There has been a lot of talk lately about a program called Scholarships for Moms.� While President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has revamped funding for higher education (making grants, loans, and scholarships easier to obtain and better funded), ARRA is aimed at all Americans, not just mothers.
Re-entry student or no, the changes to federal financial aid will be a boon to all those who need to increase or change their education.� According to the US Census, 18.4 million students are enrolled in colleges across the nation.� Seventy percent (70%) of these students have scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid.� While these aids rarely cover 100% of expenses, without them, most students would not be able to obtain higher education.
Financial aid can be split into three different categories: grants, loans, scholarships.� Grants are cash awards provided by individuals or organizations, usually by the federal or state government, and are typically based on financial need.� Grants are gifts, thus they do not need to be paid back.
Loans are tuition assistance issued by the government, banks, or private institution and they need to be repaid, usually at an interest.� They can be subsidized or unsubsidized.� A subsidized loan disregards accumulated interest while the student is still enrolled in school.� Essentially, the interest rate is 0% until the student graduates (or drops out).� The interest rate will kick in once the student leaves school.
Unsubsidized loans are standard loans where interest accrues immediately.
Scholarships are monetary awards granted to students based upon standards set by those who donate the money.� These forms of financial aid fall into 5 categories.� Merit based scholarships are money given to students who excel in academics, athletics, and the arts.� These are the most common form of scholarships.
Need based scholarships are geared towards financially challenged students.� Institutional scholarships are those that are awarded by colleges and universities.
Sociology based scholarships would be the type that the Scholarships for Moms programs would fall into.� They are given to students based on gender, race, religion, and nationality.� They are mostly private sector based.� All other scholarships, such as those offered to children of employees, are lumped together into a "miscellaneous" group.
While there are most likely scholarships geared towards mothers available, all student hopefuls should start their tuition funding search with federal financial aid.
**Update**
Did you know you can get a $10,000 scholarship for Moms just for registering? Apply right now for free:
Scholarships for Moms
