Help! Big, Immediate Problem!

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Okay, I'm officially starting to freak out a little now. My school has informed me that I have reached the state cap on student loans, and I still have about 25 credit hours to go to finish my BA. I had no idea there was a cap, after all, the only way to get out of paying back student loans is death... school says there is nothing they can do for me, I can't get a private loan because my credit isn't good, and I am having a hard time finding info on grants and scholarships (my GPA is good). I need about $10,000 to finish school. Not only am I really anxious to finish, as I'm already 43, but my plan to pay back the money I have borrowed involved having my BA. Once I am not enrolled in school, I have six months to start paying back my loans, so I am potentially headed for big trouble. Any suggestions?

anyone in your family who would co-sign a loan?

any chance you can look for work at a/the college.state colleges usualy cover tuion costs? hard to get that in short notice, but if it helps........

If your credit is bad, don't share it with others by having them cosign a loan with you. How about a job! Even a part time one will help pay the bill. If there might be conflicts between work and school hours, try a night shift position. UPS has part time night shift and grave yard shift jobs at their distribution warehouses. When I was still able to work, and still able to do standing jobs, I occasionally worked at one through a temp agency (grave yard shift), but they also hire directly. They take the temps during busier times. I'm sure the other package delivery companies have the same set up.

My younger brother is a part time (almost a full shift, though) cleaner at a McDonald's Restaurant not far from here. He goes in just a short time before they close and leaves around or just a short time after they open. He has to spend most of his work hours alone, but he doesn't like the other staffers much so that's okay in this case. For part time night work you might want to consider something like this or sign up with a company that cleans offices at night. Or look for a job as night janitor help somewhere. Night work tends to pay a little more per hour than day shifts, and won't conflict with your school hours. There are also factories that have night shifts, but they are usually full shift jobs, so that might leave you too tired all the time. There are some part time day jobs, too that might work out for you.

On the other hand you could just post pone completing your degree until you have earned enough money to pay your ongoing tuition costs.

Once you graduate from college, then you can look for a job more in line with your degree.

When is you next tuition payment due- in the fall? Do you have to start paying back loans if you become a part-time student? If not, then I would suggest working as much as you can over the summer and paying for part-time tuition in the fall. Then, as questor suggested, get a part-time or night shift job during the fall semester so that you can save up money for the spring.

Sometimes the financial aid office can help you find less common loans that work even with having bad credit. Talking to them, or if you have someone who is forceful on your side, having that person talk to them, is generally a good idea.

Cathylynn- Unfortunately, no. I've been on my own since I was sixteen, (43 now) and not only is my father elderly but my step-mother wouldn't permit him to help me in any case. My only real family is my brother, and he's just not in a position to do it due to his own obligations.

Danmac- There may be some possiblity of that, I hadn't thought of it. They are frequently looking for someone to work in the bookstore. The problem is that I have a full-time job during the day and go to class at night, so that doesn't leave a lot of time.

Questor- I have a job. I work full-time, and go to school part-time. I used to do both full-time, but I crashed in a big way due to the stress and overload. I also have bills, adult children who sometimes need help, and grandchildren, so there's not much left of my paycheck (I'm embarrassed to say how little I make) to save for school. I am thinking about trying to get a part-time job as well when I am no longer in school because of this problem. I'm also trying to find a real job in my field, but the design field really took a big hit when the housing market crashed, and is only just starting to recover. It's also really hard to be competitive with out a Bachelor's degree, which brings us back to the original problem.

rachel_519- They package our payments every three quarters. In my case, it will just be two, because that is all I have left. But I have to have enough money for all of it for them to package it. I am going to try and see if the will let me take a class at a time as I can afford it, but I was hoping to find another way because it will take so long to finish and I am already 43! As to the job situation and saving, my response to Questor would apply.

Tuttle- The only help they would offer me was the contact info for private lenders; my school's financial aid office sucks, which is part of how I got into this mess. I do have a friend who might be willing to help me with talking to the lenders or grant/scholarship officials once I find them. Other than that, I don't have anyone. My husband is even worse with this stuff than I am (we suspect he is on the spectrum somewhere too; at minimum he has really severe ADHD.)

Thanks to everyone for your responses! I am thinking that grants or scholarships are about my only hope, so if you have any info on that, please let me know. I'm willing to use whatever I need to-- age, gender, diagnosis, whatever works.