Lost

Have a bit of a snag. WIA people want me to complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). I cannot do that as it requires a "Federal School Code" to register/ submit the form. The trucking school is not approved for this (they have no federal school code). They don't offer any financial aid, and as far as I can tell cannot receive financial aid other than the WIA. Is this a red flag? Or is this just the standard in this industry?

After searching the FAFSA database, ALMOST all of the trucking schools I searched for in California are not on their list for having a federal school code. Even Roadmaster is not on the list. The only ones I'm finding are the schools that offer a variety of training, not just truck driving- none of which are in my area. I'd be more than happy to attend the school of their choice if they put me up and fed me while I attended. I'd rather not be wasting funds just for the hell of it though as a hotel room for 5-6 weeks is about $1800 by itself

The trucking school I'm trying to get into (Truck Drivers Institute, Santa Maria, CA.) is on the "Eligible Providers List" on CalJOBS.com, which is what the WIA guys required from the beginning. So I'm not sure how others have skated around this issue.

The school receptionist claims they often get people from my county (school is in a neighboring county) that qualifies for the WIA (that's why she urged me to apply for the WIA when I mentioned I was no longer working).

Guess I'll find out more after the meeting this afternoon.

 

Just finished up at the WIA meeting. It was an "Intake Assessment" meeting. One on one with a counselor. Went over some basic paperwork stuff , filled out a few more documents and then I turned in a whole heap of stuff. Turns out, it was a lot of the things she was going to give me to do today. The previous counselor had given me the paperwork in advance, I thought it was just normal fare, but apparently not. I finished it almost entirely so I handed it all in today, she went over it, discussed a few things with me about my specific case. Since I am organized and ahead of the game (she seemed impressed at the organization I had and the work completed), she is going to really advocate for me with her supervisor (one of the decision makers on the panel) and I will go straight to the "Panel Interview" on Monday morning. That means if I get the panel interview, I will be skipping a step in the process AND not only that, but the meeting was expedited for Monday instead of "a couple weeks" from now. So wish me luck fellas. This would be a leap in the right direction.

The devil is in the details my friend. I've filled it out, but it can't be submitted without the federal school code unfortunately. I talked to the counselor about it though, she didn't seem too worried about it after looking at my pay stubs for the year and the fact the school is on their eligible providers list.

 

I did look into it, but there are none anywhere around my area that offer truck driving training.

 

I need to do a couple of "Informational Interviews" for the WIA program, I thought this would be a good place to start as it is a pretty diverse group of people on here. Any of you experienced guys want to help me out? If you do, just send me a private message (just click on my name to the left of this message and select send private message). Basically it works like this, I'll PM you some questions about the trucking industry and you answer them honestly. I would need your basic information; name, city/ state you live in, and company you work for, how long you have been a professional driver.

I think I need a couple people to do this. Would appreciate any help if you have the time.

 

Two of the counselors had mentioned they had multiple people enroll in the trucking school and then did not finish the program. Its $5k+ down the drain every time someone does that so they really want to be sure that its a worthwhile investment for them and that you are willing and able to complete the school. $5k could go a long ways towards helping people so I just want them to see I'm dead serious about making it work. I would feel like a complete ####### if I took that kind of money from an organization that really helped people and just pissed it away like some of the other guys.

I appreciate the kind words too. I'm definitely making an effort here and any support (even that of complete strangers) is always welcomed