College is hard enough as a single woman. Imagine the amount of responsibility you’d have as a mother.
According to a report published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “Parents of dependent children make up nearly a quarter (3.9 million) of the undergraduate students in the United States, and half of those parents are single parents (1.9 million).”
With the stress of having a child added to the stress of school, women in the process of earning their degrees are more likely to drop out. This is why it is essential for more schools to invest in better services – such as daycare or housing – that will alleviate some of the stress and make it easier for women to balance motherhood and their educations.
To get your college search started, here is a list of five American institutions, with help from Best Colleges and U.S. News, that offer great services for women who have children and want to pursue their degree.
Arizona State University, located in Tempe, Arizona, has a Campus Children’s Center which admits children between one and five years. Mothers on the go can drop their children off at the daycare on their way to their first class. The center also has children’s programs that have a low teacher/child ratios, allowing for higher quality education.
Additionally, ASU provides a CCAMPIS Child Care Subsidy and CAMPIS Child Care Emergency Fund for parents who need financial assistance. And for the mothers with newborn children, ASU has a Breastfeeding Support Committee that provides nursing mothers with various resources. As part of this community, mothers can pump on-campus or comfortably breastfeed in one of the five designated spaces on campus.
READ MORE: The Power of Having Other Moms as Resources
Before the university’s decision to make Wilson College a coeducational school, Wilson was a women’s college in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, that was (and still is) committed to helping women attain their goals. “Our primary purpose is to empower women, to educate women – not to cut off a portion of the population simply because they have a child,” Katie Kough, previous director of the Women with Children Program, tells U.S. News.
Wilson’s Women with Children program was launched in 1996 with the idea that “single mothers would do better in college if they could reside on campus with their children,” says the Wilson website. Recently, the program expanded to allow single mothers and single fathers to live on campus with their children. They live in two-room suites with private baths on campus. In addition, the college provides scholarship opportunities for qualified students enrolled in the program, which provides subsidies for child care.
Purdue Univesrity is a public university in West Lafayette, Indiana. This campus offers a Lion Cubs Child Care service to all enrolled students and faculty members with children ages three and seven. This program operates in the Fall and Spring semesters and strives to provide “high-quality child care service [with] a professional director and staff [who provides] planned activities and supervised play,” says the program website. The current rate for the first enrolled child is $2.25 an hour for students and $2.50 an hour for faculty members.
Additionally, Purdue has weekend course programs, including the “Saturday MBA” to help women juggle school and motherhood. And for those women looking to live near campus to decrease the daily commute, there are over 150 two and three bedrooms housing units dedicated to students with families.
READ MORE: The Struggles of Being an Older Mother
The University of Memphis has a Child Development Center for children between 30 months and 12 years of age. This program offers a personalized teaching approach for each student. According to the Memphis website, they have three different types of curricula, all of which cater to the child’s age and learning abilities. There is also a Creative Arts After-School Program where students can take violin lessons or participate in dance and drama classes.
Aside form the Child Development Center, there are also around 150 townhouses and flats available for students with families. And there are four units specifically allocated for students with disabled children.
The University of Minnesota has a variety of options for studying mothers. The campus offers four on-campus child care facilities: U of M Child Development Center, Shirley G. Moore Laboratory School, Commonwealth Terrace Community Child Care Center and Como Early Learning Center. These centers come with living areas for families and the U of M Child Development Center even offers cares for children between three months and five years old. Aside from these options, women can also enroll their children in one of the three off-campus childcare locations.
READ MORE: How Your Relationship With Your Mother Can Shape Your Life
Getting your degree as a mother doesn’t have to be difficult. Many campuses offer a great deal of support for women looking to advance their lives, careers and family’s opportunities. To find more colleges in your area, visit the Best Colleges website.
