A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Anyone going back to school - broke MT

Posted: May 04, 2010

How do you get a loan to help pay bills while in school? I'm in the middle of a FAFSA loan for fall semester, but she told me it is for school only. Someone said they were using part of it to supplement the household income? What kind of loan would that be? TIA

The Pell grant has to be used for school; however, student loans - LoriMT

[ In Reply To ..]
can be used for any expenses you have from going to school such as living expenses, gas, food, etc. Student loans are to aid life for the student while they are in school. Having said that, your school will take out any tuition/fees you owe them before handing over any loan money to you.

Pell Grant - Catgrrl

[ In Reply To ..]
When you have a Pell Grant, you receive the amount based on the credit hours that you are taking; i.e. if you are taking half-time (6 hours), you will receive half of your Pell Grant, which means that your school will take out the amount you owe for tuition and the remainder of the money will be released to you about 3 weeks into the semester. You can use your grant money to buy your books at the school bookstore or you can purchase them on your own for less money. I hope this helps. I am in my last year of nursing school and have been doing this for 4 years now:)

So this means - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I have to sign up for the classes first, so they determine how much they will lend? I plan on taking 9 credits this semester (summer). Thank you for the info guys, I appreciate it. Congrats on going through nursing school, I heard it was pretty difficult.

Grants - Catgrrl

[ In Reply To ..]
Fill out your FASFA, so you know how much aid you are eligible for and then sign up for your classes. You may not even need to take a loan. I didn't have to take any loans until this last year, because my schedule as an MT has been flexible enough that I can work and go to school. Fill your FASFA form out online right away. It is best to fill those things out at the beginning of the year, as you get more aid.

what I did - me

[ In Reply To ..]
When I went to school for MT I went to a community college. I told them I was going to go full time so they based my Pell grant on 12+ credits (they rate it on your income and other things). I had enough money from that to pay my tuition(they took that out first), buy all my books from the student store at the college (charged it to my grant), then whatever was left over was cut to me in a check to use for whatever I wanted. I think it was between 2-600 bucks a term. If you are going to do more classes, or a more expensive school, or you have a higher income, you will get less grant money and/or less money left over after all is said and done. If you do not qualify for a Pell grant, or if the grant doesn't cover tuition and books, the FAFSA also puts you in for a student loan. However, if you can get by with working part time and getting only the Pell grant I personally think it is worth it, though my husband got loans instead while in school and used what was left over to pay off his car and suppliment my income.. about 3,000 after tuition and books per term (which we are now paying back).

I currently have student loans for the last two years...sm - Sims

[ In Reply To ..]
that I have used for whatever I want. I get a Pell grant (ain't it swell to be poor!) and a local university grant which covers 6-9 hours, and I use the loans for whatever I need. I used this money to put a transmission into my car because I had no other source. So while I probably could have gotten by without the student loans, it's nice to have that money to fall back on. God knows I'm not making it as an MT!!!

exactly - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
My pay dropped 13000 between 2008 and 2009, and with the current changes not in the benefit of the MT, i'm getting out. I'm going to be a career student for the next couple years and am pretty excited about the change. So far i've taken one course just to get my feet wet, and am encouraged to move forward. For the first time in a long time I feel accomplished, especially when I get an A on an assignment. I feel like i've been brow beaten in this career the past few years and so this new feeling has energized me to continue. Its hard cleaning all the cobwebs out of my brain after all these years, but its definitely lifted my mood. Thank you ladies for the replies and congrats on going back to school yourselves. Yes, being broke does have its advantages, the U.S. government is there for us at least!

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