It’s definitely not easy being a mom, especially if you’re a single mom. Even if you have a supportive ex who helps you out with the kids, it’s still tough to get everything done that needs to be accomplished. For newly single moms, that road can be even tougher if you’ve been out of the work force for a long time, or if you don’t have any job training or experience. Putting together a good resume can be hard if you haven’t worked in years, or if you’ve only worked part time during this time.

With the economy being as punishing as it has been for the last few years, it’s harder than ever to get a good job. Without a good background and a specific skill set, it may be close to impossible to get a job that can actually support a family. If you need a better job, but you don’t have the training or skills, you should consider going back to school.

Even though college can be an expensive proposition, the payoff in the end can be well worth the effort and expenditure. The good news for a lot of moms on their own today is that they may not have to spend a lot of their own money to go to school for job training. That’s because the government now has billions of dollars in grant money available for moms in this position.

Just this year the government increased the amount of grant money that will be available through the Pell Grant program. The Pell Grant is intended specifically for people who qualify based on financial need. It can provide students with up to $5,550 for school expenses, and for the first time this year, students may receive two disbursements during a given school year if they qualify.

Another type of government grant is the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), which is intended for students who have great financial need. The FSEOG is awarded to students have already been awarded a Pell Grant. Students who receive the FSEOG will still receive the full amount of their particular Pell Grant award; it is intended as a supplement to those funds. The FSEOG award can be as much as $4,000 per academic year, and can only be applied to undergraduate studies.

There are also numerous other types of government grants available for single mothers who want to go to school. For example, not every mom wants to seek a traditional two- or four year degree. Some may want to receive job training through a technical or vocational school. The Department of Education funds many grants for these types of schools, in addition to traditional colleges and universities.

Most states have some type of grant program for students who are residents. These will likely be funded through the state’s Department of Education, and will generally apply only to those students who intend to go to school in the awarding state. The amount of state’s grants varies from state to state, and certain eligibility requirements must be met. Check with your for details and application requirements.

Single moms who want to receive grant money from the government should first fill out a FAFSA application. The FAFSA calculates how much grant money a student is eligible to receive based on a students expected family contribution, and other financial considerations. For moms on their own who want to go to school to better their future and the future of their children, it may be time well spent, especially if you are awarded thousands of dollars in free money for college that never needs to be repaid.

Single dads aren’t left out in the cold either. Multiple grants for single parents exist, promoting education as a tool to better the lives of adults with a dual parenting role.

What many of these parents are finding is that earning an online degree dovetails nicely with their parenting responsibilities, allowing them to continue with quality care of their kids while they work on expanding their career possibilities.

Author: Michelle Conner
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The federal government under President Obama’s guidance has analyzed the situation and is deciding on how to help the mothers appropriately. For this reason, the grants have become so advanced nowadays that if the applicant’s paperwork is evaluated and then later approved, the grant covers the entire cost of the degree or course without the applicant spending any money on the education. The government has also declared that for the academic year 2010-2011, $30 billion has been donated for federal grants. Amongst the different federal grants, the Pell grants are the widely known and are awarded to the mothers of the low-income group. For this academic year 2010-2011, $17 billion has been dedicated only for Pell grants. Other federal grants available to mothers are as below:

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) – This is provided to the extremely poor mothers who intend to continue with their education. The grant amount will vary from $100 to $4000.

Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) – The applicants eligible for ACG also qualify for Pell grants and the grant provides $750 for the first year and $1300 for the second year of undergraduates.
SMART Grant – This is offered to full-time students who also are eligible for Pell grants. The students must be majoring in life sciences, physics, mathematics, or engineering.
TEACH Grants – This aid includes a wide category of undergraduates, graduates, current or former teachers or even retirees.

All the federal grants are to be applied free and on the website centre called the FAFSA. While submitting the application, the applicant should also include his/her tax payment receipts of the previous year.

There is also the new initiative of the American Opportunity Tax Credit Program. This program intends to help the U.S citizens by offering to waive the initial $4000 fees of higher education. Also, Obama’s ‘Moms return to school’ program is catching up amongst the mothers.

The initiatives and programs started by the government are targeted for the welfare of the mothers to lead smart lives. Federal funding for scholarships for mothers would enable the mothers to add a fresh meaning to their lives and will help them to stand proudly on their feet.

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Moms can go back to school with free $10,000 Scholarships. Find out how visit: Scholarships for Moms.

College education is an important milestone in a student’s life but not all the students cross this milestone. There may be many valid reasons for not attending college but the government feels that inadequate finance should not be a hindrance to get the college education for a student. Hence, many types of grants have been materialized by the federal government and now it is left to the student to properly take the fullest advantage of this availability.

College grants are offered by businesses and corporations too, who offer grants to reduce tax and liability if it goes un awarded, they lose that privilege. Hence, grants are abound and waiting for the students to utilize them. In fact, there is no need to show the financial need or to excel in a particular area to get the college grant.

A college grant is available to any student who just has the motivation and the incentive to fill the application form. If some research and efforts are taken, it is possible to even get multiple scholarships. There are many college grants that are available, for instance, Federal Pell grant program, Academic Competitiveness grant, National SMART grant which stands for Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant apart from individual grants offered by different colleges and universities.

To get information regarding various grants, financial aid office of the school and library are good sources but internet is the best place to get more precise and latest information on the various grant programs, where the online application is also free.

However, small college grants are limited to only specific expenses like tuition fees and other educational fees as miscellaneous fees are not included in the grants but this also could be of great help to students. Small grants can be availed for another reason. Small grants are applied only by less number of students and hence the competition would be less and can be got in no time.

College grants are of many different categories like student -specific grants, degree level grants, subject- specific grants and also grants especially for lower income students and minorities, each having many sub categories. Grants are also offered by individual states and the respective websites offer information regarding these grants.

Thus, we see that there are many opportunities for students who have the drive to attend college and get the necessary funds. It is good to search for information when in high school and start early on and get equipped with all the necessary information. The help of a guidance counselor who is in a position to offer the needed information can be sought. Every student should get the opportunity to get college education and lack of finance should not deprive him of this chance.