Grants for Women
Education has been declared a fundamental right by the 14th Amendment of the constitution. But just merely declaring something fundamental wouldn’t really make it fundamental, would it? The concept of education, especially higher education is something that has been monopolized by a few people at the extreme top. When you consider this, it becomes quite obvious so as to why grants for women are actually necessary!
Education is not a privilege, it is a right! This is the primary reason why the government and other institutions have put in (and continue putting in) so much effort into getting a strong educational foundation in place. To ensure that there is a solid foundation in education, there is a need to achieve a financial standard as well.
Grants for women: What is the need?
There are a lot of people who are interested in studying, but are not financially equipped to do so. This can become an enormous problem if there are no appropriate grants for women. Many nations have started providing grants for women, especially, the US being one of them. A systematic, sincere approach towards this goal can do a lot to make sure that the money reaches the women who need this money.
We don’t need a degree in history to realise that the fairer sex have been treated discriminatorily especially when it comes to education. This section was by default the “other sex’. Even in developed countries like America, the fairer sex was looked upon as being secondary to men. This became inculcated into the society. The treatment and the status of being inferior obviously took a toll on all sections of women. Why, women were even denied an education for a long time.
So, how did we get this far from that time? Present-day women have been able to meet a certain level of success in their professional lives, thanks to the better standards of education they have been receiving. In order to promote and incite women to study, these grants for women have been necessary.
This is not only a fund to ensure that women who want to (and are capable of studying) get the opportunity and the money to study. It is also a way of ensuring that there is an incentive for conservative families to send their daughters/wives to educational institutions.
Grants for women: Types of grants
There are different kinds of grants for women.
First and foremost, women that do not possess the necessary funds receive assistance from The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, which can help them meet the needs of their education.
Second, there is an American Association of University Women. This association grants awards and offers grants to women who come from a poor economic background. This grant is meant for those housewives that left off their education midway to fend for their families.
Third, an organization called the National Black Nurses Association issues educational grants for women who are black. This is primarily to help the black women gain a degree in the field of nursing. These grants are covered under the section of assistance packages for women from minority sections. Another organization called the Jeanette Rankin Foundation offers grants and offers for women who are over 35 years and are willing to pursue formal certification.
Grants for women: Categories
Women Grants are available
The grants for women are further divided based on the category as well. Among these, there are two major categories into which it is divided: Need based grants, & Merit based grants
Merit based Grants:
1) Need Based Grants: These are the grants that are availed by the people who would be interested in pursuing an academic degree or an education but they do not have the financial resources to do so. There are two grants that fall under this category that are quite popular
a) Pell Grant: The Pell grant is a need based grant through which you can get $400- $4,400. If a person is interested in getting this grant, he has to apply for Federal Student Aid.
b) Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant: You can get anywhere from $100 to $4000. You will have to get a free application for a Federal Student Aid for this too.
2) Merit based grants: These are the grants given to the people who have shown academic, cultural, athletic proficiency. These students need not be of any particular economic background, as these grants value the merit that the student has achieved. There are two popular kinds of merit based grants:
a) Academic Competitive Grant: this grant is offered only to the freshman and sophomore students of a college. The freshman year students might be offered up to $750, and sophomore students would get around $1300. The method of getting it would be through the Free Application for a Federal Student Aid.
b) National SMART Grant: The National SMART (The Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent ) Grant becomes a possibility for students in the Junior and Senior year. This is for all those candidates who have selected math, science or any engineering degrees. In fact, this grant can be given to those studying foreign languages that have been deemed significant by Homeland Security.
These are just the federal level loans and grants. These need-based and merit-based grants for women are available at the state level as well.
Grants for women: An Overview
While these grants for women have done quite a bit to improve education, there is still a lot of work to be done. In some areas, especially the urban developed areas, these grants are given widely, but they have to be made more accessible to all regions in the country. There are also many skeptic comments made about the merit based grants, as those grants might even be given to students who can afford to pay for classes.
A lot of effort has been put in, and there have been changes made till now. But, there is a lot of work to be done by the citizens.