It is hard for everybody in the economic environment of the past few years. Single mothers are having it doubly hard, as there is no hope of toe paychecks of any variety. President Obama has been adamant about the need for a college education for all of America’s citizens.

The fact is that soon there will be even fewer Job opportunities for those who do not have at least a two-year degree. Sure there will always be a need for waitresses and housekeeping staff but is that the real future you see for yourself. Opportunities for a higher education abounds there are offers all over the Internet and Television.

The real question a Single mom has is “how on earth can I afford it?” this article will attempt to enlighten you of the available grants, and “gift aids” available to you that do not require repayment. The federal government institutes some and still others are offered by private organizations. Let us look first to the federal government to see what they have to offer.

What are Grants?
Grants are a type of financial aid that is given to deserving students that do not have to be repaid. They can come from the government, organizations, groups and companies. They are vastly different from loans and “Free Money”.

Let’s talk about some of the main grants you have access to as a single mother:

Scholarships for Single Moms and Dads

There are also a variety of scholarship grants available for single moms and working adults that you can seek out. These are private scholarships that are given out as a draw. You fill out the application and get put in a monthly $10,000 scholarship draw. No GPA requirements, which is pretty nice and it only takes 5 minutes to fill out the form. The program of interest is the $10,000 Scholarship for Working Adults. There is also a similar program known as the $10k Scholarship for Moms that works the same way and even a $10k Scholarship for Dads that might be of interest too.

Scholarships are a great way to pay for college in addition to grants. Most normal scholarship (as opposed to the special web-scholarships above) will require high GPA scores in either high school or college. You can get a list of scholarships to apply for from your college financial aid office.

Note that these scholarship sweepstakes are NOT GRANTS OF ANY SORT.

Grants for Single Mothers

Pell Grant

The Federally funded Pell Grant Program provides financial assistance on a need-based level to low income individuals for undergraduate studies some post – baccalaureate students may also be eligible for this type of grant. A Pell Grant may be used at any of the 5400 schools participating in the program however no one student can get the grant for two schools during the same academic year. You must first complete the application for the Free Application for Student Aid. The amount of the grant will be determined by several factors. One being the amount if any, of family contribution but as single mothers you are probably on your own so it will come down to your income, two the cost to attend per semester and three whether you are planning to attend part or full time. Visit this site for more details on how to apply http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html.

The Pell Grant will be the “main” college grant for single mothers you’ll find available, though there are certainly other grant options.

Teach Grant

If you are looking to become a schoolteacher in the United States public school system you can qualify for a grant designed to just for you. The TEACH grant was instituted by the federal government to encourage more students to consider teaching careers. In order to take advantage of this grant you must agree to serve as a full time teacher in school that serves low-income students. This can be as an Elementary or High school teacher but it must be for at the very minimum four years of service. Should you fail to fulfill this obligation the grant reverts to the equivalent of a Stafford loan and must be repaid. The interest will be retroactive to the date the grant was initially disbursed. Note: you have six months after you graduate to begin repayment if you choose not to fulfill the teaching requirement.

For more information on this Grant visit http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/TEACH.jsp

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

This grant was started for the 2010-11 School year and is available to all offspring of service men and women who lost their lives in this war. The criteria for qualification is that you were already a student at the time of the parent or guardians death and that you are 24 years old or younger. The total amount of this award is equal to the maximum you would receive from a Pell grant. For more information visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IraqAfghanServiceGrant.jsp

Institutional Grants

The previous grants are all grants offered by the government. There are also specific grants known as institutional grants. These are grants specifically offered by your college or university. The grants are institution specific, so you will have to contact your college/university financial aid office to see what grants, if any, they themselves offer and what the requirements are. These are usually need-based grants, though sometimes they may be given based on class grades, high school grants, gender, etc.

These are only some of the grant programs available to you, so don’t take the above as a comprehensive list of all the grant options out there. You should search the web for legit grant programs that may be of use and you should visit the financial aid office of your college for a complete list of scholarships and grants you can apply for.

There are more ways to pay for college then through grants and scholarships.

Free Stuff

Web Giveaways

Indirectly, you can take advantage of some of the free stuff you can get online. There are websites that will offer free incentives for you to join their free membership programs. One such program is offered by PlanningFamily.com. If you sign up for the membership, you have access to free baby stuff (samples, etc), grocery coupons, parenting articles, and even the chance of winning free diapers for a year.

Some Survey-Based Sweepstakes

Some more stuff that might be of interest

• Fill out the survey get entered into a $50k scholarship draw for college
• Fill out a brief survey for a chance to win a $3500 shopping spree
• Another survey with a chance to win a $1500 gas card
• Win a $3500 dollar nursery makeover for you baby by filling out a survey
• Get a Free $250 Gift Card to your Favorite Baby Store
• Get ready for school with $1,500 shopping spree — short survey
• Do You Have a CuteKid? Submit photo for a chance to win 25k if you’re kid is the cutest!

Food Banks
These are a big resource for moms, especially moms going to school. If you are attending a college of some sorts, there is a good chance that college has a food bank. If so, take advantage of it — you can subsidize your grocery bills while going to school. There may be local foodbanks you can check out too.

Student Loans for College

If you don’t have enough money to attend school, you’ll have to fall back on student loans to help pay the way. Fortunately, the government has a whole wack of federal student loans that students can apply for. Even better, there is no credit check involved as the loans are government backed. You must fill out the FAFSA application to qualify for federal student loans (such as the Stafford and Perkins loan). As a bonus, filling out the FAFSA will also put you in the running for grants such as the Pell Grant, if you are considered financially needy enough to qualify.

If you need more money than federal student loans afford, your other option is to look at private student loans. Online companies such as PrivateStudentLoans.com can help you find private loan funding.

Job Opportunities for Single Mothers

On-Campus Jobs

A lot of colleges and universities offer employment to their students some under the FWS program and still others can find regular employment through Human resources departments. Talking with teachers and counselors or Deans can often land you unique opportunities that you otherwise would miss out on. Being a single mom is no time to stand on pride and arrogance. No one can help you if they do not realize there is a problem. Most colleges have their own version of “monster.com” for the campus log on and fill out the required information. The sooner you begin the search the better off you will be in finding a job. A lot of students start before the semester even begins.

Work At Home Jobs

If you can’t score a job at your local campus and can’t land a part time job on the side elsewhere, you may want to consider work at home jobs as a possible means of subsidizing your education. Now let me be upfront: most so called “work at home” programs are thinly veiled scams. But don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. There are a few programs/ways that are legit.

Article Writing

This is probably your best bet as a part time job. There is a huge demand for web content right now. If you speak and write fluent English, you can definitely makes some money on the side (or even a full time income) by writing Articles for companies or people who own websites. You are simply given some topics to write about, you do a bit of research and commence writing about that topic. You don’t have to be an amazing writer either: just able to write English fluently. There are a few companies that I recommend that can help link you to people.companies looking for work. RealWritingJobs.com is one and the other is oDesk. Both services will set you up with a job as a web content writer.

Fill Out Surveys
Another means of making some legit money is to fill out surveys. The way it works is companies will pay you per survey you fill out. If you are willing to spend hours filling them out, you can actually make some decent part time money.

Getting Into College as a Mom, Children, and More…

WHAT IS THE REQUIREMENT FOR COLLEGE ENTRANCE?
Most Universities and four-year colleges require that you have a high school diploma there are exceptions and you would have to shop around to find them. The best option for those who have a General Education Development Certificate is to enter a two-year college system first. They usually only require that you can pass an entrance examination and based on these scores your curriculum will be built around your strengths and you can take classes to improve the areas you are weaker in. These are taken along side some of the course work for the degree you are pursuing and sometimes you have to take a math or communication skills or English course as a prerequisite to the actual courses of study for the degree program. This is okay as you will also still be eligible for the grants and loans for the attending these classes.

COLLEGE PREP COURSES FOR SINGLE MOTHERS
Going back to school is no easy feat and some of the single mothers. Some are going back after years of being a stay-at-home mom and still others are barely out of high school or just did not finish. This should not discourage you from improving your circumstances. There are ways to get that high school diploma and get back on track. Since most universities require a high school ranking a High school diploma is preferable over a GED. You can study for these online and at most local high schools. The public school districts and the community colleges in those areas offer programs to enable those wishing to do so to gain the necessary credits needed to get their High school diploma’s. Contact your local school board or community college admissions office for information regarding these opportunities.

CHILDREN ON CAMPUS
No Article for single mothers would be complete without some mention of the second biggest obstacle a parent faces when planning to go back to school and that is childcare. You will want to try and find out before hand about the schjolls “children on campus” policy. Today more and more post secondary schools are realizing that more of their students are parents and are providing resources on campus to meet their needs. Though the major universities are moving in this area a lot more slowly your local community colleges. The Jr. or community colleges are well aware that a lot of their students are single moms or older adults who are going back to school to finish their education and they are using the offer of daycare as a lure to fill their class rooms. Below you will find seven major universities that offer students daycare services.

1. The University of North Florida In Jacksonville has Daycare services for students located right on campus. This is also true of its Gainesville Florida location home of the Florida Gators.
2. All locations of the University of Wisconsin Madison, Milwaukee and River Falls offer on campus daycare.
3. The University of Southern California also offers daycare services.
4. Harvard University now offers on campus day care for its Ivy League students.
5. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Chicago Campus
6. University of Georgia
7. Georgia State also offers daycare

Daycare Grants

One question single mothers who want to go back to school ask is “how do I pay for daycare as a single mother who wants to go to school? Well there are a couple options for some of you.

For now at least the federal grants do not include daycare in their calculations this is a sad but true fact. The options are few as the research is showing very little help for single moms going back to school other than the ones offered by aid to families with dependent children. However after careful looking there were a few programs of not that should be mentioned here.

The Minnesota State University Mankato offers a childcare grant

• http://www.mnsu.edu/campushub/childcare/

The University of North Florida has a grant program

• www.unf.edu/student-affairs/cdrc/index.html

As you can see from this list childcare is being offered at all or most of the secondary schools are learning that motherhood should not be a stumbling block to getting the education you need.

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES

As an African American Single Mother you too have the choice of getting a singularly good education by attending one of the Historically Black colleges such as Spellman in Georgia, Moorehouse also in Georgia and Edward Waters College in Florida. These schools offer grants and scholarships to worthy candidates that require you to maintain a certain GPA and class attendance level. You may also qualify for state and federal grants based on your choice of college. Below are the links for all three of these prestigious schools.

• https://ewc.wy.edu/forms/admissions
• www.morehouse.edu/admissions/home/apply.shtml
• www.spelman.edu/students/prospective/getting_in/index.shtml

These are just a couple of samples of the types of schools that are offering some form of assistance to help mothers who want to further their education. Call or go online and key word search the name of your perspective school and the words “day care grants” and it should show you if the school offers one.

Online Schools for Moms

If you can’t afford to go back to school through a traditional way or you simply don’t have the free time, why not consider doing your school online? We recommend looking at Excel Networking for Women, which is an online service that will match you up with a suitable online education program so you can start a new career.