An adult returning to the classroom is not an uncommon thing these days. Ever since the economic collapse of 2008, many out-of-work or temporarily unemployed adults are returning to the classroom to hone their skills to become more competitive in the job market. However, balancing finances and seeking to pay for college as an adult learner is something that can be very confusing and is sadly not taught well in many colleges.
Let me offer some words of wisdom as someone who has worked with adults returning to the classroom for nearly thirteen years.
Don’t assume that scholarships are just for people 21 and younger. In fact, even a brief review of some scholarship forms indicates that there are oftentimes no age restrictions. Many adult learners are applying and – thankfully – winning scholarships, and it is actually fairly rare to find scholarships that restrict the applicant pool by age. Frequently the criteria will be based on the type of major/program you are pursuing; age usually is not a disqualifier.
Don’t take on more debt than you can afford. This may seem like an obvious statement, but the percentage of adult learners who are defaulting on their student loans is mind-boggling. If you need to borrow, be smart about it; federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans are almost always preferable to massive private loans. Whenever possible, try to use money that you already have, for example money from a 401(k) which can be used towards an education with little or no penalty.
Do treat applying for scholarships like a part-time job. If you feel the need to seek an extra job to help pay for college costs, then a better choice in my opinion would be to simply apply for as many scholarships as possible for about 5 to 10 hours a week. Make applying for scholarships your part-time job! You will often find that even though you won’t win every scholarship, the ones you do win will likely more than justify the relatively small amounts of time you needed to invest in applying.
Do be sure to look at your former companies. Even if you have been laid off by an employer, it does not necessarily mean that you are out of the running for winning financial aid or scholarships from your former company. In fact, many companies offer scholarship opportunities as a component of their severance packages, and in any case it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Do look to your civic organizations and volunteer groups. Most adult learners belong to plenty of organizations and never bother to check if those groups offer financial aid for college. I always counsel students to inventory their affiliations, and see if they offer any monies for college and graduate school. Adults will often be surprised at how many organizations offer some sort of scholarship program for their members and dependents.
Don’t avoid applying for scholarships with a small dollar value. Even scholarships that are for $500 for $250, while seemingly small, won’t seem so small once you start repaying your student loans. And keep in mind that the smaller the dollar amount of the scholarship, the more likely it is that the adult learner can reapply for that same award year after year.
Do have thick skin. Even though I won over $250,000 in scholarship money, I certainly didn’t win every scholarship I applied for. Had I given up early in my scholarship application career, I likely would been buried in student loans like most other college graduates. Not winning a given scholarship simply means that someone else had a better application for that competition – not that you were a lesser student. Contact the organization, find out what you could’ve improved upon, and then reapply for that same award the year after. In many cases I actually was able to win the award the following year simply by learning what I did wrong the year before.
If you follow these basic rules, you should be able to at least make a dent into your total student debt. Just keep in mind that there are many philanthropic organizations, companies, state, local, and federal governments, and individuals who are willing to help you out as you pursue your higher education goals. However, they won’t know about you unless you apply; make a personal resolution to treat applying for scholarships with the seriousness it deserves, and you will hopefully have much less debt to repay upon graduation.
About the Author
Jason Lum is the founder and ScholarEdge College Consulting. Jason has won over $250,000 scholarships and graduated debt free. Jason has helped students gain admission to some of the top universities in the country including Harvard, Yale and Stanford.
