In which I’ve completed phase one of the Back To School project.

A week ago I went to a training benefits meeting at WorkSource, and they gave me an application to fill out.

In the last week I did just that, then attached about 17 pages of appendices, applied to WWCC and for financial aid, met with an advisor, and requested transcripts from my former schools. It was a pain in the ass, really.

Today I went and submitted my completed application. The soft answer – I won’t have the hard one until Friday – is that I’ll probably get CAT (commissioner-approved training), but not EB (extended benefits).

The yes-to-CAT response means I’ll be able to continue getting UI benefits (without having to do the work search part) while enrolled in school. The no-to-EB part means I won’t be getting an extra 20 weeks of benefits.

It’s lucky, then, that I changed my mind and applied for a 1-year certification course instead of the 2-year AAAS I’d been more interested in, because this answer means I wouldn’t have had enough benefits to pay my bills while in school.

If I am approved for EUC (a Federally-funded additional 52 weeks of benefits) next month, I’ll have enough time to finish those three quarters of school and find job before I run entirely out of benefits altogether.

The weird thing about the application process was that I submitted my 25-page application on paper to a guy who typed it all into an e-version and submitted it. “Why didn’t you just give us that version?” I asked, pointing at his computer screen.

“We’re in a pilot program,” he answered. “They used to fax the applications in, and it could take up to three months to get a response. Now it takes 48 hours.”

Oh, well. At least they’re getting somewhere, albeit slowly.

Hopefully I’ll get an official yes for CAT on Friday. If I do, and get financial aid for tuition, I’ll officially be a student!