I Wanna Go to College!

I think being married does affect your chances of getting student loans and stuff. In my state you basically get free college if you have a kid and are trying to go to school. Dont quote me on that but you should call around and ask your college. And not all classes are offered online although like i said all colleges are different. There are some online schools were all of the clases on online, just make sure that they are an accredited school so your not working your butt off for nothing.

good luck

I went to college before I was married and still do now after I'm married, and my husband and I get thousands more in grants a year since we got married than we did before. I have no idea why, but that's how it happened. When you fill out for FAFSA here (which you need to do the minute you become accepted into a school... the earliest you can submit it is January 1st and the earlier you do it the more money you get), if you are unmarried you must submit your parents tax information. Obviously my husband and I make less money than my parents do, so we receive much larger grants (money you do not have to pay back). The fact that you have children will only be greater benefit to you when applying for aid. Also, if you end up needing to take out loans, you will probably qualify for subsidized stafford loans which the government pays the interest on and you don't make payments for until 6 months after you receive your degree. Your credit score will not affect your chances of subsidized stafford loans; however, if you make too much money (the limit is pretty high), then you can only get unsubsidized loans which you will be responsible for making the payments on right away. This would be based on your credit.

A couple of people I know live 45 minutes or more away from the school I go to, but when they register for classes they get all tuesday / thursday classes right after another and drive up two days a week. It's very do-able if you have to do it. You may even enjoy the time away. Almost every class I've registered for, however, has an "arranged" option, which really means it is a class that you submit assignments online for. I've heard that they are time consuming sometimes, but only because people procrastinate and then do all their assignments acquired throughout the semester at once the day before the deadline

I'm so proud of you for deciding to go back to school. I can't stress enough how much easier it is than people make it seem to be to go to school and be married, and about a third of the people in my major's classes have kids as well. Once you put your mind to it, it'll come easily for you. Good luck with everything! You can do this!

wow great info! thanks a lot! I've learned a lot from my job these last few months, and being pregnant with my second. I hate my job, and i hate doing the same thing in this town. I have wanted to go back to school for so long. I've been scared. I didn't like school growing up, and i don't know if my HS grades are even good enough for me to enter college. I really want to though, and i want to start it soon.

I'm sure you'll be fine! Even IF for whatever reason you don't get accepted right away due to failing grades in high school (don't think just because you failed one class that you won't get in either... it takes several failing grades and consistently low grades along with low ACT/SAT scores to really get yourself worried about, and the qualifications are even lower for less popular, smaller colleges), just take a class or two at a community college this summer and then you'll be considered a transfer student If you ever want to know anything else, feel free to PM me. For some reason I know a lot about this stuff.

Too bad you don't live closer... SHSU is like "THE" school to go to for criminal justice and education.

yeah i was horrible in HS. i really don't think my grades are going to be good enough. And i don't mean just one either. Sadly i wish i could turn back time, and care like i do now. I wish i could do better. But i can't, and i can only hope i can better myself even if i did crappy back then. It's been 6 years since i've been in school. i don't even think i took any SAT/ACT. Makes me sad. I hope i didn't screw my chances of bettering my life.

Hey! I had an awesome GPA in H.S - 1.6 or perhaps even lower!!
I ended up practically going all the way in college with 9+ years. You did not screw up your chances. I know people in their 40's who go back to school. I attended community college for a few years and then transferred to a university. A lot of the people I met at community college were older and more serious about their education. When I transferred to a university, I remember feeling like people were pretty immature. Ironically, one of my best friends in h.s had one of the top GPA's and she ended up transferring from the university to the community college because it was cheaper and smaller. There is nothing wrong with going the community college route and transferring!!

Don't worry about the logistics. Everything will work itself out. You can do it (picture of tony little riding the gazelle just entered my mind.). The biggest advice I have is don't let fear overpower your desire!!! Some other good advice is when you have to take a class you are not really into but need it as part of the graduation requirement is to get the "teacher" scoop from other students.

The rate my professor website has saved my life so many times.

I don't know if someone already corrected this or not but you do not have to start paying back subsidized loans immediately. You start paying those back once you are out of school for 6 months. Your credit has no bearing on these loans. Stafford loans are there for all students. The only student loans that you have to have good credit for are private student loans through individual companies. I should know. I have all three types of loans right now. You don't have to pay any of them back until 6 months after graduation. Just because you have a child and are married does not mean you will get lots more grants from the government. I don't get any grants because of my husband's income. The only thing we qualify for are loans unfortunately.

Thanks for catching that. It is true that you do not have to make payments on them right away, but the interest does begin to build, however, on the subsidized stafford loans it does not.

It's all just about your income and how soon you complete the FAFSA application. Having more people in your family that are dependents (children) makes the income guidelines lower for receiving financial aid in the form of grants.

I got my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice about three yrs ago, and honestly I regret getting it in that field. I really wanted to become a detective so I figured that this would be the best major, but I failed to recognize that a lot of people working in the criminal justice field actually don't have a degree in CJ. For instance, my brother in law is a cop and he never went to college. He applied to the police academy and was accepted his first try. My friends wife has her degree in CJ and she is a police dispatcher (something you can do without a degree). I'm not trying to discourage you, but I wanted to tell you first hand that a degree in CJ really isn't as helpful as it seems. I have three kids, so I had a heart to heart with myself and realized that I really am not cut out for law enforcement (because of the danger involved), so I went back to school for real estate. Now that the market has slowed down, I haven't put that to use, so I've decided yet again to go back to school to become a teacher.
I have spent roughly the last 5-6 yrs in college and I have not had to pay a penny for my education. Because we have kids we are eligable to file the FAFSA (a pell grant, meaning money that you don't have to pay back) as independent students. I am not married yet (been with my fiance for 13 yrs, but haven't yet tied the knot). Don't quote me on this, but I think you can only make $12,000 per yr if you are married (both yours and you husbands income) to qualify. Because my "husband" and I aren't actually married and I am a housewife, I claim $0 income and have gotten $2,500 per semester in my pocket. On top of the FAFSA grant, you should be eligable for the BOGG waiver (Board of Governors fee waiver), which would take care of your tuition fees (at community college), also you should be eligable for EOPS which would pay for some if not all of your books (I got $500 per semester ). If going back to school is something that you really want to do, I say go for it. I took a good portion of my community college classes online and loved it.
The plan for you would be to call your local community college and find out when they are accepting applications for the Spring semester (if that is when you wanted to start), next talk to the financial aid dept and explain to them how much you and your fiance make combined and how much you make alone, they will be able to tell you if you are eligable for the FAFSA grant. I'm not sure if you would be willing to wait on marriage, but if you are over income combined, then it might be a good idea so you can get your college paid for. Financial Aid can also tell you if you are eligable for the BOGG waiver based on your income. Have Financial Aid transefer you to EOPS and ask them about applying. Then make an appointment with a counselor to map out what courses you need, find out what is offerred online and what you will need to take at the campus and ask any questions that you have.
Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you need anymore info, but I really think you should be able to attend school FREE if not very very close to it. Also some campuses have child care which would help out for the classes that you have to actually attend rather than doing online.

Christina

I know a cop, you dont need a degree in criminal justice to be one. I know someone else who was in the US Navy and now wants to be a cop so hes joining the police academy, again not getting a degree in CJ. Maybe you need it to be a detective though? I think you should talk to some people who have those specific jobs and see if they would advise you to get the CJ degree or not because you dont want to be wasting your time.

I think its great you want to go to college! Can I ask what your job is now?

*sigh* lol i'm a cashier at a casino. I work in a building all in it's own. I run the front desk, cashier cage, and server drinks/bartend. I get 11$ a hour. Even with that after taxes, and insuraces i only bring home 600 every two weeks. I just don't wanna raise my kids doing this. You have read my posts about the crappy hours and stuff. I'm just tired of it, and need to move on with my life.

Yeah I think everyone can understand that. go for it

thanks to everyone for your helpful information. I can't wait to get this started!