Tag Archives: pell grant program

Grants For Single Parents Benefit College-Bound Moms And Dads

Posted on by

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
Excise Tax

The Particulars of Pell Grants

Posted on by

With all the talk of federal student loans and private loans, subsidized loans and unsubsidized loans, and parent PLUS loans which comes up when talk turns to college and financial aid packages, students and their parents alike sometimes overlook the option of receiving grants. Grants are more like scholarships than loans, as they do not have to be paid back at any time. Here follows a discussion of one of the most well-known kinds of grants, the Pell Grant and the Federal Pell Grant Program.

Pell Grants are a viable and very helpful option for those undergraduates – and some graduate students – who comes from low-income backgrounds. There are over five thousand institutions in the United States which accept Pell Grants as a form of payment for any and all educational needs. The Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, determines how much a Pell Grant may amount to, as does the cost of attendance to a student’s university of choice. Furthermore, the student must remain in that institution for at least one full academic school year.

As with most financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the tool used to determine what a student’s expected family contribution will be, to further determine the amount of a student’s Pell Grant. FAFSA uses a standard formula to do this, which consists of the student’s income and assets if that student is an independent student or, if the student is dependent, then it focuses on the parents’ income and assets instead. As well, FAFSA consider the size of the student’s household and the number of family members within it, minus the parents, who are also attending college. The expected family income comes down to the percentage of a family’s net worth and a percentage of their net assets. There are different formulas, depending on whether or not a student is dependent, or independent without dependents of his or her own, or independent with dependents of his or her own.

Federal Pell Grants apply to students which either have not completed a bachelor program anywhere else or which are participating in certain, approved post baccalaureate degrees. In that case, the program must ultimately lead to the student receiving a teaching certificate or a teaching license. Federal Pell Grants are direct grants, which mean that they are issued directly from participating colleges and universities.

These participating colleges and universities are required to pay the student the amount of his or her Pell Grant in one of several different ways. The institution must either pay the student directly using, usually, a check, credit it the amount to the student’s account within the college or university, or use a combination of both of these payment methods. The institution must do this at least once per school term, whether those terms are defined as semesters, trimesters, or quarters. If a college or university does not have a closely defined method for paying students the amount of their Pell Grants, then they must do so in some way at least two times through the entirety of an academic year.

Author: Gary Marjani
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Android Smartphone

Now It’s Easier Than Ever to Find Grants For Single Mothers

Posted on by

You see the ads whenever you go on the net. They claim that President Obama himself wants single mothers to go back to school. Thing is, when you peel through the layers of hype, the core of the message is true. The country’s chief executive has set up a program that actually helps single parents (not just mothers but dads, too) obtain college grants.

Single parents can certainly apply for Obama’s ‘Moms Return to School’ Government Grant Scholarship program if they want to study online instead of on campus. In fact, online study is a common path for single parents who want to be at home with their children while studying.

What the president has set up, for lack of better term, is being nicknamed an “education stimulus grant,” under the Pell Grant program. Most advertisers call it “the single mom grant.” It can garner around $5,000 annual tuition. The final amount will be based on previous education, the school program desired and financial need. Further, another program, the American Opportunity Tax Credit program, can set it up so the first $4,000 of higher education is free.

Like all federal education grants, one must fill out a FASFA form to find out what they can get. If done correctly, they can even cover non-educational matters such as daycare, housing and other basic needs. A good way to start sourcing out these grants is to first decide what area you want to get an advance education in.

Now, target the online schools that offer the necessary degrees as part of their curriculum. Apply to those schools, but also make sure to introduce yourself to the academy’s financial officers. It’s this personnel’s job to help you obtain the single mom, and any other, grants they can get their hands on.

It is truly critical to realize that the federal government isn’t the only source for this kind of money. Your state and local governments have many programs, such as your local Lotto, raising funds for furthering education. The best way to find these grants is by visiting the counties family service or economic office. The unemployment office may also have state funded grants available to help single parents find a better paying job.

A good place to find out more about this is the website Grants.gov, which finds specific grants for many categories. Use “search grant opportunities” tool at the top of the page to see what grants are available. On the other hand, be very, very careful about those sites using the president’s name. What many will try to do is steer a needy student into spurious loans or similar situations.

Author: Natasha Bright
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Cool mobile gadgets

How to Avail of College Grant

Posted on by

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.

Visit http://www.freegrantguru.com to learn about different types of grants available and how to increase the chances of getting a financial aid sanctioned.

Student College Grants offered by the federal governments

Posted on by

There is hot news for the ones aiming for a college career; but could not do it because of economical hazards. Government grants will provide the opportunity. Students can obtain college grants which provide money to compensate for tuition and other expenses during college career. In the economic climate of today, a college degree is worth shooting for and the college grant gives you the right chance if you cannot afford it on your own.

Federal College Grants are offered up to those who are needy. Yet it is different based upon the area of study and level of academic excellence. Deprived scholars who can never aspire of going after academic classes are benefitted by the college grants. These are given on a semester or annual basis. In some instances, the scholarship extended to the pupils is not needed to be returned back like the Pell Grant Program which is a federal college grant. There are some terms to be satisfied before this grant is accredited. Each applier must be a US citizen, have a GED or high school diploma and must be able to win over their need for financial help.

The federal government has evolved a measure to estimate the eligibility of a student to draw the profits of a college grant. The financial condition is looked at. These factors are- properties and income of the pupil if individual, similar data for parents for dependent educatee – family size and number of members of the family entered for post-secondary institutions. These elements being widely various, the amount of grant varies depending on the actual need in personal cases. To get an idea of the scale of college grant, it may be stated that in the 2009-2010 school academic year, the maximum scholarship to be granted is $5,350.

The federal government has evolved a new grant called ACG or Academic Competitiveness Grant in 2006. It is awarded to the primary 2 years of post secondary study. It is awarded to such students who have adopted an difficult work load of studies in their final year at the school. This college grant is of the order of $750 for the first study year and $1,300 for the second year.

Minorities grant is granted to the students in USA. Among the other grants are the Los Padres Foundation, United Negro College fund.etc. College scholarships are also available for women.