Editor’s note:

The following is the third part of a five-part series on student debt. Find links to the other pieces at the bottom of the page.

When Katie Bushnell graduates with a bachelor’s degree in a little more than a year, she’ll be approaching $90,000 in debt from student loans without graduating from a four-year university. Her degree will be in entertainment business from Full Sail University, a private for-profit school based in Florida focused mainly on programs within the entertainment industry.

The two-year program Bushnell is halfway through has a cost of $52,000, which includes the Macbook Pro she uses in the coffee shop serving as her classroom for the day.

Right now she books concerts for Zeke’s, 3329 Lincoln Way, and interns at 105.1 FM Channel Q, but both of those positions are unpaid. She has a part-time job at George White Chevrolet as a cashier, but must rely on student loans to cover the cost of her education.

“I usually get my loans through Wells Fargo,” Bushnell said. “[Full Sail] suggested them. They gave me a list of five places to look into.”

Bushnell said her difficulties with financial aid have been a constant theme throughout her education.

“When I started out, I signed up for a loan to cover the whole cost and I thought that would cover everything, but they didn’t tell me I could only pay for one term at a time,” Bushnell said. Her program consists of four terms, meaning Bushnell must apply for a new loan every six to nine months.

The 22-year-old Ames resident started her education at Iowa State before transferring to Indian Hills College and Des Moines Area Community College.

Other than two credit cards with low limits, Bushnell has no other debt. She does not have to make car payments and said she rarely takes trips out of town for financial reasons.

Before heading off for college, Bushnell hoped her parents were saving money and that she might be able to obtain scholarships — neither happened.

“My grades have never been the greatest until the past few years, so that’s why I never got any scholarships or anything,” she said.

“It wasn’t until about two years ago, I was finally diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder and started taking medication — my grades have been a night and day difference,” Bushnell said.

“Switching to online [classes], I can learn at my own pace instead of sitting in a lecture — I can learn my own way.”

But thousands of students are proving you don’t have to obtain a bachelor’s degree to bury yourself in debt.

Sara McConkey spent 16 months at The Salon Professional Academy, 309 Kitty Hawk Drive, racking up $22,830 in debt earning a cosmetology degree — adding on to a semester at DMACC to create a total debt of $25,000. Prior to getting back to school, McConkey worked for a year and a half at Jimmy John’s, but didn’t have any money saved.

“It was a matter of me trying to make up my mind,” McConkey said.

The Salon Professional Academy, formerly known as the Professional Cosmetology Institute, is accredited by the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences.

TSPA kept McConkey there about 34 hours a week taking classes, training sessions, working and gaining her 2,100 total instructional hours needed before she could take the national examination to become a licensed cosmetologist.

A beauty school typically opens its doors to the public for hair services at discounted prices, since the work is done by the students who are paying to be there rather than earning a paycheck.

Students pay tuition ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 at most institutions, while customers pay for services just like any other for-profit business.

One of the founders of TSPA, Angie Torgeson, is an owner of TSPA in Ames and New Hope, Minn., as well as an owner of Finesse Spa Salon in Ames where she is growing stockholders. Torgeson is listed as the president of TSPA. The Ames location was the mothership for all other TSPAs around the country.

McConkey struggled to find financial aid to cover that tuition. She was denied federal assistance because as a dependent, she was told her parents made too much with her mother’s salary at the post office combined with royalties from her books published by Harper-Collins and annuity payments for McConkey’s deceased father.

“I couldn’t find a loan anywhere,” McConkey said. “My mom had terrible credit and the more we tried, the more dings she took on her credit.”

Kasey Gaul couldn’t obtain a student loan for her for-profit college either. Gaul, a 21-year-old nursing student at Kaplan University, bounced between Graceland University and Mercy College before settling on Kaplan.

Her first year at Graceland was covered by a Stafford loans, then a private student loan from Chase when she switched to Mercy.

She had to get a health care loan from Wells Fargo to cover the cost of tuition at Mercy after Chase denied her a student loan because she had purchased a car in her name.

Gaul said she didn’t receive much help in finding alternative funding from the financial aid offices at her schools.

“I wish they provided information on loans that didn’t require co-signers,” Gaul said. “There aren’t very many of them, so it took me quite a while to find the health care loan that Wells Fargo had.”

Then when she switched to Kaplan she was told they did not accept health care loans.

“I had to apply for a parent-plus loan, knowing my parents would be denied, so that I could use my last resort of using Kaplan’s loan for people in my situation with no other way to pay for school,” Gaul said.

“It came with an 18 percent interest rate, and I have to start paying on it two months after I graduate. I also pay $175 a month to pay the difference of what they couldn’t give me.”

To cover the Kaplan bill and her car payment, Gaul works two jobs in addition to her classes, all to achieve the goal she’s had since 10th grade to become a nurse.

Eventually McConkey borrowed money with some “unfortunate luck” when her brother wound up with extra money after getting into a car accident and smashing his leg.

McConkey said TSPA does offer scholarships, but the largest one she’s heard of was $800 — she obtained one for $600.

Lohman explained for students who qualify for financial aid the FAFSA is used for Pell grants and other student loans similar to the process at a traditional four-year college.

She explained TSPA is basically the same as state universities when it comes to financial aid — the same FAFSA process, Pell grants, loan availability and so on.

Lohman said because they are a clock-hour school, if students have attendance problems it can affect their financial aid.

The 16-month cosmetology program is $19,987, and they recommend students take at least two programs to make themselves more profitable. The cost includes textbooks and styling kits. The Academy also offers massage, esthetics and nail technology programs.

TSPA can have up to 120 total students enrolled but needs to stay at a ratio of one educator per 15 students by state regulations.

“TSPA has a mentoring program where you pick a salon to job shadow at,” McConkey said. “A lot of people get offers out of that. Most girls who wanted jobs have jobs.”

However, McConkey remains unemployed. In August she’ll follow the college ministry group, Salt Company, and move to Iowa City to start a similar church. McConkey has yet to find work as she prepares to make the move but she’s determined to secure a job by August.

Bushnell’s career goals remain uncertain.

However, the reality of repaying her debt has not escaped her mind.

“I’m not sure how much I’ll owe on a monthly basis, I’m kind of scared to look,” Bushnell said.

Find the rest of the student debt series:

April 26: ISU student debt high, despite low tuition costs

April 27: College loans remain a struggle

April 28: For-profit education furthers debt