Are you attending as an instructor or as a trainee? if trainee, my recommendation on pay you'll actually receive is - lower your expectations. While you may receive pay for your per diem travel days, your daily stipend may be largely gobbled up to cover the cost of the seabag of clothes and your uniforms etc that you'll receive on-site. G'head and compare your bills to those who don't have a full tuition or room/ board scholarship, a stipend, book stipend, training opportunities, and at-least a few years of a great career in service after you graduate. Look at your peers at your university coming out of colleges like Colgate et al, some with north of 320k in loans that's already accrued to over 360k and climbing when they start paying it back. THEY got bills you won't see, if you make it through this training. YOU got bills too, I understand, but the best thing you can do is look at this as an opportunity, not an obligation. You are choosing to do this and it has many rewards those who quit won't see. Good luck.