In the ideal society, the representation of men and women in all careers should be the same, but it is a known fact that in many areas women are still behind. The progress is visible and women are slowly but surely gaining ground, but in order to push the process into overdrive and restore the balance. Grants are required. By providing the qualifying ones with the free money for college, some institutions try to correct the trend and to deal with the under-representation of women in certain areas.
Relying mostly on private donations, the women’s colleges strive to help even the most financially troubled students with a chance to pursue education. Engaging women in a large variety of educational fields that were until recently regarded as points of interest, mostly for men, is a firm step towards solving the under- representation of women. By promoting diversity, these institutions try to provide an incentive for female students to expand their interests in areas where their contribution would make a difference.
The Benefits of Attending Women’s Colleges
Institutions such as Spellman College and Agnes Scott College both in Atlanta will offer scholarships, grants and full tuition to women who need them and the ones who deserve them. This two pronged distribution will deliver the financial aid for college, for women with a very low income, who would otherwise have to forsake education, just to earn enough money to survive. Besides these types of grants, the ones for merit are just as valuable, because they reward women who overcame adversity and found the resources to excel.
While women as a whole need some financial aid to overcome the imbalance, minority women will greatly benefit of the free money for college. Agnes Scott College, for example, goes a step forward and besides the grants based on merit and need, they add the Goizueta Scholarship which is destined to help the Hispanic community. What they are able to offer is nothing short of amazing, with fully funded tuition being arguably the best incentive for poor women students to increase their education. Overall the women’s colleges are the ones offering the most grants for students who would otherwise be unable to attend college, with over 40% of the ones attending these institutions receiving financial aid.
One shouldn’t let the seemingly strict conditions have a deterring effect on her plan to apply for a grant, because these women’s colleges offer support for students with middle-income as well. Wellesley College in Massachusetts is among the most generous institutions to offer free money for college to non-traditional students from all backgrounds. In their quest to promote diversity, they have set up the Davis Program helping women students the chance to pursue a Bachelor degree. A slightly different approach is the one of Barnard College, which recommends the mixing of federal student loans and college grants with outside sources of financing.
Dealing with Under Representation
Some fields more than other are underrepresented and some institutions try to address this particular problem, by offering special grants. Careers in mathematics, science, engineering or chemistry were traditionally chosen by men, so by providing the incentive of free money for college. They hope to attract women students. It is a worthy effort and a pretty effective one as well, with brilliant students having the chance to aim for a stellar career and a better life.
Until not, women who had an interest in these fields which were traditionally dominated by men, found little or no support and as a result the under representation increased. With the public and private organization associated with a specific industry becoming more and more involved, women have now a real chance to close the gap. The National Black Nurses Association, for example, have invested a lot of effort and money into helping African American nurses to pursue a degree.
Similarly, The National Physical Science Consortium will provide the women studying physical students at accepted institutions with free money for college. A GPA of at least 3.0 is required, and the student must pursue a college in computer science, math, geology or astronomy. The same goes for the women who agree to serve in one of New York’s healthcare facilities, which are understaffed after graduation, and who will benefit of a grant from The Regent’s Healthcare Scholarship for Medicine and Dentistry. This kind of agreements can be found in many other fields were underrepresented women is an issue, and they represent a win-win situation for the aspiring student and the society.
Special grants for Financially Challenged Women
It is known that women are regaining ground in many areas where the men represented the dominant gender, but among women themselves, some require special attention. Free money for college is the only solution for the ones who are living from paycheck to paycheck, single mothers or those who were victims of abuse. They are lacking financial, social and family support, and this makes the dream of pursuing a degree impossible to achieve, unless help arrives from an outside source.
The Business and Professional Women’s Association will provide the women who are beyond college age or are economically disadvantaged with the means to reenter a career. The same idea is shared by the Jeanette Rankin Foundation that focuses entirely on women who are older than 35 years old and struggling financially. The ones interested in pursuing education toward career advancement, two-year degrees or Bachelor degrees can hope for the financial aid that will help them reach their goals.
A special category of women who need more attention and financial aid for college are single mothers and the ones who were victims of partner’s abuse. The emotional trauma, doubled by the financial problems would render college education virtually inaccessible, unless for the grants offered by some of these institutions. In these special cases, the focus will be first and foremost on the need, with the grades and scholar results being secondary.
Special organizations have been created with the sole purpose of helping single mothers cope with financial problems and repay the student loans, they took to pursue a degree. The economic challenges and a certain degree of involvement in community service and volunteerism are the prerequisites for successful applications. Raise the Nation and the Sunshine Lady Foundation will offer educational grants to single mothers, with the latter developing a special program dedicated to women who have been victims of an abuse.
