Making a Pell Grant Really Work for You
If you are a high school graduate and qualify for a Pell Grant, depending on the amount, you can actually fund your entire degree from Charter Oak State College with it. A Pell Grant is income dependent. The maximum amount is over $5000 per year, but your actual award will vary, based on your family income. Also, be aware the maximum number of semesters you can collect a Pell Grant is 12.
Let's suppose you qualify for $4500 a year, about 80% of the maximum total possible. This amount assumes your "expected family contribution" to your education is $1000. That doesn't actually mean you need to have a $1000 per year available. That's just what the government says you should pay yourself, based on your income level, if your Pell Grant total comes to $4500. Now, if your family income is low enough, you could actually qualify for about as much as $5600.
You can earn some of your credits by enrolling in Clovis Community College no matter where you live in the country, and taking your courses online. Take a look at the following chart, detailing the CCC cost of tuition.
Let's suppose you qualify for $4500 a year, about 80% of the maximum total possible. This amount assumes your "expected family contribution" to your education is $1000. That doesn't actually mean you need to have a $1000 per year available. That's just what the government says you should pay yourself, based on your income level, if your Pell Grant total comes to $4500. Now, if your family income is low enough, you could actually qualify for about as much as $5600.
You can earn some of your credits by enrolling in Clovis Community College no matter where you live in the country, and taking your courses online. Take a look at the following chart, detailing the CCC cost of tuition.
Be aware there is also a $50 fee per online course. If you take 5 courses in a semester, that's another $250 you will need to include.
Because the cost of anywhere from 12 - 18 hours is the same, you would definitely want to take at least 15 hours a semester, if you can keep up the course load and maintain whatever other commitments on your time you may have.
Currently, a semester with 5 online courses (tuition and fees) is $1458. Multiply that by two, for an additional semester of 5 classes, and you have $2916. Subtract that amount from your yearly award of $4500, and you have $1584 left. This is money the school will give to you, to be used for "educational purposes." If you dedicate $584 of that to used textbooks, you still have $1000. Do this for another year - 2 more semesters - and you've paid for 60 credits, or half of your BA or BS degree, and you have $2000 left. Also, you've technically earned enough credits for an associate's degree. Keep in mind, though, that you may not be able to take every single course online you need to fulfill all the requirements for a specific AA or AS degree.
Meanwhile, you could take the three Saylor courses that are free and worth three credits each, plus 15 - 18 credits of free FEMA independent study courses.
Beyond Clovis, you would need some other elective credits, plus those for your major/area of concentration. (It may be that you would be able to get a few of the concentration credits through Clovis.) Keeping in mind that you need 30 upper-level credits for a COSC degree, you can put your $2000 toward any upper-level exams you can use to apply to your degree plan. You can also pay for ALEKS math out of this money, if you want, unless you took math courses through Clovis.
Once you have taken all the college-level exams you can, you can then apply to COSC, applying for another Pell Grant. Two terms at COSC, with two courses each term, plus all the various fees including the application and graduation fees, comes out to about $4600, for out-of-state tuition. A $4500 Pell Grant, plus the remainder of the money you saved from your $2000 should cover this. If you've been especially careful, you will even have money to pay for your books, buying them used online.
In the end, you will finish your BA or BS degree in about 4 years, with very minimal, if any, out-of-pocket expenses.
And because I love examples, let's walk through a COSC Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, paid for with a $4500-a-year Pell Grant. (Note: This plan includes the needed 60 liberal arts credits, 30 upper-level credits, and meets the general education requirements.)
FRESHMAN YEAR:
Semester 1, Clovis Community College
English Composition (English 102)
Public Speaking
Survey of American History to 1865
Introductory Psychology
Introduction to Business
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
Semester 2, Clovis Community College
English Composition and Research (English 104)
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
Biology for General Education, with Lab (4 credits)
Principles of Management
Microeconomics
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
SOPHOMORE YEAR:
Semester 3, Clovis Community College
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Macroeconomics
Principles of Marketing
Technical/Professional Writing
Art Appreciation
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
Semester 4, Clovis Community College
Interpersonal Communication
Introductory Sociology
Survey of American History Since 1865
College Algebra
Introduction to Humanities 1
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
At the end of these four semesters, you would have about $2000 saved, plus 72 hours completed.
JUNIOR YEAR:
Semester 5, Independent Study
CLEP Financial Accounting - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
DSST Business Ethics and Society* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
TECEP Strategic Management* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
DSST Money & Banking* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
Semester 6, Independent Study
TECEP Operations Management* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Organizational Behavior* - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
TECEP Marketing Communications* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Human Resource Management* - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
SENIOR YEAR:
Semester 7, Independent Study
ECE Managerial Accounting - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
DSST Principles of Finance - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Labor Relations* - $120 (taken through StraigherLine, plus testing center fee)
DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
Total cost= $1340
Budget an additional $500 (or about $40 per subject) toward study materials, such as used textbooks and/or practice exams, for your independent study. Be sure to check out Saylor's business courses. You may be able to use several of them as free resources to study for your exams.
At this point, you have 108 credits, plus $160 left from your $2000. You can then apply for another Pell Grant and apply to COSC.
Term 1, Charter Oak State College
COSC Cornerstone
COSC International Business
Term 2, Charter Oak State College
COSC Earth Science
COSC Business Capstone*
*Counts as upper-level credits.
And that's it! You've earned a fully accredited BSBA, in 4 years, paying for it with a Pell Grant. You might wind up with some out-of-pocket expenses, but they should be quite small, and spread out over 4 years, should be manageable. The real point behind all this was to demonstrate how doable it is. Even if you can't afford to start college while still in high school and pay for any exams or courses up front, you could use the HC USA free high school plan for your high school studies, and then follow a plan like this to have all or almost all of your degree covered by a grant, if you qualify.
Your lack of funds does not have to hold you back, and it certainly does not mean you need to go into a crazy amount of debt by taking out scary-big loans. You can do this.
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: BEFORE FOLLOWING ANY DEGREE PLAN, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE COMPARED IT TO CURRENT DEGREE REQUIREMENTS THROUGH THE SCHOOL. HOMESCHOOL COLLEGE USA CANNOT GUARANTEE ANY PLAN WILL BE ACCEPTED. (Speaking with an Academic Advisor at your school of choice is ALWAYS recommended.)
Because the cost of anywhere from 12 - 18 hours is the same, you would definitely want to take at least 15 hours a semester, if you can keep up the course load and maintain whatever other commitments on your time you may have.
Currently, a semester with 5 online courses (tuition and fees) is $1458. Multiply that by two, for an additional semester of 5 classes, and you have $2916. Subtract that amount from your yearly award of $4500, and you have $1584 left. This is money the school will give to you, to be used for "educational purposes." If you dedicate $584 of that to used textbooks, you still have $1000. Do this for another year - 2 more semesters - and you've paid for 60 credits, or half of your BA or BS degree, and you have $2000 left. Also, you've technically earned enough credits for an associate's degree. Keep in mind, though, that you may not be able to take every single course online you need to fulfill all the requirements for a specific AA or AS degree.
Meanwhile, you could take the three Saylor courses that are free and worth three credits each, plus 15 - 18 credits of free FEMA independent study courses.
Beyond Clovis, you would need some other elective credits, plus those for your major/area of concentration. (It may be that you would be able to get a few of the concentration credits through Clovis.) Keeping in mind that you need 30 upper-level credits for a COSC degree, you can put your $2000 toward any upper-level exams you can use to apply to your degree plan. You can also pay for ALEKS math out of this money, if you want, unless you took math courses through Clovis.
Once you have taken all the college-level exams you can, you can then apply to COSC, applying for another Pell Grant. Two terms at COSC, with two courses each term, plus all the various fees including the application and graduation fees, comes out to about $4600, for out-of-state tuition. A $4500 Pell Grant, plus the remainder of the money you saved from your $2000 should cover this. If you've been especially careful, you will even have money to pay for your books, buying them used online.
In the end, you will finish your BA or BS degree in about 4 years, with very minimal, if any, out-of-pocket expenses.
And because I love examples, let's walk through a COSC Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, paid for with a $4500-a-year Pell Grant. (Note: This plan includes the needed 60 liberal arts credits, 30 upper-level credits, and meets the general education requirements.)
FRESHMAN YEAR:
Semester 1, Clovis Community College
English Composition (English 102)
Public Speaking
Survey of American History to 1865
Introductory Psychology
Introduction to Business
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
Semester 2, Clovis Community College
English Composition and Research (English 104)
Fundamentals of Computer Systems
Biology for General Education, with Lab (4 credits)
Principles of Management
Microeconomics
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
SOPHOMORE YEAR:
Semester 3, Clovis Community College
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Macroeconomics
Principles of Marketing
Technical/Professional Writing
Art Appreciation
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
Semester 4, Clovis Community College
Interpersonal Communication
Introductory Sociology
Survey of American History Since 1865
College Algebra
Introduction to Humanities 1
(Also complete 3 FEMA courses. These can easily be done all in one week.)
At the end of these four semesters, you would have about $2000 saved, plus 72 hours completed.
JUNIOR YEAR:
Semester 5, Independent Study
CLEP Financial Accounting - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
DSST Business Ethics and Society* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
TECEP Strategic Management* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
DSST Money & Banking* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
Semester 6, Independent Study
TECEP Operations Management* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Organizational Behavior* - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
TECEP Marketing Communications* - $120 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Human Resource Management* - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
SENIOR YEAR:
Semester 7, Independent Study
ECE Managerial Accounting - $120 (taken through StraighterLine, plus testing center fee)
DSST Principles of Finance - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
ECE Labor Relations* - $120 (taken through StraigherLine, plus testing center fee)
DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union* - $100 (exam cost, plus testing center fee)
Total cost= $1340
Budget an additional $500 (or about $40 per subject) toward study materials, such as used textbooks and/or practice exams, for your independent study. Be sure to check out Saylor's business courses. You may be able to use several of them as free resources to study for your exams.
At this point, you have 108 credits, plus $160 left from your $2000. You can then apply for another Pell Grant and apply to COSC.
Term 1, Charter Oak State College
COSC Cornerstone
COSC International Business
Term 2, Charter Oak State College
COSC Earth Science
COSC Business Capstone*
*Counts as upper-level credits.
And that's it! You've earned a fully accredited BSBA, in 4 years, paying for it with a Pell Grant. You might wind up with some out-of-pocket expenses, but they should be quite small, and spread out over 4 years, should be manageable. The real point behind all this was to demonstrate how doable it is. Even if you can't afford to start college while still in high school and pay for any exams or courses up front, you could use the HC USA free high school plan for your high school studies, and then follow a plan like this to have all or almost all of your degree covered by a grant, if you qualify.
Your lack of funds does not have to hold you back, and it certainly does not mean you need to go into a crazy amount of debt by taking out scary-big loans. You can do this.
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: BEFORE FOLLOWING ANY DEGREE PLAN, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE COMPARED IT TO CURRENT DEGREE REQUIREMENTS THROUGH THE SCHOOL. HOMESCHOOL COLLEGE USA CANNOT GUARANTEE ANY PLAN WILL BE ACCEPTED. (Speaking with an Academic Advisor at your school of choice is ALWAYS recommended.)