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 college grant 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 considered to carry the same significance as those obtained by physically attending a college or university, Ladies Home Journal Editor-in-Chief Sally Lee told Ann Curry in a Today Show interview. And online degree programs are available from many prominent colleges and universities as well as from accredited online-only schools.
In a column posted on the Web site, singlemom.com, Kelly Kennedy, a specialist in single mother finance strategies at the MindComet marketing agency, recommends that moms create weekly schedules to make family members aware of when classes are held and homework and other studies required.
Enrollment in online college courses costs about the same as it would to physically attend a school – and that, no doubt, that can be pricey. But higher education is no longer reserved for the privileged few, and women for years have outnumbered men in American colleges. 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.
President Barack Obama has encouraged single moms to pursue higher education. Online college for single moms can mean saving money on costs otherwise needed for child care and saving travel time, because they don’t have to commute to and from campus.
Those who spend time and money and do some financial aid research to offset the overall costs of college can see the return after earning a degree. Especially with the help of pell grant application. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics, high school graduates without college degrees in 2007 made a median $31,408. Those with bachelor degrees earned a median $51,324, and the median salary for doctoral degree-holders was $60,580.
Single mother grants are available by the governments, non-profit organizations and colleges and universities to apply for grants, student loans and work study programs. The U.S. Department of Education offers what’s known as FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), a “portal” of sorts to many financial aid offerings.
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