Earning Your Degree Online As A Single Mother

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:09:18 EST

Single moms often have to work while raising their children and, still,they barely make enough money to get by. Saving for their children’scollege education can be so much of a struggle they can’t even fathomstarting or continuing work toward their own degree.

But for singlemoms, college tuition assistance can come in the way of grants,scholarships and more. And online degree programs can help them findthe time to fit higher education into their often hectic schedules.

“Online degrees” are considered to carry the same significance as thoseobtained by physically attending a college or university, Ladies HomeJournal Editor-in-Chief Sally Lee told Ann Curry in a Today Showinterview. And online degree programs are available from many prominentcolleges and universities as well as from accredited online-onlyschools.

With “online college,” single moms can participate in studieswhen the children nap or go to sleep, school or out to play. They canalso develop schedules so that, on a weekly basis, their families knowwhen they’re in class, studying or doing homework, according to asinglemom.com column by MindComet marketing agency communicationsspecialist Kelly Kennedy, who specializes in financial strategies forsingle moms.

Taking college courses online is no less expensive than taking them ata “bricks and mortar” institution. But expensive as it might be topursue, higher education has become a reality for a wide variety ofpeople.

There are more women, in fact, on American college campusestoday than there are men—and they’re achieving better grades anddropping out less often than their male counterparts, according toinformation from researchers cited in a February 2010 New York Timesarticle. The majority of female students are older, black and Hispanicand considered low-income, the article reported.

President Barak Obama has been endorsing college enrollment especiallyfor single moms. And online college for single moms could provideadvantages in that moms don’t have to worry about having to pay forchild care or having to squeeze in to-and-from campus travel time.

Those who make time, set aside money and research assistance now tofurther their education can reap better rewards down the road. The U.S.Bureau of Labor Statics reports that high school graduates withoutcollege degrees in 2007 made a median $31,408 while individuals withbachelor degrees took in a median $51,324 and those with doctoraldegrees earned $60,580.

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Earning Your Degree Online As A Single Mother