I have a TON of questions

**TheLizzy** · 08-24-2004, 07:28 PM

Hi everyone! Newbie here!!

The basics: I am 23 years old and hold a Bachelor's degree in English literature from The Catholic University of America in Washington DC. I currently live in Central PA and work as a Proofreader at Clipper Magazine (some of you may have seen my phenomenal work :roll: )

I have recently decided to get off of my butt and stop being chained to a desk and go back to school to get certified to teach Secondary English (preferably AP and/or Honors with the focus being on literature and content and ideas rather than noun/verb/spelling stuff). I'd also like to oversee a school newspaper and/or direct plays, given my background in drama (originally started college as a Musical Theater major) and my participation in writing for my college's student paper.

I have a NUMBER of questions.
1. How long will this take? I'm estimating about a year and a half, given the idea that I will most likely have to take a few undergraduate classes to fulfill some of the requirements, in addition to the regular courses needed for certification.
2. I am applying to an in-state school. Currently, I am NOT married, but I am getting married on November 13 of this year, so will that substantially affect my financial aid? What about the fact that my fiance and I have a mortgage?
3. How do my parents figure into this? I live with them currently, until my wedding. Then I will be moving to the house that I am part owner of with my soon-to-be husband.
4. What is the usual starting salary for a teacher? I've heard everything in my area from $25,000 (which is less than what I currently make) to over $50,000 on average.
5. Will I be able to handle 2 classes a semester plus working full-time? Will my BANK ACCOUNT be able to handle it? I have a mortgage to pay!!!!

Sorry that a lot of my questions are financially based, but that's my biggest concern.... if I could just quit my job and go back to school full-time, I would... but that wouldn't be fair to my fiance to have to carry a majority of our financial burden.

Please, any help or advice is MUCH appreciated. Thank you in advance!

**banky94** · 08-24-2004, 08:03 PM

I am just returning to school for my teaching license, if you're not already enrolled in school I would suggest checking out Western Governors University. WGU is a completly online institution with a competency based approach to education, rather than classroom credit hours. So far I am really impressed with what I have been doing. Since almost everything is done online you can keep working fulltime relatively easily while getting teaching credentials(a majority of my "classmates" are working full time while in school. I highly recommend at least checking it out, they will answer most of the questions you asked in your post.
[url="http://www.wgu.edu"]http://www.wgu.edu[/url]

**TheLizzy** · 08-24-2004, 08:18 PM

I checked it out... quite a site!! They even had an Instant Messaging system going to answer any questions I had with a real live person. Unfortunately, I want to get certified for Secondary English, which they do not offer. D'oh! :cry:

**JohnBoy** · 08-25-2004, 02:41 AM

I can answer the financial aid question- yes, it will- your income for financial aid purposes will be your and your spouses- and the more you make, the less aid you are eligible for. Your mortgage will be a factor, but only a crippling mortgage payment would make the difference. My whole college career was possible only by financial aid- but it had to be borrowing mostly. As far as salary, that depends on the locality. Now, you might be able to cheese your way through by using your figures from last year, (where there is no second income) but the financial aid people do audits periodically (in seven years, I was audited four times).

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