Grants For Single Moms-Achieve Your Degree Online As A Single Mother

It might be more possible now than ever for many single moms to pursue higher education—even while working, raising children and struggling to pay the bills and saving for college for when the kids are older. Grants, scholarships and other forms of financial assistance are available to help pay for tuition. And online degree programs make it easier for single moms juggling daily demands to fit studies in to seemingly frenzied schedules.

“Online degrees” are as substantive as those bestowed by traditionally attending a college or university, according to Ladies Home Journal Editor-in-Chief Sally Lee, who discussed distance learning with Ann Curry of The Today Show. They can be obtained through Internet-based participation in classes offered online by “bricks and mortar” institutions and accredited colleges and universities with presences exclusively online.

With “online college,” single moms can participate in studies when the children nap or go to sleep, school or out to play. They can also develop schedules so that, on a weekly basis, their families know when they’re in class, studying or doing homework, according to a singlemom.com column by MindComet marketing agency communications specialist Kelly Kennedy, who specializes in financial strategies for single moms.
 
Tuition costs for online college courses and “online degrees” are about the same as those of a traditional institution. People from all walks of life have, despite the expense, pursued a college education. Today’s American college campuses boast more women than they do men. And these women are scoring higher academically and are more often completing their education than are the men. Researchers have learned that women’s grades tend to be better than those of men and that more men tend to drop out, according to a February 2010 New York Times article. Older, low-income and black and Hispanic women tend to form the majority of female students, the article reported.

That’s according to information from researchers cited in a February 2010 New York Times article, which detailed that most female college students are older, black and Hispanic and described as low-income.

Online college for single moms who demonstrate a financial need can be more accessible with the help of grants, loans and work study programs available from non-profit organizations, federal and state governments and the financial aid offices of many institutions. The federal government alone each year provides access to more than $100 billion in higher education loans, work study programs and grants, such as the Pell grant that makes more than $5,000 available to a qualifying applicant.

Those who make time, set aside money and research assistance now to further their education can reap better rewards down the road. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics reports that high school graduates without college degrees in 2007 made a median $31,408 while individuals with bachelor degrees took in a median $51,324 and those with doctoral degrees earned $60,580.
 
A good place for single moms to start the search for grants for college is the U.S. Department of Education’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) that has a Web presence just as other college finance outlets do. Governments, non-profit organizations and colleges and universities offer grants for college, loans and work study programs to qualify single mothers grants in need of financial assistance.