Grants for single fathers (or mothers) are available in the United States. The question is, where? Living as a single dad can be quite daunting, especially because you have to be both father and mother for your children. Yes, being a single parent is hard, but the government is here to help you, especially if you are striving for education.
Statistics have shown that there’s an increasing trend in the number of a single parent in the United States. While it is true that most of the single parent family mostly consisted of single mothers, single fathers are found in as much as one out of four single-parent homes
Although it is true that there are several types of grants available for single fathers, education grants would be the ones that are available to most people. The government emphasizes and encourages single parents (including single dads) to pursue education and ultimately improve his family welfare.
Grants for Single Fathers 2015
Scholarships and Grants for Single Fathers
There are two kinds of grants available, the merit-based and need-based grants. Below is the list of need-based education grants for single fathers:
The Federal Pell Grant is probably the most well-known grant available in the US. This grant is available for students with financial need. While the grant doesn’t mention specific preference, single parents (single fathers and mothers) with financial need are commonly accepted for the grant. If you are taking an undergraduate study, you should complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). From here on, the government will decide whether you are eligible for the grant or not.
Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) is a similar program with Federal Pell Grant. In general, people who are eligible for the Pell Grant is also eligible for the FSEOG grant. The difference is that not all universities or colleges comply with the program, so check your college office for this information.
You can also seek information from your State’s government office to see whether there is special financing program for single parents. Some states offer additional education grants that takes the status of the family into consideration which benefit single fathers and mothers, such as the California state’s CalGrant program.
Below is the list of merit-based education grants for single fathers:
Academic Competitiveness Grant is a merit-based grant that is available for first and second-year college students. The grant process also uses FAFSA application, meaning that students with financial need or are under special circumstances (like single fathers) with good grades are prioritized. Meanwhile, the National SMART grant is available for third and fourth-year students with good grades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Mathematics_Access_to_Retain_Talent_Grant
There are also several colleges and universities that offer special scholarships for single parents. Most of these scholarships are based on financial need, and the applicant should be a student that has never taken an undergraduate degree before. There is also a state-specific program that can help your education, such as Emporia State University Single Parents with Children Scholarship, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund, Richard and Joan Fleming Single Parent Scholarship and BYU Marriott School Single Parent Scholarships.
I hope by reading this post you can now know that there are a bunch of education scholarships and grants for single fathers.
References :
- Federal Student Aid : studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/pell
- Pell Grant : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pell_Grant
- FSEOG Grants : fseog.com
- Image: thesingleparenthood.com
