There are many scholarships, grants, tax credits, and other forms of financial aid available for adult degree completion students like you.
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Before you start applying for scholarships and other financial aid packages, it's a good idea to first understand what goes into the cost of your tuition, including:
You can explore our Tuition Overview page to get a better sense for the cost of Southern's Adult Degree Completion Program.
If you're looking to determine what the tuition costs would be for your unique situation, schedule a meeting with an advisor and we'll help you understand what to expect.
Finding the right program can help you finance your degree completion journey with confidence.
At its core, going back to school can be summarized in this simple statement: it’s a significant investment, but a worthwhile one.
Here are a few avenues you can explore to help lower the cost of completing your degree.
The first thing you should do is submit your FAFSA form, which is the entryway for many federal grants and scholarship opportunities. Southern’s FAFSA code is 003518; if you add the code when submitting your form, your submission will automatically be sent to us and you can qualify for financial aid for our program.
You can also look at outside forms of federal, local, and private financial aid, such as:
In addition to scholarships, grants, and other financial aid, you should be taking advantage of tax breaks for college students and their families that offer significant financial incentives. These include options such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. Read more about those options in our blog post, How to Afford Going Back to School: Understanding the Financial Realities.
It’s the best way to understand your unique situation and to get a sense of which financial aid programs you are most likely to qualify for—many of which may not even have been on your radar.
Financing your adult degree completion program can be a challenging process, but we're here to help make it more affordable. Access our guide for an inside look at:
Do you already have real-world experience in the same field as your degree? You may be eligible for credit for prior learning (CPL).
Here's how it works: credit for prior learning is an academic process in which an institution thoroughly reviews your work and prior learning experience to determine whether or not you qualify for class credit. Credit is not issued for simply having years of experience, it must match a required course for your program.
There are four main ways that this can happen:
These situations are really unique to each person. To get a better sense of what credit for prior learning you could earn, schedule a meeting with an advisor and we can help walk you through the process.
If you’re a veteran or active service member, there are several military grants and scholarships created specifically for you.
Many programs and institutions recognize the sacrifices made by members of the military and are proud to help them finish their education.
Because military members and their families have unique considerations, these programs have been created specifically to make degree completion easier and more affordable.
You can read more about that in our guide, Financing Your Degree: A Guide to Help Working Adults Afford their Degree Completion Program.
Or, click the button below to visit our Tuition Overview page.