Want to go Back?

Spending time around other military spouses a lot have asked me what I do for a living and where my job is.  Well the answer is nothing, I always tell them.  At the moment I am back to being a full-time student.  Many military spouses always say College is too expensive, if it wasn’t they would go back.  Or they can’t get to campus. Keep in mind there are always online classes!

I decided in May of 2016 while my husband was deployed to go back to college.  I signed up at Coastal Carolina and completed one semester there. When we PCS’d to California I started college again in January of 2018 and now I am expected to graduate with my degree in January of 2019.  I never took any of my classes on a campus.  All my classes are online only.  At Coastal Community College I wasn’t aware of any funds I could receive to pay my fees.  Therefore, I paid out-of-pocket there, about $1000 for the semester. Once in California I learned about a waiver that will waive my tuition fees, I would just have to pay for books and supplies.   I ended up paying $60 out-of-pocket for one book before I was aware of events on campus that grants you bookstore money, $250 per semester to be exact. After that I never paid a dime again, also some teachers give you books for free as well.

BOG Waiver

Well here’s a little secret.  For those of you in California you can go back tuition free.  You are probably wondering how its free tuition.  Well being a military spouse you are able to claim residency of the state of California.  Due to that you are allowed to apply for the BOG Waiver.

The Bog Waiver allows the state to waive your tuition fees.  Essentially the only thing you really have to pay for is books and supplies. But……. Here’s another great thing.

Many people may apply for FASFA and be eligible for it.  FASFA would cover the remaining cost for supplies and books.  If you aren’t eligible for FASFA no worries, there’s other options.

To apply for the BOG Waiver click here —-> BOG Waiver Application

You do need to be applied to a college first!

Colleges

• Saddleback College (Mission, Viejo, North Side of Camp Pendleton) I currently go here and love it
• Oragne Coast College (Costa Mesa, North Side of Camp Pendleton)
• Irvine Valley College (Irvine, North Side of Camp Pendleton) I also go to this college as well and love it too.
• MiraCosta College (Oceanside, South Side of Camp Pendleton)
• Palomar College (San Marcos, South Side of Camp Pendleton)
• San Diego Mirmar College (San Diego, South Side of Camp Pendleton)

Free Book Payments

Many of the community Colleges here in SoCal offer events that are only about two hours long. At this event you usually just learn about the school and campus, and other resources available to you.  Sometimes they even provide lunch.  By attending this type of event, the schools offer $250 per a semester to go towards books at the colleges bookstore.  These events do require and RSVP normally.  The good thing is though, there is usually more than one specific day and time to attend.  The last event I was notified of there was 5 days, and each day had 3 different times you could attend.

Scholarships

MYCAA offers $4,000 as well for tuition for those out of the state of California, or those who want to transfer to California State University or another one. Keep in mind MYCAA doesn’t cover books and supplies.

ScholarshipOwl is a website online.  You are able to go online and fill out your profile and it will match good scholarships with your profile that you qualify for.  Some you may have to write an essay while others all you have to do is click apply and your done.  These scholarships can cover cost of tuition or books and supplies.

Here is the link to ScholarshipOwl

So, if you’re a military spouse and want to go back to college, but you thought you can’t afford it, you probably can.  There are options that can help you achieve your dream, you just have to look for them.

 

Let me know what you want to hear about! Have more questions abut college, or maybe someting else? Let me know and I will write about it!

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