<prompt> Human: A bit more info.I abused credit cards when I was younger, was sort of aimless. Finally got the self together, got an associates degree, now I have a steady job that pays around 40kyear. Ive been working hard on paying down credit card debt and have been successful, only about 10k left. Actually have net worth for the first time in my life, feels good. I am planning on going back to school for an engineering degree once I get my debt paid off. My significant other future wife has said that she would cover household expenses while I do it.My question is, is there any way to not rack up massive student loan debts for someone my age, with really no savings emergency fund and rainy day type fund? Should I pay off debt, then spend a year or two really saving hardcore before I attempt another collegiate career?Any suggestionsadvice would be extremely helpful.  <response>: Financial Aid Counselor here! There are a ton of factors that play into selecting the right college. However, dont rule out private colleges because of their initial costs! Depending on where you live it could be the case that a private college may be cheaper because they off-set their costs with their own scholarships. Initially you want to cast a wide net and include a variety of options including: private, public, state run. If I were you I would do the following in this order:1. Do online research for colleges that fit the majors you have in mind and are within a reasonable driving distance2. Contact their admissions offices and go on tours, meet professors, and speak with financial aid3. Narrow down your choices to 3 colleges and go file your FAFSA4. Wait for them to send you a notification of award, and determine what your remaining cost of attendance if any is. 5. Go to college!When you are ready to file your FAFSA go to and file away! You can put up to 10 school codes right away and they will transmit to the financial aid office of each respective school.However, no action will be taken by said fin aid offices until you have been admitted into a program. Engineering degrees are often more expensive because they have higher credit requirements. As an aside - some colleges charge PER credit while others have FLAT tuition rates, and this should be considered when determining costs. In addition, being a full-time student later in life can be very challenging unless you can live with parents rent free. The reason for this is that traditional colleges are set up for day-time classes with some availability for evening. IF you cant attend full-time then you compromise some of your federal eligibility, and some colleges wont offer you admittance because they have policies where a minimum number of creditssemester is required. Depending on your other assets with your income you may even be eligible for federal aid in the form of a Pell Grant, and in some states be eligible for their state grants as well. However, the only set of bad news is that you are looking at college starting in the fall so you may be past some deadlines for a lot of the colleges if you are planning on starting in 1314. Keep in mind that not applying by a deadline could mean that while you are accepted your scholarships could be decreased as funding is limited.Finally, youre going to be considered a transfer student. For most purposes thats irrelevant in public schools but in private colleges there could be variances in how they award you their scholarship funds. Also, your AA could not transfer at all into some institutions.Good luck! 