How to fund UWL winter classes

Chantal Zimmermann, Staff Reporter

Registration for winter classes at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse began on Nov. 8, starting the conversation of how students are going to pay for these credits.

According to UWL, one credit for a Wisconsin resident is $370.39 for the 2019 winter break, with a charge of $1,111.16 for three credits. This price leads to many students thinking they are unable to take any winter classes.

According to the Assistant Director of the Financial Aid Department Christina Hayes, there are a few different ways that students can manage to pay for winter classes. She explained that it does depend on what each particular student has previously accepted for the fall and spring semester regarding loans and financial help.

“One option would be to possibly use a financial aid refund that they got in the fall or they were anticipating a refund in the spring. If a student has more financial aid than what their bill was, they might be sitting on a refund or expecting a similar refund,” commented Hayes.

She explained that if the student does not need this money for rent or food, they can potentially use this toward paying for their winter classes. However, this is not the only option students have.

“Another option would be if they did not use all of their federal loans between fall and spring. Each grade has their own loan limit, so if a student does not use all of their federal loans for their grade level between fall and spring, then they could potentially get more federal loans to use towards a winter class,” said Hayes.

Hayes continued to explain that a student may be eligible for a higher federal loan limit if they advance grade levels. For instance, if a student started going into the fall semester and they had 28 credits, they would technically be considered a freshman. However, if they complete their fall credits and are over 30 credits, which would make them eligible for an extra $1,000 that they could use for a winter class.

According to Hayes, another option would be if they had other loan eligibility, which could be a parent plus loan or a private loan. She also encourages students to apply for scholarships.

“We are trying to make sure that all students know about our scholarship research center and that we help maintain the private scholarship database, so they can always search out scholarships,” said Hayes.

She encourages students to try and find a part-time job or a seasonal job to come up with the funds to take a winter class. “You don’t want to work more hours than you can handle with your academics, but especially over late December and January when they might be only taking the one winter class, they could potentially pick up more hours,” continued Hayes.

The financial aid department has a winter aid application, which students can find on the financial aid website. Students can also speak with a financial aid counselor about what their options are for funding a winter class.

For more information or to speak to a financial aid department employee, email [email protected], call 608.785.8604 or visit 215 Graff Main Hall. The financial aid office is open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.