Women who have put their education on hold to raise a family have an opportunity to get the advanced skills they need in a college education through the many different kinds of grants for women offered by both the government and the private sector. There are many options to choose from, but there is often a minimum age at which you can apply for such grants.
The Jeanette Rankin Foundation offers grants for women over the age of 35 who want return to school. The amount of this grant is $2000 and in the application, women must provide details of how receiving the education or training they intend to take will help both them and their families. They do not have to be married or have children to take advantage of this type of school grant, though. As long as they can demonstrate that it would be money well spent, they could receive the grant.
Since women are not usually found in careers involving mathematics, such as accounting. For this reason the Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting offers grants for women up to $5000 for females who are pursuing an accounting or business degree.
If you already hold an undergraduate degree and want to further your education, there are grants for women available for this as well. The costs associated with obtaining an advanced degree far exceed those of an undergraduate degree and for this reason the amounts of the grants are much higher. The American Association of University Women offers school grants from $5000 to $20,000 to women who want to continue their education in a specific field, usually non-traditional career choices for women, such as architecture, engineering and computer studies.
Women who have been out of the workforce for some time often have to upgrade their skills before they are able to obtain a job. These women can apply for educational grants for women in the form of scholarships. These scholarships can be valued at $2000 or $4000 per year, which really helps toward paying for the costs of getting additional training.