Does anyone know of any birthmother scholorships?

grapesgum

Some adoption agencies claim that they offer scholarships for "birth" mothers but it is mostly a scam to get college women to give away their highly profitable babies.

Sadly, something that adoption agencies will not tell you is that you stand a far better chance at getting a scholarship as a single mother had you kept your child than as a first mother.

Your best bet is to decide on a career where there is a shortage of qualified professionals (nursing is good one) and apply for admission to a university that is working with a financial support program for that profession.

Go for it!! Congratulations on your decision to go back to college!!

magic pointe shoes

I was scholarship searching the other day and fastweb has an option of marking during the profile process that you are a birthmother. There is one scholarship listed and to be honest it gave me the willies. It lists a low gpa and drug testing required. It also sounded like it was trolling for more women to relinquish their children in disguise of a scholarship. =oP

Moose

You don't have to pay back pell grants. you have to pay back student loans, but pell grants are grants (which means the money is given to you) not loans (which you have to pay back).

I saw somewhere online the other day a scholarship specifically for first mothers. Like the first answerer, it sounded like payment for giving up a child...blech. Gives me the willies...disgusting.

Independ"ant"

Pell grants and you will need to start paying them back 6months-1yr after you graduate or drop out of college. You will have to start paying interest on them if you cannot pay it back in 1 lump sum. I believe they start adding interest to the loan 30 days after your final class.

Check out gov't work programs.....I believe there is one where if you join the peace corp or another similar organization that is volunteer work(2yrs.)...you will not have to pay the loan back.

If you had kept your child you would have qualified for other grants and support and would not have had to pay back the majority of it.

Eta...My bad...the Grant doesn't need to be paid back.. its the Fed.school loan portion that does...unless you go to state college you will need to apply for a loan.
http://www.easyaid.com/pell-grant.html

Heather B

Lots of agencies use the 'trade your baby for a scholarship' tactic to get a saleable baby. Looks like you missed the boat

MamaKate

Dear Hallesmommy,

I had never thought of such a thing until I saw your question.

I Googled "birthmother scholarships" and got tons of links. I checked out a few and I agree with the assessment of other posters. The whole idea makes me feel kind of sick anyway. I can't imagine taking a scholarship that comes across in such a pitiful, patronizing and creepy manner. It almost seems like some kind of consolation prize (which several sites say isn't always even available.) or "parting gift".

I would also be extremely concerned about how my child would feel about knowing I got money for my education based on the fact I gave them away. That would bring up a whole mess of issues for me and although not everyone would feel that way - I wouldn't want to take the chance.

There are gobs of other scholarships and grants available that I would rather use. Although, I might take a scholarship like that (I actually qualify!! OMG. *shiver*) if I planned on getting an education that was for a career in adoption reform, natural family preservation or some other field that was dedicated to fixing the issues of children and families - the irony would be spectacular. I probably wouldn't though because I'd still worry about what my children would think. JMHO.

If you are still looking for other ideas for educational funding, here's some good places to look:

http://www.fedmoney.org/grants/p-0-scholarships.htm
http://www.actstudent.org/finaid/resources.html
http://www.grandpajunior.com/Grants2.shtml

There are literally millions of ways to get money for school, everything from being left handed http://www.scholarships.com/wacky-scholarships.aspx to being tall, drinking milk or using duct tape http://unclaimedscholarships.us/?page_id=43!!!

Good luck deciding what to do and where to get the money. I hope that you do great things!

Peace,
Kate

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: