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At College Mom Magazine,
we get hundreds of emails asking for advice about financial aid,
scholarships and which colleges are best for pregnant and parenting
students. Here are some answers to the most asked questions:
 1. Teenage mothers: It
is against the law for a high school to ask a pregnant or parenting
teen to leave school and get a GED, or to transfer to
another school. If this has happened to you, you have a lawsuit.
Contact your local Civil Liberties Union. Know
your rights. The law that protects your rights is
Title 9 and the school's own anti-discrimination policy. For
a complete text of Title
9 click here.
 2. Mom and Dad students: For
financial
aid you need to fill out the FAFSA at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.
Deadline for the on line application is June 30, 2008. If
you are a parent, you should claim yourself as independent from
your parents. See the financial aid counselor at the school to
which you are applying to be sure that you are listed as independent.
For more financial aid information go to http://katherinearnoldi.com/CollegeAdviceforMothers.html
 3.
How to go to college when pregnant:
The Guide
to Colleges for Pregnant and Parenting Students gives the
scoop on the amounts of financial aid: $4, 050 Pell Grant,
up to $4,000 SEOG grant, State grants which average around $4,000
and work study which is about $5,000 a year. All these amounts
are grants and do not have to be paid back. See the
Financial
Aid information
page for more information about new Academic Competiveness
Grants and the new National Smart Grants. Avoid loans.
If you add up these amounts then click on the map search at the
College Guide you can find a college, such as most of the state
schools, that you can attend with minimal school loans.
 4. The best colleges for pregnant or parenting
students are the state colleges. Go to the Map
Search at the College Guide and click on your state
to find a college that is good in your state. Be sure to get
your application in early for housing and day care. For example,
if you go the Florida page, you will see that the University
of Florida at Gainesville is our top ranked college for
mothers: a two bedroom apartment is under $400 and the child
care center, Baby Gator, is subsidized for Pell Grant recipients
and can be as low as $138 a month. It may be smart to
vote with your feet and move to a state that has better support
for moms on campus, making sure that you do what is necessary
to become a state resident as soon as possible so you do not
have to pay out of state tuition. Some states, such as Louisiana,
waive out of state tuition. Check it all out at the Map Search
for Accessible Colleges.
5. Teenage mothers, single moms thinking
of going to college: Be careful
of college
scams. Some schools will take your Pell Grant money
(only good for four years) and give you very little in return.
Be especially wary of on line colleges. The state colleges
are the best! Besides the on campus family housing is cheap!
For more information go to the Guide.
 6. College students who have children:
For scholarship information go
to College
Mom Magazine's Scholarship Page.
6. Advice to teenage mothers about
applying to college: Apply
to several schools which you choose because they have
a program that you are interested in, or a professor you want
to study with or they have special grants for mothers. Remember
to apply to your state schools (such as the University of
New Mexico, Arkansas, Wyoming, etc) so you can compare your financial
aid packages and choose the school that will be best for you.
 7. Children on college campuses: Some
of the larger state universities have applied for the federal
subsidy for child care on
college campuses. Find
out more here. Get active! See if your college has
applied for these funds, encourage them to do so, and do not
allow Congress and administrations to lower the funding on this
as the Bush Administration has done. The funding has dropped
10 million dollars during the Bush administration.
8. College mothers and fathers:
And be sure and write to us and share
your experience with other moms!! Send us any advice and
stories about your school. Go to the submissions page for more information.
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