I'm currently doing battle with LVNV. My credit is toast and I'm ineligible for federal aid.

I guess my only options with my bad credit and no available cosigner are to pay out of pocket or to find an employer that pays my schooling in exchange for working a certain amount of time.

Am I right?

Federal aid is NOT credit based. Why do you think you would be ineligible?? Do you have a loan already in default??

I've never had a student loan. I'm somewhat clueless to the process.

I did the FAFSA. My school said I didn't qualify for anything need-based but I remembered tonight they said to wait for my advisor to recommend the courses. I have my preadvisement and know how much tuition will be.

I applied for an unsubsidized Stafford loan online through one of their preferred lenders. I wanted to use SallieMae but my school wasn't on their list. Weird. So I went with StudentExpress. I hope they're reputable.

You should certainly be able to get the federal stafford loan so long as you have no other federal loan defaults. First year is like $2,600.00. However, that will not cover the total costs. I had to cosign for my daughter on a signature loan to get hers and she has good credit, just a new file within a year. Without good credit or a good cosigner I'm not sure what your options are.