Funding for Non-Traditional Comp. Sci Students?

chromatic asks: "I've been working with promising prospective programmers for a while. They're interested in college, but as non-traditional students with young families, the financial burdens are overwhelming. We're aware of FAFSA, financial aid officers, and standard grants (all of which have a bias toward traditional students). What other resources (grants, work study programs, low interest loans) should we explore?"

Comments

Biased towards traditional students?

[Anonynnous Coward]

(all of which have a bias toward traditional students)

I can't speak to the particular people you spoke with at your particular institution, but I can tell that the Federal need analysis formula:

o in no way takes into account whether you are going full or part-time to school (though you must be at least half-time to receive federal aid)

o uses age to determine whether parents should contribute to the cost of education for unmarried, non-veteran, non-orphan/ward of the court students--this actually benefits older students, as no parent contribution decreases the amount a student is expected to provide on his own

o uses age to determine an "asset protection allowance"--meaning that the older you are, the more money the government says you, the student, can hang on to without being expected to contribute a percentage of it to your education, again, benefiting the student, whom the governemt assumes is saving for retirement as he ages

o does not take into account whether you attend a two-year, four-year, technical, trade, proprietary, or hairstyling school.

Here's federal financial aid in a nutshell. Your school determines your cost of attendance (COA) which includes tuition, fees, books, and living expenses (at your school's discrection). Your FAFSA determines how much you and/or your parents are expected to contribute out of pocket before federal loans and grants (unfortunately, the bulk of federal aid is in the form of loans--fortunately, those are at around 4% at the moment). That number is called your estimated family contribution. The difference between that cost of attendance and your contribution is referred to as "need." So need = COA - EFC. A school's financial aid office may meet that need with federal loans or grants, (and/or with its own money in the form of tuition waivers or scholarships; or loans from banks that aren't part of the federal programs, but those aren't federal).

The EFC formula's not top secret, you can look at it in detail here. You also have access to every piece of information the federal government publishes for aid officers, as a citizen. There's detail, but none of this should be beyond the reasoning of someone reading/posting to Slashdot.

Being somewhat familiar with it, I fail to see how you can say the federal financial aid system favors the traditional student. If the financial aid office where you start out seems to not care about you, perhaps you should find a school that suits your academic needs and has one that does.

One other good sources of information about financial and and scholarships are finaid.org. And whatever you do DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PAY ANYONE A FEE TO FILL OUT A FAFSA. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PAY TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SCHOLARSHIP. I cannot emphasize that enough.

What is Non-Traditional? What options?

[markwelch]

Forgive me, but it basically sounds like the question is, "how can some working dads get money for college, without affecting their ability to support their families?" And the answer is, they really are no different from other students - if they don't have income or assets, they can get financial aid but not money to support their families (except in some very rare situations). If they want to go to school full time (and have not already exhausted available financial aid), they are eligible for the same programs as other students. If they want to attent part-time, their options are much more limited and of course if they earn money they will be eligible for less "free" money (likely none at all).

What's the issue here, really? Time and money, right? If a working dad (or mom) wants to go back to college, and still see the kids once or twice a week, full-time employment probably isn't an option, and that probably means a huge cut in lifestyle.

Well, I have lots of time these days, and I am considering changing my profession (again).

Last time, I quit my job as a reporter for InfoWorld (in 1986) and went to law school, where I don't think I got any financial aid except federal student loan program. I attended a public university (UC Berkeley) before the state of California jacked up tuition beyond reach, I moved into a tiny shared apartment, and I worked full-time (as a syndicated columnist) while also attending law school full-time. Of course, I didn't have a family to deal with, I know my fellow students who did went through hell, especially the single moms. Then, in

I am now considering making another change: I am seriously considering teaching high school. To my surprise, getting a teaching credential requires quite a bit of effort and time, and of course money. (For a 41-year-old with a B.A. and a J.D., the prospect of going back to college again is a bit unsettling.)

Finally, to answer the question posed:

• I doubt these "non-traditional students" are willing to go the ROTC route, which someone mentioned, since this would mean committing to low-paying work for the armed services for several years. There are also age limits.
• Loans are almost always available, but while they provide a rope to lift you into college, after college a heavy debt burden may look more like a noose (especially if the student chooses not to pursue employment in the college-trained career, or worse yet if the student drops out without a degree).
• As noted, working is the most logical strategy. Enroll in classes at a public university or college, indeed some classes can be taken at a community college very cheaply.
• There are still a few companies that offer educational assistance, for work-related course work and sometimes even for non-work-related courses. These are mostly big corporations (or recent spinoffs from big corporations who've carried their programs along). Alas, the current economy doesn't leave many of these jobs open.
• I hesitate to mention it, but it is theoretically possible that a "non-traditional student" with kids might find some benefits under the "Welfare-to-Work" programs that many states are offering. That doesn't mean they must apply for welfare -- check out the state's programs, schedule appointments, wait in the lines, and maybe there might be a program that could provide some help.

Of course, I wish that someone would offer me some financial assistance if I do decide to enroll in a teacher preparation program (after all, I surely believe that our society needs more teachers with backgrounds like mine, or at least I might say that if it gets me some money). And you certainly should be aware that there are all kinds of programs that could provide support for people who are planning a "public service" career (teaching, social work, etc.), and even private associations like my local Rotary Club provide assistance for several types of college and post-graduate scholarships.

But at some point, we really shouldn't expect help to continue. After all, I already have the training and skill to get full-time employment in at least two different professions (journalist or attorney, and of course I already work as an internet marketing consultant), and I already got LOTS of "free money" financial aid as an undergraduate, plus interest-subsidized and low-interest student loans during both undergraduate and law school (all repaid a while ago), and of course the states of Massachusetts and California each spent more money on my education than I ever paid in tuition anyway (well, technically I didn't pay tuition as an undergraduate because I qualified for a special merit scholarship from the state, which was not need-based).

Finally, aren't programmers a dime a dozen right now? Why would anyone want to subsidize education of programmers (other than through loans), if there are already many programmers who are not employed?