Campus child care centers and how to get a spot
How campus child care centers fill their spots, what they ask a student parent for, and why to join the list early.
Showing all 77 articles in 7 sections.
Adding child care to your cost of attendance
Your college can count child care in the budget it uses for aid. How to ask for it and which papers the aid office wants.
SNAP rules that change when you have a young child
College students face extra SNAP rules, and several exemptions are written for parents. Which ones exist and how to apply.
Building a class schedule around a child's day
Drop-off, pickup and sick days come first. How a student parent can build a term schedule that holds up week after week.
Family housing on campus
Some colleges keep apartments for students raising children. Who they are for, how to apply and what to try if there are none.
Pregnancy, new parents and your rights in class
Title IX protects pregnant students and new parents in class. What your college must do and which office arranges it.
Filing the FAFSA when you support a child
Supporting a child changes several FAFSA answers, starting with whose income counts. The questions to read closely.
Programs for your children while you study
Head Start, WIC, school meals and CHIP can help your children directly while you are in college. Who runs each one.
Lactation rooms and nursing breaks on campus
Where to pump or nurse on campus, how to arrange breaks in long classes and exams, and the rules that apply if you also work there.
When your child is sick during exam week
A fever on exam morning can upend a term. How to plan for it, what to send your instructor and how an incomplete grade works.
Child support and how the FAFSA counts it
The current FAFSA treats child support you receive as an asset, not income. Where it goes on the form and when to call the aid office.
Scholarships set aside for student parents
Some scholarships are written for students raising children. Where they come from, how to find them and how they fit with your aid.
SNAP and the twenty-hour work rule
How paid work of 20 hours a week can open SNAP to a college student, and what the state agency asks you to show.
Tuition help from your employer
Employer tuition programs can cover part of a degree, with tax rules, grade rules and payback terms worth reading first.
Taking fewer credits while you work full time
Going part-time changes how a Pell Grant is figured, whether federal loans stay open and how long the degree takes.
Evening, weekend and online classes
Classes outside the workday can keep your job intact, if you check how they count for aid and which offices stay open late.
Asking your manager for a schedule that fits school
A clear written request, made before the term starts, gives a manager room to say yes to hours that fit your classes.
Work-study or an outside job
Federal Work-Study and an off-campus job differ in pay, hours, flexibility and how the earnings show up on a later FAFSA.
Tax credits that reach working students
A paycheck means a tax return, and the return is where education credits and other help set out by the IRS are claimed.
When work hours start to cost you grades
Slipping grades can put your aid at risk under academic progress rules, and there are steps to take before the term ends.
Reduced fares and campus transit programs
Student transit passes, reduced fares and campus shuttles can lower the cost of riding in, and each has its own sign-up steps.
The full cost of driving to campus
Gas is only part of the bill. Parking, upkeep, tolls and tickets add up, and the aid office can explain its transportation allowance.
Living at home and your cost of attendance
Living with parents usually lowers the housing allowance in your aid offer, and it leaves your FAFSA dependency status where it was.
A full day on campus without a room of your own
Lockers, commuter lounges, quiet rooms and charging spots make a long day on campus easier when there is no dorm room to go back to.
Eating on campus when you commute
Commuter meal plans, the campus food pantry and student SNAP rules can keep long days on campus from running on vending machines.
When the car breaks down in the middle of a term
A repair bill mid-term can put your classes at risk. Emergency aid, a budget review and a backup route can keep you enrolled.
Snow days, late buses and missed classes
Weather, delayed buses and traffic hit commuters first. Learn how closures are announced and what each syllabus allows.
Joining campus life when you live off campus
Commuter student groups, midday events, campus jobs and study groups help you belong to a campus you leave each evening.
Commuting from another state and in-state tuition
Crossing a state line to reach class can change the tuition rate you pay and the state grants you can use. Ask early.
TRIO Student Support Services
A federal program on many campuses offers tutoring, advising and aid help to students whose parents did not finish college.
Walking your parents through the FAFSA
How to sit down with parents who never filled out a college aid form and finish the FAFSA together, one step at a time.
The campus words nobody explains
Plain meanings for registrar, bursar, holds, credit hours and the other campus terms colleges assume you already know.
Summer bridge programs
What a summer bridge program involves, what it can cost, and what to ask before you give up a summer job for one.
Finding a mentor on campus
Where first-generation students find mentors at college, and how to ask someone for advice without feeling like a burden.
When your family needs money from you
How to handle requests for money from home while you study, and why your aid refund needs a budget before any of it leaves.
Office hours, and why they are worth going to
Office hours are open time instructors set aside for students, and first-generation students often wait too long to use them.
Scholarships for first-generation students
Where scholarships for first-generation students are offered, how to apply without paying anyone, and how an award changes your aid.
Reading your first tuition bill
How to read the charges, credits and due date on a first college bill, and what to do when the aid has not shown up yet.
Choosing classes for your first term
How to build a first-term schedule that keeps your aid, fits your job and family, and leaves room to find your feet.
What academic probation means and how to come back
Academic probation and the aid office's progress rules are separate systems, and each has its own path back to good standing.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill, piece by piece
Tuition to the school, housing to you, a books stipend each term: how each part of Chapter 33 is paid and what changes it.
The school certifying official
The campus staff member who reports your classes to the VA, what to hand over, and why each schedule change has to reach them.
The Yellow Ribbon Program
How a school and the VA split costs above the GI Bill's tuition limit, who can use it, and why to ask a school early.
Tuition assistance while you serve
Military Tuition Assistance for people serving now: how each branch approves it, what to do before class starts, and when it is repaid.
Why veterans still file the FAFSA
Veterans answer the FAFSA as independent students, and grants, state aid and school awards can sit beside the GI Bill.
Education benefits for spouses and children
Transferred GI Bill months, Chapter 35, the Fry Scholarship, MyCAA and state waivers for military spouses and children.
College credit for military training
How the Joint Services Transcript and ACE reviews turn military training into college credit, and how to ask a college to count it.
The campus veterans resource center
What a campus veterans center usually offers, from GI Bill paperwork and VA counselors to a quiet room and other veterans.
The Montgomery GI Bill and how it differs
Chapter 30 pays a flat monthly amount to you rather than the school, so the choice between the two GI Bills needs care.
The housing allowance and online classes
Why an all-online term lowers the Post-9/11 housing payment, how one campus class changes it, and what to check before you register.
Veteran Readiness and Employment
Chapter 31 helps veterans with a service-connected disability prepare for work, and a counselor builds a plan that can include college.
Dropping a class when the VA is paying
How a dropped or withdrawn class changes VA payments, which reasons the VA accepts, and what to do if the VA asks for money back.
CLEP and DSST exams for service members
How service members can test out of introductory courses, who usually covers the exam fee, and what to settle with the college first.
Registering with the disability services office
How to sign up with the campus disability office, what the first meeting covers, and why registering early pays off.
The documentation accommodations usually ask for
What a disability office usually wants on paper, who can write it, and how to keep going while records are on their way.
Vocational rehabilitation and college costs
How a state vocational rehabilitation agency can help pay for college when your studies lead to the job goal in your plan.
A reduced course load and your aid
When a lighter schedule is an approved accommodation, here is how federal aid, progress rules and scholarships respond to it.
SSI, SSDI and money you earn as a student
How a paycheck, work-study and scholarships can affect SSI or SSDI while you study, and the rules that protect student earnings.
ABLE accounts for students
How an ABLE account lets a student with a disability save for school and daily costs without putting SSI or Medicaid at risk.
Accessible housing and meal plan adjustments
How to request an accessible room, a single, an assistance animal or a meal plan change, and the deadlines that come first.
Disability-related costs in your cost of attendance
How to ask the aid office to add assistive technology, care and other disability costs to your budget, and what papers to bring.
Testing accommodations and the campus exam center
How extended time, a quieter room and other exam changes are booked through the campus exam center, and what to do when one goes wrong.
Assistive technology and accessible course materials
How to get textbooks in accessible formats, captioned videos and assistive software, and why asking before the term begins saves weeks.
Homeless youth status on the FAFSA
How the FAFSA treats students without stable housing, who can confirm your situation, and what to bring to the aid office.
Education and Training Vouchers for foster youth
Chafee Education and Training Vouchers help current and former foster youth with college costs. Here is how to apply in your state.
Tuition waivers for students who were in foster care
Several states waive tuition at public colleges for students who were in foster care. The rules differ, so here is what to ask.
Where to stay when the dorms close
Winter break and summer can close the residence halls. Plan where you will sleep and eat well before the last exam of the term.
When a parent will not help with the FAFSA
A parent who refuses to give information can stall the FAFSA. Here is how overrides work and what to ask the aid office.
Finding someone in your corner
Without family to call, it helps to know who on campus can answer questions, sign forms and notice when something goes wrong.
Getting your birth certificate, ID and Social Security card
Aid offices, employers and benefit programs ask for ID. Here is where to replace a birth certificate, Social Security card and state ID.
Health coverage when you are on your own
Medicaid for former foster youth, Medicaid by income, student health plans and the marketplace, explained for students on their own.
A budget with no family safety net
Without family to cover a late refund or a broken phone, a budget has to plan for gaps. Build yours around the dates money arrives.
Renewing homeless youth status each year
Homeless youth status is decided again for each award year. Here is what to gather, when to start and what can change the answer.
Aging out of foster care while in college
Leaving care while enrolled can change your housing, money and support mid-term. Here is what to ask before your case closes.
Food over long breaks when the dining hall closes
When the dining hall closes for winter or summer, a few steps planned early keep you fed until classes start again.
Opening a bank account on your own
An account of your own keeps refunds and paychecks safe. Here is what banks ask for and how to keep fees low.
A phone number and mailing address for official mail
Aid notices and benefit letters need an address and a phone number that stay the same. Here is how to keep both steady.
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