If you’re interested in attending college, but don’t think that you can really swing it on a single mother budget, you should think about single mother scholarships. The government and different organizations want to help you succeed and become a successful part of society, so there are many grants for single mothers and scholarships for mothers out there. But how do you even find these grants, and what information do you need to fill out your application? Are there any special rules for single mother scholarships? Here, I’ll help you figure out everything you need to know to be successful at finding scholarships and grants.
Where Are the Grants Hiding?
Scholarships and grants are all over the internet, but you have to figure out where to find them. This can be pretty tricky since spammers will create websites that look identical to governmental websites that offer grant information for free. To avoid scams:
- If someone offers you grant information for a fee, it’s a scam.
- If someone guarantees acceptance of grants for free or a fee, it’s a scam.
- If a site says you can get in on a competition by doing surveys or by paying a small “entrance” fee that is NOT an application fee, it’s a scam.
These are just a couple warning signs that you might be dealing with a scammer, so it’s best to just avoid these if you see the signs. While some may operate on the fact that they don’t want money, but want you to complete offers to get access to grant information, they’re data harvesting. Avoid these.
The FAFSA website and your college/university/technical school are great resources to find student aid. All three of these can be used in tandem to find multiple grants that can help you find the funding that you need to return to school.
Getting Through the Application Process
Some scholarships and grants will require an administrative fee; this doesn’t mean it’s a scam, but it’s good to Google the program and see if anyone has actually received money from these grants or scholarships before you give up your hard earned money.
Beyond that, you will need some information ready to apply. This will include your name, your social security number and address, along with the name, address and what program you’re doing at your school. These things are necessary to the process and you will need to fill this out on the form.
Scholarships will often ask you to write an essay about why you need the funds; you can tell them your reasons for going to school (improving the life of your children for example), what you plan to do after graduation with your degree, and why you need this money (you can’t attend school without it, you need to graduate to have a better life, etc.).
You will also need references from people you have known for two years: these can be employers, friends, former teachers, family or members of the community that know you. All you need to do is have them write a letter of recommendation that explains why you want to go back to college and your determination.
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“If someone guarantees acceptance of grants for free or a fee, it’s a scam” — sorry doesn’t that sort of negate itself? I’m reading that regardless of whether you pay a fee or not to be accepted, it is a scam?
Very useful information. There are so many scams out there these days, it is good to have a list of what to look for so that we can find genuine scholarships and grants!