College grants for single teenage mothers are designed to help these people to get back on their feet. Being a mother while still at teenage is difficult and need lots of support from families. The hardship becomes even worse when the father refuses to take part of the responsibility. Single teen mother is considered as one of the most at-risk population because they generally haven’t had proper education, a steady job, and health security.
To make things worse, the cost of higher education these days are simply too expensive. Even people who are under normal circumstances think that a college education is very costly. Therefore, it is understandable that many single teen mothers think that they will have to postpone, quit or stop pursuing their undergraduate degree because of the high cost of education. Fortunately, there are many grant programs provided in the US from the government and private foundations alike.
College Grants for Single Teenage Mothers
Federal Pell Grant
The Federal Pell Grant is the most widely known type of education grant in United States. It has a very reliable source of funding, and the program has helped thousands of financially needy students. If you’re looking for a college grant, the first thing you want to do is to apply for the Pell Grant because there are other grants that limit their eligibility to Federal Pell grant awardees. Meanwhile, other grants favor Pell grant awardees heavily in their selection because someone who receives the Pell grant is automatically confirmed by the government as somebody who need help in covering the cost of education.
Single teen mothers are one of the top priorities in Pell Grant. However, in order to see how much of free money you can get you need to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It’s a standardized procedure that can determine your eligibility and how much you will receive based on various information, including assets, annual income, family structure, etc. If the teen mother is still living with her parents, she should also include information about the assets and income of the parent, but in most cases the single mothers apply as an independent. The whole process is pretty straightforward, so it should be pretty easy. You should submit your FAFSA as soon as possible, because the Federal Pell Grant is awarded based on first come first served system, and once all of the funding is spent there will be no additional money available. This year the Pell Grant maximum annual amount is $5650, and you need to submit the FAFSA before June 30.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
The FSEOG grant is available for needy students, with Pell Grant awardees are put first. It can be an excellent additional money for covering the tuition cost or day to day living expenses. Unfortunately, it also has a limited funding; so you really need to submit your FAFSA as soon as possible. You can start to submit your FAFSA from January 1, so we recommend you prepare all the information before that time and submit it on that day to increase your chance getting both Pell and FSEOG grants.
Other notable higher education grants from the Federal government are Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), National SMART (Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent) Grants, and College grants for single teenage mothers from the State government.
References:
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Image: northcountrypublicradio.org
