Grants for Women

Free money for education is a basic human right for women. Every woman deserves a grant from the government in order to better herself by earning a college degree. For too long the men have dominated higher education by keeping a tight grip on the money required to gain admittance to the best colleges and universities around the world. Thankfully, thoughtful Senator Claiborne Pell had women in mind when he created the Pell Grant program way back in 1965, before most women were born. Generations of women who followed Senator Pell now have him to thank for their free or virtually free education at an accredited college.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson imagined a "Great Society" in which men and women would get free things from the government. He actually lowered taxes for top earners from 91% to 71%, causing a 10% increase in tax revenues as rich people invested more of money they got to keep. A component of LBJ's social engineering vision included college funding. The president desired that women have more high educational opportunities just like the men were enjoying.

Senator Pell introduced the Pell Grant program into Congress to fulfill the hopes and dreams of females across the fruited plain, from Berkley, California to Northampton, Massachusetts. Through this thoughtful system, women can apply for and receive free government money to major in Chemical Engineering or Women's Studies. Senator Pell understood that not everyone enjoyed the family money and influence to get their children in to Princeton and Columbia: he desired to level the playing field for women so they could benefit from similar opportunities.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 has a lot of words in it, but if we drill down to Part A, Subpart 1; 20 U.S.C. 1070a., we observe the verbiage commonly referred to as a "Pell Grant". Such money is not a loan, like going to the bank and borrowing money as some women do. This money does not have to be paid back to the federal government.

Somewhere around 5000 institutions of higher learning (colleges and universities and trade schools) are willing and eligible to accept Pell Grant money. A school cannot simply open their doors and expect the federal government to begin sending them tuition money. A serious qualification process is in place to protect prospective women students. Prospective schools must present evidence of graduation rates as well as accreditation certification. Accreditation is a long and tedious process that is akin to receiving a root canal with a power drill while balanced on a iceberg. No one in higher education actually enjoys preparing for an accreditation visit from a fine organization such as Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. These folks do not mess around: they come on-site and dig into every academic detail of the programs that crave accreditation.

Some academies of higher learning are in business to make a profit. Unlike 'state schools' or 'public schools' , these businesses have shareholders and are keenly focused the bottom line. Women do attend many of these for-profit institutions. Pell grants can be applied to some such schools. Interestingly enough, over 1/2 of the top 10 Pell grant-receiving schools are for-profit institutions.

Pell Grant funding can be applied to cover expenses such as tuition, fees, housing and food expenses, books and supplies, transportation, and child care.

President Barack Hussein Obama awarded his constituents with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included over 17 billion dollars of Pell grant or related college funding for women and many men also. Currently the maximum amount of aid (free money) is about $5000 per year for deserving students who want someone to pay for their education.

Pell grants for deserving potential students and men actually do have some limits. A grantee may not receive more than 18 semester's worth of grants. Given that a 4-year college education is scheduled for 8 semesters, 18 semesters is probably sufficient for most women.

Initiating the application for a Pell Grant is as easy as filling out a form. This form, commonly known as a 'FAFSA app', can be found here. It's a government form, so it's easy and straightforward for most women to understand. Every college accepting Pell Grant money will happily help you complete the fields on the form to the satisfaction of the Federal Government. They understand that tuition is sufficiently astronomical as to require taxpayer assistance in order to matriculate. These schools have dedicated employees on staff who are highly trained in navigating the proper paperwork necessary for achieving a college degree.

Completing the FAFSA app obligates revealing details of your financial condition as well as the details of anyone who might be providing support for you. Women and men will probably need key information from their parent's tax returns as well as documentation for any untaxed income that contributes to the bottom line of their family unit.