Bartending School Loans
Education Loans Remain Largely Elusive
In the realm of Education Loans, trade school, career loans and continuing education loans have become more ubiquitous, yes, but most require an affiliation between a student loan lender and a particular school or institution. Cosmetology, truck driving and welding schools for the most part, now provide students with the option for a trade school or career loan, but bartending schools per se remain a bit removed from the educational/vocational fold.
Credit and Payment Plans
Credit cards can get you into serious trouble, no doubt, but if you have a line of credit without a very high interest rate, you might opt to pay for your weeklong bartending program with plastic.
Better yet, many bartending schools offer a payment plan. Yes, you’ll likely be subject to a credit check, but the programs are nothing like a major purchase, instead expect to put out between $250 and $1,000.
- ABC Bartending Schools are located in all the major cities. This school has been in business for 30 years. While you may not take out a student loan directly with the school, you certainly may qualify for their payment plan.
- Boston Bartenders School charges $395 for a 40-hour course, but they offer a $100 off that price if you register online with them.
Best Chance for Student Loans
Sallie Mae, THE name in student loans, does offer a Career Training Loan. The hitch though, is to find a bartending program that affiliates with the lending giant in order to make the loan work for you. Culinary schools often include bartending and sommelier courses in their curriculum. Use the school/state finder tool on the Sallie site to locate affiliated schools in your region.
- National Culinary and Bakery School in California is approved to extend the SLM Career Training Loan for its bartending program.
Crescent Schools of Gaming and Bartending, with locations in both Mississippi and Louisiana, offer a 40-hour bartending course or a 12-week Beverage Management program. Both tracks are designed to get you off the ground in the hospitality and gaming field ASAP. Crescent also offers various financial aid options, depending on your goals and economic status.
The Culinary Institute of Charleston, through Trident Tech, in South Carolina, includes a Mixology Certificate program, along with an advanced study in Viticulture, prelude to a Sommelier licensure. The Institute provides student loans through the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation. Mixology candidates may be eligible for a Palmetto Assistance Loan.
When All Else Fails—Personal Loans
When you are not able to score a true career loan for a bartending program, you may always consult with your personal lender for an appropriate personal loan. For example, Wachovia offers a Miscellaneous Secured Loan. Designed for almost any sundry expense you may need to cover, this product may be the answer to a short-term bartending program that typically runs under a thousand bucks.
For Less Than the Price of...
One very affordable option is to check out University Bartending courses. This gig delivers Basic and Pro weekend crash courses to college students in about a dozen cities. What’s best about it is the price: the pro course will run you under $250 perhaps how much you’d spend in a couple of big nights out drinking and dining with your friends.
There are literally hundreds of bartending schools, bartending and mixology programs across the U.S. Some are standalone institutions, while others are part of a technical or culinary school’s larger curriculum.
