Welding Scholarships?

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are there any other known scholarships other than the AWS one i found? the deadline is March 1st ( i assume annually ). which will be fine for next year, but i intend to start this August.any advice or help getting good financial aid is greatly appreciated. just in case it matters ill be attending Mesa Community College in Mesa Arizona
Reply:There's tons of money floating around for "job re-training". The unemployment office handled the training for my CC.It's a scam IMOHowever, you pretty much have to be a deadbeat to qualify in AL through being unemployed for x number of days, or being recently layed off and making under 15k for the year.  My class was full of bumbs and hanger ons, and only a few made it through structural. Even less made it through pipe, and not one of them has procured a job in the field.  I couldn't qualify because I worked before and through school. You'll be hard pressed to find "scholarships" for welding @ the CC level IMO. Due to the high dropout rate, and most of what I saw when researching the subject during my tenure was relagated to local $$$, and low dollar amounts.Best advice I have is to go to the Financial Aid office on campus and research through them. IF the classes are "for credit" they may be able to get you a Pell Grant to alleviate some of the stress.  It's their job to find you money. The other option which nearly everyone going to school uses is to take out student loans "Stafford" and arrange it early.I had nearly 40k in loans on my degree, and I kicked nearly 10k out of pocket to make welding happen after I had my Bachelor's. Structural, pipe, tig. And I consider it cheap......Some of the money people have kicked out elsewhere is sickening.Last edited by jsm11; 06-18-2011 at 03:54 PM.1981 Lincoln SA 200Miller Trailblazer 302gMiller 211 Mig Welder w/ AutosetI'm learning to stick metal together
Reply:good to know. thanks for the information.i meet with an adviser on Monday and will also see the financial aid. i was just checking ahead of time to see if there were any known scholarships/grants i could apply for before then. ive already filled out FAFSA and got a decent chunk from that, but overall a tiny dent in the overall cost.
Reply:I went to Lincoln's Welding School on a full scholarship.  Lincoln does offer scholarships you just have to know someone to get one!  The regional Lincoln rep/office is a good place to start.  The LWS can also be of help.  My Dad sold welding supplies until he passed away, and Miller also contributed to my scholarship.  There was a Local American Welding Society that met regularly, and they also awarded one or two scholarships a year to the local community college for welding.  I received money from Lincoln, Miller, and the Local AWS to pay my way.  I was 19 when I went, if I could do it over again I would have taken every single class they offered.  I did not realize what was given to me.  Whatever you do stay away from student loans, they are not worth the future debt.  It puts you in a position to take a job for the money instead of what you really want to do.  Sometimes starting out you are better off for the experience to take a job that will give you the most experience and learning opportunities.  Sometimes those jobs pay less to get your foot in the door.  I owe about 80,000 in student loans it's not worth it.
Reply:Does your state offer lottery scholarships? Tennessee will pay $2000 a year in lottery scholarship money for trade school. Another route you may want to look into is getting a part time job that offers tuition reimbursment. Companies like Fedex, Home Depot and a ton of the larger companies offer tuition reimbursement for credited classes. They usually require that the classes are towards a degree of some sort rather than a certificate, but there are ways around that. Does your CC offer an associates degree in welding? If not you may be able to take all the welding courses as electives and declare something else as a major, when you have all your welding classes change your major. Business and engineering courses would probably be helpful either way.Powcon 400SM2-PD60 wire feedersMiller XR controlAlumapro push/pull gunSpeedglas 9100xBFH