Financing College - When You Can't Get a Traditional Student Loan

One of the concerns many non-traditional studentsDo you belong to any organization - professional or
have is financing. As a mature student, if you areotherwise? Contact them and ask if there are
currently working or have been working, your incomescholarships, grants, or loans available for non-traditional
may disqualify you from many of the grants andstudents. Many professional organizations provide
student financing available to traditional students. Ineducational funding but it is poorly advertised and not
most cases, you also may have a mortgage orwell-known.
apartment rent, car loans, and the expenses typical toSome new networks are forming to provide access
living.to low-cost college financing sources through credit
For some potential students, the opposite is true. Dueunions and other banking institutions. Perform an
to the current economic situation, you may findinternet search for "education finance networks".
yourself unable to get any type of financing due toLastly, peer to peer financing is becoming more popular
bankruptcy, job loss or other hits against your creditfor educational loans. Some education finance
rating.networks provide peer to peer financing, but it is
There are options.typically an under-utilized resource in the non-traditional
There are scholarships and grants available tostudent sector. Peer-to-peer financing allows students
non-traditional students. Most colleges have some kindto raise financing through micro-loans from family,
of scholarship/grant program. Sit down with yourfriends and other contacts. Basically, you use a peer to
admissions officer and explain your personal financialpeer financier to connect with your social network to
situation. They will know of grants/scholarships fundedlet them know you need assistance in paying for
through your college that may not be widely publicized.college. The peer to peer financier formalizes the
Your next stop is your financial aid officer. Since theirborrowing relationship - exactly like a "normal" student
job is to help students finance their education, they willloan. They verify the borrower is enrolled and going to
also provide you with any available options.school, and then they disburse the funds directly to the
On your own, sit down and think about what makesschool. They also administer loan repayment after the
you unique as a student. Are you a minority? A singlestudent finishes school.
parent? Have you left an abusive situation? Related toSo...for example, let's say you need $10,000 in funding
someone in a military branch? The options are endless.for this school year and cannot get it from traditional
Perform an internet search on that specific searchlending sources. A peer to peer financing network will
term: (e.g. scholarships for single latina women).contact your school, verify the funding need, and then
However, beware of ANY scholarship, grant, or loancommunicate this need to your network of contacts. In
that requires you to pay any money upfront. Carefullyour example, 5 friends and family each decide to
investigate any organization that claims to provideinvest $2000. You sign loan papers with the current
student loan funding if they require any upfrontStafford loan interest rate. The lenders send the
investment on your part. Legitimate scholarships andmoney to your peer to peer financing company who
grants will not require any financial investment fromsends the money to your college's financial aid office.
you.When you graduate, you make monthly payments
If you are working, speak with your Human Resourceswhich are then disbursed back to the lenders.
officer about tuition reimbursement. In some cases,This is a twist on the micro-loan concept. In today's
companies will only reimburse you for certain types ofeconomy with investment options so shaky, this is a
job-related courses, so make sure your classes aregreat opportunity for your lenders to invest their
pre-approved.money in a proven entity - YOU.