Financial Aid for Re-training

Jann Miles is the Director of Strategic Planning for Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and is our resident expert for Labor Market Information and Green Jobs. 

Jann's previous article, Making the Right Choice, begins the discussion concerning up-grading your skills for your career.

Pell Grants are available to unemployed individuals who would like to upgrade their current skills or change occupations. Currently, Pell grants are $5, 350 per academic year. This means two semesters so if you get a Pell grant for the fall and spring semester, you will need to find other financial aid to also attend a summer session. Pell grants can pay for the following:

• Tuition and fees normally assessed;
• Books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses;
• Living expenses such as room and board; and
• An allowance for costs expected to be incurred for dependent care for a student with dependents.

You may not be sure whether you are eligible to receive financial aid for school. I suggest if go online and fill out the Free Application for Student Federal Aid, commonly referred to as FASFA.  The application will walk you through the steps. One thing you might not be familiar with is the school codes. Each school has a code to insert on the form. There is a listing on the application of school codes or you can go to any school's financial aid web-site which will also display that school's code. These web-sites have great information. Remember, nobody knows more about student financial aid that the colleges or universities. They always have financial aid experts that will sit down with you and help direct you through this process. They are a great resource. The links for the colleges and universities listed below take you directly to their financial aid page. Also keep in mind that most colleges and universities have scholarships available only to their students, SO ASK about them.

Ø  Tarrant County College

Ø  University of Texas at Arlington

Ø  Texas Wesleyn University

Ø  University of North Texas

Finally, remember that you need to do your research before you finalize your choices. Some things to check:

Ø  Is the institution accredited? This means that your degree is recognized by the state.

Ø  Is the institution PELL grant eligible? If it is not, that means you cannot get Federal Student Aid.

Ø  Here is a Q & A for unemployed individuals on federal student aid that's got great information. This link is sponsored by the Department of Labor and the Department of Education and provides and email and phone number for further questions.

Ø  As stated in my last article, interview employers in the occupational areas in which you are seeking training and ask them which institutions they tend to hire from in your area.