Chances are you've seen the ads on the internet saying things like "Obama wants you to go back to school."
$17 billion in stimulus dollars set aside to beef- up Pell Grants, and another $40 billion for state grants.
All of a sudden, college is becoming more attractive than ever, even for the busiest of people.
Kelly Fowler is a mother of two with a full time job at Spartanburg Regional.
“I'm very satisfied with my work right now but there nothing ever 100% guaranteed so I just wanted to have something to fall back on if, you know, anything ever happened."
So Fowler enrolled at Converse College in the program for adults over 24 known as Converse II. It has seen about a 30% spike in the last year alone.
"Last fall we had about 140 of our Converse II women enrolled… This fall we have 187,” said Laurie Hillstock with Converse College.
“So for us that's a tremendous increase in our enrollments," said Hillstock.
Converse II also adds an incentive by reducing tuition for women over 24 by 6% and students can apply for federal Pell Grants.
That makes up for the fact that it does not offer scholarships or take in state lottery money like public universities including USC Upstate.
And if you're a single parent looking for a great deal, you may want to start out at Spartanburg Community College. In addition to those Pell Grants and Lottery Tuition Assistance, SCC also offers scholarships for single parents.
But it’s not easy. Fowler takes classes during lunch.
"Every day, I'm in class I have an aha moment,"
She hopes that her time in class now, will translate to more stability and higher pay in the future.
But if you're really pressed for time -- you can always take advantage of discounts offered by online classes.
Sites like www.classesandcareers.com have helped nearly 500,000 degree seekers get their stimulus money and enroll in online universities.
Another online resource called www.projectworkingmom.com helps you apply for a $4,000 scholarship for working parents.
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