The Best Single Parent Scholarships with Upcoming Deadlines in 2024

About 30 percent of families with children under 18 years old in the United States are single-parent families. Single parents have at least one biological or adopted child who lives with them. A single parent is a parent that may have been divorced, separated, widowed, never married, or not living with a partner.

If you are a parent, you may focus on providing for your family and not consider a college education. But a college education can allow single parents to access new careers and sometimes can help families get out of poverty.

If you are a single parent, it can be incredibly difficult to invest in a college education. Most college students leave college with large amounts of debt, so for single parents who are often the primary financial support in a family, it can be incredibly difficult to keep up with tuition payments while caring for their children.

Additionally, single parents may already be struggling financially. About 30% of sin­gle par­ents live in pover­ty, compared to just 6% of mar­ried cou­ples. Moreover, sin­gle moth­ers are much more like­ly to be poor when com­pared to sin­gle fathers. For single parents who wish to graduate from college, financial aid like scholarships, grants, and loans are crucial to lowering tuition prices and making college more affordable.

In addition to helping single parents, financial aid can also help children of single parents. In the Unit­ed States, near­ly 24 mil­lion chil­dren live in a sin­gle-par­ent fam­i­ly. College scholarships and grants can significantly reduce the cost of undergraduate education. Suppose you are a single parent thinking about sending your children to college. In that case, looking into what financial aid is available either through the government or private organizations can be useful.

If you are a single parent or a child of a single parent who wants to get a college education, there are plenty of options for you. Sign up here and check which scholarships you are eligible to apply for right now!

How does a single parent pay for college?

When you struggle to care for your child and keep up with schoolwork and your job, it can seem difficult or even impossible to get an undergraduate or graduate degree. For single parents attending college, there are plenty of ways to keep up with tuition payments.

By filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, you can gain access to student loans, grants, and scholarships that can help provide financial assistance. Once you fill out the FAFSA, your college will receive your information and use it to determine how much aid you may receive at that school.

While many scholarships, grants, and some federal student loans require you to demonstrate financial need to receive money, there are options for single parents that need more financial aid. While private loans are an option, they must be repaid, and the interest rates can be difficult to keep up with. If you don't want to deal with repayment, private scholarships are a great way for college students to get the financial assistance they need that doesn't have to be repaid.

While there are plenty of other places to find scholarships, including through local or state governments, private organizations like Bold.org can help you discover a variety of scholarships easily and quickly. For single parents who are incredibly busy, this can be extremely useful.

How to qualify for scholarships for single parents

While some scholarships may require you to have a level of financial need or a minimum GPA, there are certain qualifications that a student must have in order to apply for single-parent scholarships. Applying for scholarship money can be a time commitment, so you want to ensure you're eligible for all the many scholarships you're applying for.

Raising one or more children by yourself

Single parent scholarships are scholarships aimed towards people raising at least one child without the help of a partner. If you're divorced, a widower, or in another circumstance that has caused you to raise your children alone, you should check out the scholarships above.

Be the child of a single parent

While most scholarships seek to directly support single parents, there are some scholarships that aim to help the children of single parents. For these scholarships, students raised by a single parent can get scholarships for themselves in order to help their single parent pay for college.

Meet any other eligibility requirements

Some single-parent scholarships have additional requirements beyond just being a single parent or a child of single parents. Students could need to have a certain field of study, education level, or career goals in order to get financial assistance. Ensure you're checking all of the eligibility criteria for scholarships before you take the time to apply.

How to find scholarships for single parents

You can find plenty of scholarships on Bold.org. If you go to our website, you can use the filter feature to browse scholarships by category. By going to the "family" category, you will be able to see all of the scholarships available to single parents. You can even bookmark scholarships you're interested in so you can go back to them later and apply.

If you're a single mother, you can also apply for scholarships specifically for you. Single mothers can find single parent scholarships on Bold.org.

How to apply for single-parent scholarships

Applying for financial aid can be a daunting process, but it is an important step for your college education. On Bold.org, though, it is extremely easy to find and apply for scholarships.

On Bold.org, once you have a profile, you can apply for scholarships in only a few clicks. Applying for scholarships typically requires an essay submission, but no-essay scholarships often just require a few minutes to apply. Each scholarship will have relevant instructions or essay prompts in the description, making the application process simple.

When you apply for scholarships, keep in mind that there are certain ways to increase your chances of winning, such as having a detailed profile, earning as many bold points as possible, and writing impressive essays. Read on for our exclusive tips on winning!

When to start applying for scholarships

When it comes to securing financial aid for your college degree, it's never too early to start. You can begin applying for scholarships as early as high school so that you can apply for a larger range of scholarships and minimize your need for student loans. Many students begin applying for scholarships as high school seniors, but applying earlier will give you a head start on tackling your college costs.

However, don't worry if you're already in college and just starting to apply. Many scholarships are geared towards students pursuing college degrees or even graduate students, so you have plenty of time to apply. For single parents in college, especially, scholarships are still readily available whenever you need them.

Frequently asked questions about single-parent scholarships

What percentage of single parents graduate college?

While there is not a lot of research about single-parent graduation rates, there is a lot of research on parents more generally and single mothers more specifically. 28% of single mothers graduated from college with a certificate or degree within six years in 2009, which was significantly lower than those without children and married women with children.

Furthermore, 52% of parents who are undergraduate students drop out of college before earning their degree. Most parents drop out because they are working full-time while they are in school, but with scholarships and other financial aid, it may be possible for more single parents to get their bachelor's degrees.

Do colleges look at parents' income?

Yes, if you are a dependent, colleges do look at your parents' income to determine your Expected Family Contribution or EFC, but your income does not affect whether or not you get accepted into a school.

The EFC formula allocates 50 percent of a dependent student’s available income and anywhere from 22 to 47 percent of parents’ available income to cover college expenses. The amount of aid that you get will be determined by your school's financial aid office based on the provided EFC.

If you're a child of a single parent, your income and your EFC will only come from one parent, so you may be able to get more financial assistance from colleges to get through college. If you need financial aid, that does not look at parents' or students' income, though many private scholarships do not require students to provide any information about income level or financial need.

What gender is most likely to be a single parent?

Among single parents, 81% are single mothers, and only 19% are single fathers. In college, 43% of all student parents are single mothers, significantly higher than single fathers. Fathers in college are more likely to be married, while mothers are more likely to be single.

On Bold.org, we have many scholarship opportunities that can help anyone in a single-parent household. Browse Bold’s Scholarship Blog for more information about scholarships!