Personal Finance
Coach Bass
5 Feb 2013
The Road to Health Information Management
I plan to enroll and attend Columbia State Community College in the fall semester where they offer both need-based and merit-based financial assistance to those who need it. On Columbia State’s website, there is many different links on information on how to apply for different types of aids. The main links to online forms were FASFA, U.S. Department of Education, Tennessee Student Assistant Corporations, Funding Your Education, and The Student Guide. Most of the aid applications are due by March 15th though. By putting in personal information into the “Calculating My Costs” calculator on Columbia States website, I got an early estimate of what my tuition and fees may be after any grants and aids. Additionally to regular tuition for classes, books are estimated to be around $1,200 and for others like labs, fees, and personal expenses, it is around $3,830. The calculator gave me an estimate of around $5,679 in grants and aids, which left me with about $2, 424 a year. Not all of this has to be paid at one time though, Columbia State Community College has a payment option where monthly, you can make payments on your dues. A typical student at Columbia State graduates/transfers within a 2 year time period with a $7,960 loan indebtedness. That being said, if I stayed there for 2 years and finished my basics like I plan, I will, on an estimate, pay around $5,000 dollars on my college education up to that point.There are many different financing options available such as Pell Grants, Hope Scholarships, Federal Work Studies, The Tennessee Aspire, Merits, and of course the Tennessee Lottery for those of us who are residents in Tennessee. Columbia State Community College participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Standford Loan program. Not all students are eligible; the loan depends on the results of FASFA. It is a need-based financial aid program. The U.S.