Expert: Todd Johnson - 1/15/2010

Question
I want to go back to school.  I had perfect credit until recently and am probably going to file bankruptcy in near future.  I am 32 and currently have an AAS in electronics and want to pursue another AAS in radiology technology at a community college.  I do not currently have any student loans or owe the government any money.  What can I expect as far as qualifying for school loans and can I get all school expenses covered and not have a co signer?

Answer
James,

The relationship between bankruptcy and student loans is a complex one. Generally, having filed bankruptcy will not effect your eligibility for future student loans from the federal government. However, it will make getting a private loan very difficult without a co-signer. Generally, federal loans are preferred to private loans so focus on getting federal loans.

Here is a webpage that describes all of the relationships in more detail. http://www.finaid.org/questions/bankruptcy.phtml

As to the question of whether you can get all of your school expenses covered there are many factors to be considered. Most colleges that have the program you are looking for will be 2 year colleges. Historically, these colleges have little financial aid available other than what is available from the federal government. So, the chances are you will not get all of your school expenses covered unless the college is very inexpensive. Remember you will also have living expenses during this time as well.

When you are considering which colleges to attend for your degree, ask the college what their completion rate is for that program and how long does the typical student take to complete the program. This can vary dramatically from college to college so you need to ask. Obviously, you are looking for colleges that graduate most of the students who start and within a reasonable period of time.

I hope that helps.