FAFSA

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This will allow you automatic access to many federal education grants and scholarships, and it will also determine your financial need throughout the school year. It will take into consideration the fact that you are a parent with dependent children, which will open up more financial aid opportunities to you. Many colleges and universities require completion of this form for application to the school's grants, scholarships, endowments and work-study programs, as well.
  
  

Purpose of Grants

• Grants are essentially "free" money, unlike student loans. You should not be required to pay back the money you were awarded in a grant. However, some grants will only be awarded under certain conditions, so you should always be aware of the conditions of the grant before you apply for or accept it. You may have to maintain a certain grade point average, for example, or you may be required to volunteer a portion of your time to a specific charity. Most grants have a purpose written into them that extends beyond simply allowing a student the opportunity to go to school.
  
  

Grants.gov

• The federal government maintains an easy-to-browse compilation of all of its grants at www.grants.gov. At this site, you can search for the specific grants that apply to you, using keywords to narrow your search.
  
  

Private Endowments

• You can find several sources of private educational funding online; however, a search for "education grants" usually turns up unusable resources that aren't likely to lead to actual funding sources. Begin your search for private grants by searching for the terms "education endowment" and any specialized keywords that might apply to your situation. Include the following phrase, in quotations, in your search terms: "students with children."
  
  

Avoid Scams

• Sadly, most of the websites on the Internet that appear in search results for grants, educational or otherwise, are selling e-books or subscription services that simply point you back to the federal grants that are available on the government website listed above. Before you invest any money in these sites, investigate the opportunities available to you through the searches mentioned here.