Top Colleges for Students with Children

Single Mother's Guide considers Berea College to be the third best college for parents looking to study. Christian Post places Berea at 14th on its similar list. Lastly, Learn How To Become lists it in its unnumbered list. The college's approach to supporting students with children may not be to everyone's taste, but it is certainly innovative. Students, their children, and their spouses get to live on the college's Ecovillage for no monetary fee. However, the parent (and spouse, if applicable) must instead perform environmentally friendly work and community building activities, such as farming, teaching, and babysitting in addition to their degree requirements.

Christian Post notes that as Brigham Young University is a Mormon affiliated college, it is naturally well suited to family-oriented study. And luckily, the college's family focus doesn't just extend to married people. It has the Maurine R. and Joseph A. Humphries Fund for Single Parents, for instance, which helps single parents access educational opportunities at the college. Additionally, Brigham Young Television has also produced a video guide for effective single parenting that can help students or anyone who is a single parent. Nation Swell and Study.com also recommend Brigham Young University.

Online degrees have long been a convenient solution for student parents, as they allow the degree to be pursued at the student's own pace and schedule. However, US News reports that the University of Massachusetts has a degree program that merges online education with a traditional degree. The University Without Walls Program allows students to both come to campus and study their degree partially online. It's up to the student to decide how much they want to study online or on campus. Students can even study 100% online if they wish. Each semester, over 900 students enroll in this program, which is giving many the chance to study something that would be almost impossible to undertake otherwise. Study.com and Christian Post also recommend University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

This college's range of student parent scholarships on offer is incredible. Christian Post notes that it has the Single Parent Scholarship, the Susan Bruce Single Parent Scholarship, the Hero's Fund for Single Parents and the Smith Single Parent Scholarship. And once the students have been admitted and supported with the scholarships, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire's attentiveness to student parents continues. It has the Children's Nature Academy, which employs non-parent students to run programs that, "physically, emotionally and cognitively," nurture children's sense of wonder. Study.com also recommends this college.

The support services at Champlain are specifically geared towards single parents. The Single Parents Program has been running for over 30 years and has helped thousands of students with children get into its college and through tuition successfully. And the college's website has provided many examples of the program really making a difference to students' lives. For instance, Guadeloupe Linarte Cano, a current student, states, "I couldn't ask for anything more. As a student, as a mother, the program gives me the strength to get a degree I couldn't find anywhere else. It has opened a lot of doors to make it possible to come to school and stay here." Christian Post and Study.com are the sources that particularly recommend this college.

Two methodology sources cite Texas Woman's University, as it runs SPARK, the Student Pioneers Also Raising Kids program. Members of this program meet every month to discuss the current opportunities that students with children can utilize. Some of the areas that SPARK assists with include financial support, social support, and academic support. The college also has an enrichment program for the children of students called The Clubhouse, which is for children aged five to 12. However, this enrichment program comes with a fee. The sources that recommend Texas Woman's University are Study.com and Christian Post.

This college has set a strong example that all colleges, community or otherwise, should follow. Los Angeles Valley Community College has the Family Resource Center on Campus. The center strengthens working families that study; has a lactation room; provides parenting workshops; runs infant and toddler playgroups; finds internships; provides free children's clothing; provides diapers, wipes, and formula; and runs family-friendly events. A program coordinator at the center is Amber Angel, who herself was a student parent at the college, and who is advocating for student parent issues across America. Both Higher Education Today and American Progress commend Los Angeles Valley Community College for its work.

Nation Swell notes that student parents at the University of California Berkeley can access the Bear Pantry, which provides food supplies and gift cards to help them pay for their own food. And the Bear Pantry is also expanding its offering. In November 2017, it started a diaper bank program which provides 50 free diapers a month to student parents. However, the Institute for Women's Policy Research notes that the University of California, Berkeley is doing much more for students with children. It has credit-bearing courses that help the students become familiar with the college, has collaborative learning environments for student parents and has a program that helps student parents transition into the workforce after graduation.

This college has put a system in place that ensures that women parents aged 25 or older have the opportunity to attain a degree. This is called The Frances Perkins Program, and it selects 90 women each year. It covers the cost of tuition and provides selected students an amazing amount of financial support. The program also allows the students to create their own flexible study schedule. This program has been running since 1980 and has led to the graduation of over 1,000 women. Nation Swell and Christian Post both praise this program.

The University of Alabama is combining classic support techniques with technology. For instance, it runs support groups for undergraduate and graduate students that are conducted through online forums. Institute for Women's Policy research is quick to point out that these support group activities have created strong social networks for student parents. However, the parental support goes much further than online. The college has the yearly Family Resource Fair, a family resource center, and family activities at the campus outdoor recreation department. If all this weren't enough, then it also runs the "Sitters for Service" program, which gives students with children 30 hours of free babysitting every semester. Higher Education Today is another methodology source to commend the University of Alabama.

Community colleges enroll 45% of all student parents, so it's great to see that some are offering the highest standard in child support services. Lane Community College is a fine example. It has a whole department dedicated to quality care. And for parent students, it offers free guidance and information about child care, behavioral strategies, school readiness, early childhood development, stress and anxiety issues, playgroups, foster care and much more. The staff members in this department are specially trained in these areas, ensuring that parents get the best help. These services are commended by Higher Education Today and the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

This college's main focus on helping student parents is through child care. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor has a system where low-income parents can access financial aid to support child care while they study. For the 2018-2019 school year, the maximum amount that the college will pay out to students is $2,830 per term for one child, $4,144 per term for two children and $5,463 per term for three or more children. Both Higher Education Today and the Institute for Women's Policy Research cite this program as a strong example of a college providing ample funds to student parents.

While the majority of American colleges can appear blind to the needs of student parents, University of California, San Diego has shown that it is highly attentive to them. And this attentiveness starts right at enrollment. The college runs the Priority Enrollment Program for Undergraduate Students with Children, which allows parents to schedule their classes and coursework around their parental responsibilities. This program has impressed Higher Education Today. However, Institute for Women's Policy Research has identified many more accommodations that University of California, San Diego has for parents who are studying, including child-friendly study rooms, family-centered on-campus leisure spaces and more.

Wisconsin's colleges have many incredible programs that help student parents through their years of study. The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in particular, has the Life Impact Program, which offers disadvantaged parents a $5,000 renewable scholarship and a range of support. Throughout their schooling, student parents are able to contact a life coach team, which assesses their specific needs and creates a range of material to help them. And this program is impactful; the graduation rate of students who are helped by this system is 84.2%, which is much higher than the national average of 59%. Both Higher Education Today and the Institute for Women's Policy Research commend this program.

Two methodology sources commend Ferris State University's use of funding for single parents. The college received money from the Kellogg Foundation to create a "Keys to Degrees" program (a program which is modeled on something pioneered by the number 2 entry on this list.) At Ferris State University, the program focuses on providing educational and fun events for the children of students, which helps the parents with study time. However, Ferris State University also has the Students with Children Network, which offers additional support in the form of academic advising, food bank access, daycare payment assistance and more.

The two sources that discuss Portland State University cite different reasons for highlighting the college. Nation Swell is impressed with the way that the college has implemented a student parent success program that has resulted in 92% of graduates working in a field related to their course of study. Center for American Progress notes that the college hosts and curates the National Student Parent Success Symposium, which is, "the only national conference that promotes the advancement of support services for college and university students who are raising children while completing their education."

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has a rewards-based program on offer for student parents aged between 18 to 35 years. Institute for Women's Policy Research reports that the Young Student Parent Program gives academic advising, special workshops, presentations, tutoring, nutrition education, financial counseling, parenting classes and more. What's even better is that it has partnered with local health centers to offer free screenings and immunizations. Performing well in the program's activities means that those students enrolled get gas cards, grocery cards, and other gift cards.

Christian Post highlights how Minnesota State University has several innovative scholarships for student parents. One is for women who have had to delay college due to family matters. It's called The Mary Jane Scholarship for Re-Entry Women, and it provides up to $1,000. Another is for single parents regardless of gender and is called the Coplan Donohue Single Parent Scholarship, which offers a similar level of funding as the Mary Jane Scholarship. Additionally, Minnesota State University's Women's Center provides a welcoming place for student parents and their children, offering toys, a lactation station and other facilities for use.

Institute for Women's Policy Research notes that the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse has an innovative way of helping student parents into and through college. It's called the Self Sufficiency Program and it's entirely free for low-income parents to enroll in. The 14-week course teaches the parents, "critical thinking, writing, math, and computer/technical skills," and more. What's even better is that the program provides free childcare while the classes are happening. Additionally, parents who pass this program are given a scholarship for enrolling at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse or a local two-year institution.

This college's student parent support efforts have been implemented so recently that most lists neglect to feature it. However, Eastern Kentucky University's new apartment complex for single moms and dads ensures that it deserves its place on this list. Eastern Scholar House opened as recently as September 2017. NPR states that this building cost $10 million. And this money has gone into creating, "single-parent households access to housing, on-site child care and other services as the parent pursues a college dream."