Many adult students often decide they want to go back to school. Probably after working for a few years and seeing a higher degree as an opportunity to earn more in their careers. The problem is deciding to go back to school is not often enough, the finances also have to be a factor in that decision.

Adult students don't have the luxury of relying on family finances like regular students do. To make things worse they often earn too much to qualify for financial aid unlike regular students. They are at a matured stage of their lives and have lots of responsibilities to meet. There is often a family to take care of and bills to pay. There's little money left over to spend on a graduate or post graduate degree most of the time. At least that's what most adult students think, but fortunately enough that assumption is quite wrong.

There are some opportunities for adult students to realize their ambitions to make a return to school. Many adult scholarships are available and specially designed to enable adult students fund their educational ambitions.

Who is considered an adult student?

Before we go any further, let's take a close look at who exactly an adult student is so you'll know if you qualify as one or not. Older students are generally regarded as students who are no longer dependent on their families, have a family of their own, married or generally over the age of 25. If you fall into any of these categories you are probably qualified to be regarded as an adult student. This classification could however vary, amongst organizations and schools.

Like I mentioned earlier there are a number of opportunities available to allow older students to complete their educational goals easily. These opportunities mostly come in the form of grants, scholarships and loans, just like for younger students. The major difference between both kinds is that requirements are more suited to adult students. There are scholarships that specify age, years of on the job experience in a related field, and number of dependents as criteria by which scholarships and grants are awarded.

The first place to check for opportunities to help you return to school is with your employer. Many employers offer incentives to help employees get better qualifications in a field related to their current work. There could be scholarships available, check with the human resources personnel to know more. The next alternative would be to check at the financial aid office of the school you intend to enroll in, talking with them would also give you some ideas on opportunities available to adult students. It would be a good idea to fill out the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA).

You Might not qualify for federal financial aid but filling out the form will put you in line to receive any available private or state scholarships or grants for older students. If you are unemployed or earn a relatively low income you might qualify for federal aid. A number of schools have their programs specifically designed to help returning adult students, when you visit the financial aid office of the school you'd like to enroll in, you will be able to get more information there. The University of Wisconsin is one of such schools that has three adult scholarship programs.

Some private organizations have grants specifically for adult students. These scholarships differ from the regular scholarships because they do not have strict rules like enrollment status. Many traditional scholarships would require student applicants to be enrolled full time in school but these adult scholarships do not have that as a requirement. The organizers know that most adult students are only enrolled part time because of the other commitments they have to their jobs and family responsibilities. One such privately funded scholarships is the Osher Reentry Scholarship.

Osher Reentry Scholarship

The Bernard Osher foundation was established in 2005.This foundation is designed to meet the needs of students who have been out of school for a period of at least five years and are between the ages of 25 and 50. It provides scholarships to 73 institutions in 30 states of the country. It is also just for students who are trying to get a first undergraduate degree and does not cater to students who are in the process of getting a graduate degree or have a degree previously in another undergraduate discipline.

How to qualify

There are four main criteria to qualify for this scholarship:
• Be out of school for a period of at least five years
• Be between 25 and 30 years old and still have the intention of gaining work experience relevant to course of study
• Show academic commitment
• You also need to prove financial need

The foundation does not take applications directly from students but only from the schools. It awards scholarships of up to $50,000 a year for each school.

Helpful Resources:

Get Free Money From the Government..

Scholarships for Moms

Enter to Win a $10,000 Scholarship