decisions because my salary was going to be cut into a fifth of what I was accustomed to making,” says China. China chose the University of Virginia in part because she was awarded a fellowship that pays for her tuition (according to the UVA tuition page, the cost of a Ph.D. at the school is about $22,000 per year for out-of-state students) and health insurance, and provides students with a stipend of up to $30,000 annually for living expenses such as housing and food.

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China says of the process, “I looked into fellowship programs offered at the school. After completing the application and the GRE, I applied to UVA and got accepted.” China decided to rent out her Columbia, South Carolina, townhouse (she is charging $850 each month and adds $350 to that to cover the mortgage) to pursue graduate studies 350 miles away at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

“I came back to school with a lot of things. I owned my own business and I own a home and I had to prepare for that,” says China, who is now in her second year of a four-year Ph.D. program. When she completes the program she will have a doctorate in reading education and plans to conduct research to develop interventions to help struggling readers.

Look for career-change grants and scholarships.
“Scholarships are available. They do exist,” says Weaver, noting that applicants just have to know where to look. A good place to start is at the college of your choice. “Make sure you go to the financial aid page on the school’s website,” he advises. “Make sure you are looking at this year’s info, not last year’s or the year before.” Quinn says, “Usually under the school’s financial aid site there is a separate link to scholarships.” She notes that financial aid information can also be “buried” on the school’s home page or found on the admissions page.

In addition, at websites such as www.careerinfonet.org/scholarshipsearch, you can look for awards that address your unique qualities or interests. For instance, the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund’s Career Development Grants offer up to $12,000 for women who are looking to advance their careers, change careers, or re-enter the workforce, and the Robert Toigo Foundation Fellowship offers up to $5,000 to minority students who want a career in financial services.

Take advantage of tax credits.
“Tax credits are often more beneficial than some tax deductions, because deductions only reduce the amount of your income that is subject to tax, while the credit reduces the actual tax,” explains attorney and CPA Shannon Nash of the Nash Management Group. She advises students to calculate both to see which one is more beneficial. The Lifetime Learning Credit offers a $2,000 tax

credit for various types of schooling, including vocational and skills training courses, for unlimited years. “You can only get one Lifetime Learning Credit, even if you’re paying educational expenses for multiple people,” Nash warns adults who may be returning to school at the same time as their children. The Lifetime Learning Credit and the American Opportunity Credit, which is for degree or certificate programs only but allows up to $2,500 per student, per year, for the first four years of undergraduate school, cannot be claimed by the same person. However, a person can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit for one student and the American Opportunity Credit for another in the same year. Recently extended by Congress, the American Opportunity Credit will be available through tax year 2017.

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Seek colleges that give credit for life experience.
“There is a movement in the country to find some way to give people credit for experience,” notes Weaver. From online universities such as Western Governors University, to public schools such as the City University of New York, to black colleges such as Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, schools are offering adults credit for their work and life experience. The advantage of these universities is that you can shave off one or two years of college costs by getting credit for the years you have already worked.

Consider a certificate program.
Changing careers doesn’t always mean getting a second degree. Certificate programs can often be completed in one year instead of two or four years like a degree program. “Some certificate programs are great,” says Weaver. “Say someone wants to become a project manager, they may be well-suited for a certificate in management. That may be more economical.” One helpful site to explore is www.careeronestop.org/EducationTraining.