People may be going back to school at any age these days for various reasons. It may be that you have found out how important a degree is to your earning power or that you want a career change or to improve your career standing. You may also find it necessary in retirement to reenter the job market or to qualify for a broader range of jobs after a lay off. It could be you simply want to enrich your life. For any reason you have, college does not have to be full cost; there are ways for you to save.
Older students can get scholarships. Check out Fastweb.com for a list of scholarships and their requirements.
If you are working there may be an employee assistance program for you to return to college. Check with your human resources department.
If you are a veteran, you can save 80% on tuition, even if pursuing education beyond a college degree.
And, there are both free and tuition reduction programs at many colleges for older students. If you are not perusing a degree and want to audit classes, you may be able to do so free–although that may be on a space–available basis. There are also senior colleges that offer reduced costs for non-degree courses. If you are in a degree program, you could get tuition reduction up to half off, but you might have to meet an age cut off: age 60 to 62 to 65.
529 investment accounts are also money savers. But, with a standard 529, you will have to have the money invested for a minimum amount of time before you get the federal and/or state tax breaks. However, there are some 529 accounts that are fast-tracked and have more relaxed time restrictions. If you have 529s already started for children or grandchildren, you can change the beneficiary to yourself in order to take advantage of an account that has reached its time limit.
If you are older than 24, you can still receive the same financial aid as a 17-year-old. Government Pell grants are available for older low-income students who are studying for their first undergraduate degree, but not for those pursuing further education after already earning a college degree with a Pell grant (with the exception of credits needed for licensing in a job you currently have or to become a teacher). Stafford Loans are available for undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees, associate degrees, certificates of study, and second degrees. For older students these loans are worth more; older students are eligible for from $7,500 up to $10,500 from their freshman year through their senior year of study. Private loans are not as available to older students.
All students, young or old, should apply for financial aid with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Older students who have been employed should ask the college you are enrolling at for a professional judgment review so that your FAFSA application will base financial aid not on your prior tax year but on the estimated income you will have the year of the financial aid award. For more financial aid information, go to FinAid! and to CollegeBasics; both these sites provide a wealth of information for all prospective college students.
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