If you want a good job, you need at least a college degree. This goes double if you have a family to support. This is especially important these days because so many good blue collar jobs have been outsourced overseas. But going to college can be very difficult when you are a single parent. One big problem is trying to find enough time to work at your day job, take care of your kids and study for your Bachelors degree everyday. Another big problem is finding the money to pay for your tuition fees. While the first problem is something that everyone needs to deal with on their own, there is significant help available for the second problem – it is not difficult to find student grants for single parents.
Some of these student grants are sponsored by the government and some are sponsored by non-government charities. The government scholarships typically offer more money – some of the more widely publicized grants like the Pell grants offer around $4000 to $5000. On the other hand, most private study grants offer only $1000 to $2000. Of course, there are also scholarships from large companies which cover the full college tuition fees, but these require you to work for the sponsoring company.
The government sponsored educational aid programs give different amounts of money depending on the applicants’ financial needs. Someone from a poorer family, i.e. lower wages and more dependents, will receive more money than someone from a more wealthy family, e.g. a child from a family where both parents are working. All of the government student aid can be applied through the FAFSA website. Money is available for both recent high school graduates as well as adults.
Most government educational aid do not cover the whole college tuition fee. However, this is not a problem because scholarship applicants are allowed to apply for more than one program. In addition to that, the applicant can also apply for private scholarships from non-profit charities.
When you fill up the FAFSA application form, you need to be careful. If you become categorized as someone wealthy, you will be disqualified from most of the government scholarships as well as many private scholarships which use the FAFSA results. Fortunately it is not too difficult to appear officially poor. The formula (called Expected Family Contribution) uses both your family’s income as well as assets. However, not everything that a layman thinks of as an asset is included in the calculation, e.g. some forms of insurance or life annuities. So one trick is to buy more insurance so that your family’s income appears lower. Another trick is to increase your mortgage repayment which will also make your income appear lower. Of course, accounting rules can change so you should consult an expert in this field before taking action on your own.
The same principles hold true when you apply for private scholarships. The poorer you seem to be, the more money you will be given. And there are many legal tricks which you can use to make yourself appear to have less money than you actually do.
There are more scholarships for single mothers than single fathers. One reason is that women are still considered to be at a disadvantage in the workplace, so there are more financial aid programs available to correct this imbalance. Unfortunately, this means that fathers who are widowers or divorcees will have greater difficulties in continuing their education to get better jobs. Rather than aiming for an expensive college degree, they may be better off getting more specialized technical certifications.
There are plentiful student grants for single parents, although single mothers have a greater advantage over single fathers. Getting 20% to 50% of your college tuition fees subsidized is usually not difficult.
If you are looking for funding for single mothers, learn more by visiting: http://singlemomhelp.info/
Author: Katherin T.
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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