| Single Mothers and Women Benefit From Extra Grant Money Thanks to The Obama Administration |
Everyone has heard President Obama urging all Americans to commit to at least 1 year of higher education. What isn't common knowledge is that he has made education easier to be achieved through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Part of ARRA gives a face-lift to the federal financial aid programs, making grants, loans, and scholarships easier to achieve while increasing the award amounts for qualifying students. These changes have made a college degree more attainable for mothers (single or married) than ever before.
The US Census revealed that there are 18.4 million Americans enrolled in college and 70% of these students are using some form of federal financial aid to meet their educational expenses. Rarely do these funds cover 100% of the costs, but without these programs few would be able to attend a university.
Financial aid comes in three forms: grants, scholarships, and loans. A grant is funding provided by individuals or organizations (usually federal or state government) for school. Qualifying factors for a grant depend wholly on the applicant's financial situation.
A scholarship is a tuition award given to students based on standards set by those who donate the money. Scholarships fall into 5 categories: merit, need, sociology, institutional, and general.
The most common type of scholarship is based on merit. Merit scholarships provide tuition money to those students who excel in academics, athletics, or the arts. Need based scholarships are like grants; they are only available to the financially challenged.
Scholarships based on gender, race, religion, or nationality are said to be sociology based. These are typically offered by the private sector. The scholarships for mom programs fall into this category.
Institutional based scholarships are funds offered by colleges and universities to attract a certain class of student. All other types of scholarships, such as those offered by companies or corporations to children of their employees, fall into the "general" category.
The best way to start your pursuit of financial aid is to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) found online or in any university financial aid office. After getting your share of the federal pot, you are free to search for all the scholarship opportunities available to you. Be proud. Be one of our nation's college graduates.
**Update**
Did you know you can get a $10,000 scholarship for Moms just for registering? Apply right now for free: Scholarships for Moms
http://moms4scholarships.info
Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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