dakota.potts
New member
Hello all,
I am a first year student at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, South Carolina. They have one of the few gunsmithing colleges out there currently, especially low cost private ones. I actually moved here from Florida to attend.
My parents help whenever they can and are paying for my first semester, which is general ed courses like math and sociology required for the Associate's degree I'll graduate with in General Technology.
Next semester is machine tool classes. Not too much worry there.
After that, however, there is a little bit of an issue. In my gunsmithing program, our final project is to build an "American Sporting Classic" rifle in .30-06 using a receiver and barrel from Montana Rifle Company. This is an estimated $1,200 cost and I am told this is NOT covered by the majority of student loans, especially public ones. I also have another $1,200 for tools and $500 or so for books, technical drawings, and compiled notes. There are 100 hours of specialization time that we can use for anything we want that's gun or machining related - making jigs, building a gun safe, putting together another gun, turning muzzle brakes etc. - but anything built during that time has to be paid for out of pocket also and I have some ideas I'd like to talk about with my instructor that may have some appreciable (not necessarily huge) costs.
These costs may or may not be covered by student aid, leaving me with a possible $3,000 or so on top of school costs and living. I do work about 30 hours a week and I'm saving every week, but I'd feel a lot better if I had a way to know it was paid for and keep some money on hand for living and emergencies.
I'm not married and I'm younger than 26, so I'm still judged based off of my parents' income apparently despite living in another state from them. I filed FAFSA and went through my school guidance and was told I don't qualify for Pell Grants or even Stafford Loans so I can't seem to get any federal student aid. I have decent credit (as good as a 19 year old who always pays his credit card statement on time can get) and I do have income I can show but I don't seem to have anybody who can co-sign for me so that's a problem also.
I understand it's a long shot since this is a gun forum, but is there somebody who's done this before? Some of the gunsmithing schools can be fairly expensive, and I have a relatively low cost one, so I'm searching for someone who might have been in a similar situation. Are there private student loans that would allow the purchase of guns and gun related material as part of the cost? Any that would give a dollar amount or even credit account that doesn't require itemized payments where they wouldn't have a problem with me buying my rifle for class on it (or any other guns for projects)?
Another long shot, does the NRA or NSSF or any other organization have any scholarships for people trying to work in the gun industry? I've looked but the only ones I seem to find are for children of parents who already work at a firearms company like Remington.
I'm very disciplined with my money and absolutely NOT going to jump into anything. I have several months before I'd have to make a decision and I'll seek guidance from my parents, school, and anyone else. However, I'm just looking to see what options are out there and seek input from other people who may have had similar issues.
I understand this is a strange question and appreciate any input that's out there.
I am a first year student at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, South Carolina. They have one of the few gunsmithing colleges out there currently, especially low cost private ones. I actually moved here from Florida to attend.
My parents help whenever they can and are paying for my first semester, which is general ed courses like math and sociology required for the Associate's degree I'll graduate with in General Technology.
Next semester is machine tool classes. Not too much worry there.
After that, however, there is a little bit of an issue. In my gunsmithing program, our final project is to build an "American Sporting Classic" rifle in .30-06 using a receiver and barrel from Montana Rifle Company. This is an estimated $1,200 cost and I am told this is NOT covered by the majority of student loans, especially public ones. I also have another $1,200 for tools and $500 or so for books, technical drawings, and compiled notes. There are 100 hours of specialization time that we can use for anything we want that's gun or machining related - making jigs, building a gun safe, putting together another gun, turning muzzle brakes etc. - but anything built during that time has to be paid for out of pocket also and I have some ideas I'd like to talk about with my instructor that may have some appreciable (not necessarily huge) costs.
These costs may or may not be covered by student aid, leaving me with a possible $3,000 or so on top of school costs and living. I do work about 30 hours a week and I'm saving every week, but I'd feel a lot better if I had a way to know it was paid for and keep some money on hand for living and emergencies.
I'm not married and I'm younger than 26, so I'm still judged based off of my parents' income apparently despite living in another state from them. I filed FAFSA and went through my school guidance and was told I don't qualify for Pell Grants or even Stafford Loans so I can't seem to get any federal student aid. I have decent credit (as good as a 19 year old who always pays his credit card statement on time can get) and I do have income I can show but I don't seem to have anybody who can co-sign for me so that's a problem also.
I understand it's a long shot since this is a gun forum, but is there somebody who's done this before? Some of the gunsmithing schools can be fairly expensive, and I have a relatively low cost one, so I'm searching for someone who might have been in a similar situation. Are there private student loans that would allow the purchase of guns and gun related material as part of the cost? Any that would give a dollar amount or even credit account that doesn't require itemized payments where they wouldn't have a problem with me buying my rifle for class on it (or any other guns for projects)?
Another long shot, does the NRA or NSSF or any other organization have any scholarships for people trying to work in the gun industry? I've looked but the only ones I seem to find are for children of parents who already work at a firearms company like Remington.
I'm very disciplined with my money and absolutely NOT going to jump into anything. I have several months before I'd have to make a decision and I'll seek guidance from my parents, school, and anyone else. However, I'm just looking to see what options are out there and seek input from other people who may have had similar issues.
I understand this is a strange question and appreciate any input that's out there.
I do get a nominal discount on things in the store though. Gun stores in the area aren't hiring. I've dropped resumes off at all of them locally and they always say "We could be looking to hire someone in X date" so I keep trying. I do miss my job in the Fishing and Hunting Section of Academy.