Okay Question.......

Hey Pocu

You should absolutely check with the schools and county VoTech people. You might be pleasantly surprised how much help is available. Here in FLA (no hotbed of socialism!!!) a gal I met with two small kids was getting rent and transportation subsidies and tuition paid for while going to LPN school.

Good luck to ya

(unless you go into administration--yuck)

Papaw John

Yeah, I agree with Papaw - as a single mom you should qualify for lots of financial aide. There's a lot of free money for single moms wanting an education. You can get enough money either with loans or grants to sustain you throughout school. Even if you have to pay some of it back, it doesn't come due until after you graduate - and you don't have any kind of contract you're locked into with regard to where you work. I would hesitate to get into some kind of long contract with a nursing home or anywhere else.

Agree there is ALOT of money out there for nursing school.

I was an administrator and wanted out of that because nursing is flexible and pays well.

For the time you may have to send your child to a caregiver you are not going to damage the kid. It is hard to send a wee one to someone else, but better that than you working at 7-11 at minimum wage and the kid not having food on the table when she/he is 3.

Been there, done that.

I did exactly what you need to do when my child was 6 weeks. She is now 29, has both a B.A. and Master's, has three kids of her own.

She sends them to preschool and still takes some college classes for her NEXT degree because she knows it isn't going to hurt them, and her staying home 24/7 with a 8 mo, 3 yo, and 4 yo would be abusive to herself.

I agree.

Go get the degree, find a good daycare you have faith in - relax and go for it.

Our hospital pays nursing students 40 hours of pay while they go to school and work 20 hours as a tech. Not a bad deal. Plus they get books and tuition paid for. The post-grad contract is for 2 years of service.

Good luck. With some perseverence, esp. as a single mom, you should find some help. :)

Thanks so much everyone. I truly appreciate this advice. This kind of situation can get very frustrating and depressing. I think I will print out all the postings and hang them on the wall!

However, Pricklypear, I am in school right now for medical administration assistance as I said before. I spoke with some of the program supervisors about my situation - thinking and hoping that there WAS some kind of grant for single moms, but none of them had a clue. So what am I to do? Is a grant like that a college thing? Or mostly a state thing? And can I get a student loan JUST for living expenses? It seems that everyone I ask who SHOULD know doesn't know.

I appreciate your advice too Papawjohn. (As well as everyone else.) I will try to call other schools. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "county VoTech people." Can you elaborate? BTW, I have a Papawjohn. He just turned 85 last Friday. :)

Thanks again everyone!

Amy

i have a little advice for ya. if you feel strongly about becoming a nurse just start doing what needs to be done. tell your self i am going to be a nurse. you will find, as i am sure you have already, not much help for those that are talking about doing this or that. but, when you are doing this or that help will come. call it a test of fath. anyway, working as a student nurse is great for students. not only because of the flexable hours and experience, but if you work nights you can get most of your studying done at work. can not really study during the day shift. thats just something to think about. and most hospitals have day care for their employees, i am sure you might be able to work something out with them while your in school for you kid. you will also find your not the only single mom in the program. some however have help from their parents or some other person watching their kid and might be willing to help you out with some assistance careing for yours. point is you will not find these people until you start working at your goals. perseverance is the key to success, remember that as you go through some stressing times ahead. you my need to make some adjustments in your spending, such as decreasing your rent by getting a roommate, another nurseing student would be ideal. if you need to live poor, dont fret, it is only a temporary situation. keep your goal in mind and perserver. many will be moved by your efforts and help will come. as far as grants and such yeah it depends on the school your going to. some offer more than others just need to talk with the school you plan on going to. their are lots of grants and scholarships from hospitals, goverments and many others, but you have to really seek them out and apply for all you find, even if you dont think you will get it. first thing you need to do is make a commentment to becomeing a nurse. the rest will take care of itself, that doesnt mean you will not work hard and make sacrifices. again you must perserver and stay focussed on the end result not on your current situation, remember its only temporary. just dont give up before you get started. even with the best of planning life will throw you a curve and you must do what you need to do to get around that curve and stay on the road that will lead you to your goal. its easy to make a turn when you see bumps in the road but who knows where that turn could lead, stay the course and ride the bumps and will arrive where you want to go. dont look for the easy road just the one the one that will get you there. some take the freeway some have to take side streets while others ride the bus, it really dosent matter how long the road is, just that you get there. i wish you the best of luck and hope all this make sense to you. alrighty then lates.

Amy - Go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov and fill out the forms. This is the government's student loan place. Just put in all your information and they will mail you information on what you qualify for.

Also, go to the college you are thinking of attending for nursing, and make an appointment with someone in the financial aid department!

When I was in school, I was offered $5000 - $7000 a semester. This amount included what the government calculated as living expenses, tuition and books for the college I was attending. I was married, and my husband made decent money, so I didn't qualify for much in the way of grants (which is free money). But it's based on your income on your last tax form, dependents, etc..You can choose to take all the money, or just a portion of it. It becomes due if you drop out of school, or 6 months after you graduate.

Hey Again Pocu

The "VoTech" people I referred to are the country board of education, adult education division. Of course, they are likely to have different name in your county and state. But in every place I've lived the School Board has a program to teach adults work skills. Some learn Auto-Body or Machine-Operator or Printing-Press-Operation. Usually they co-ordinate with local businesses and industry to help supply workers to businesses and assure jobs to graduates. "Vocational Technology....VoTech" is ususally what it's called.

As I say, I was astonished at the sort of financial support that this one gal got in her LPN school here in Fla.

And my regards to your Papaw John. My Tennessee grandson gave me the name (Papaw is appalachian for Grandpa) and I'm kinda proud of it.

Papaw John

I was a certified medical assistant before I became a registered nurse. I was a medical assistant from 1974-1979, have been a RN since 79, a BSN since 01, and now am in the master's program. I, too, was a single mom with two young children while working and going to school in the 1980's (I really wanted that BSN and was willing to do whatever it took.)

Yes, there are lots of facilities that will pay for your degree if you work for them. The VA system is huge and does it. The hospital I worked where I got my BSN paid for it as long as I still worked full time. That is not what you are looking for now, I know, but in the future you may want to look in that direction.

The March of Dimes offers scholarships as long as you are willing to work as a RN for two years full time. There are also service clubs that offer scholarships---junior leagues, service leagues, etc.

When I worked I did send my children to an on site day care at the hospital. The workers were hospital employees, the care was wonderful. There was very little staff turnover. I could run down at lunch to check on them, and call any time. My kids were also very advanced when they entered school, and I think the day care had a lot to do with that. I did not consider my kids being raised by strangers, but rather friends who worked where I did, and really, truly loved kids. All of their teachers are still there and my last child left that center 5 years ago. The kids are still thrilled when they run into one of their "teachers."

Jackie Lamb