It is tough being a college student, let alone a student with the 24/7 job of being a parent. Attending classes, writing papers, and studying in between diaper changes, soccer games, and bath time can seem surmounting. Yet, across the country, nearly 22% of undergraduate students juggle coursework and parenting; the majority being mothers.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 70% of undergraduate college students are mothers with 62% of them being single moms. That’s right! The majority of undergraduate students who have children are moms!

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research states that while there are endless hurdles for student moms to jump, they present an increasingly positive influence in their children. “In addition, mothers’ postsecondary attainment increases children’s likelihood of attending college themselves. A study by Attewell and Lavin (2007) shows that even when controlling for predisposing social and demographic characteristics, a mother’s college attendance has a significant effect on a number of child educational outcomes, including vocabulary, reading and math scores, and college attendance. “ While many single mom students qualify as low-income, “​​the positive effects for children [of single student mothers] are large enough to mitigate any negative effects of low-income.” Additionally, student-parents tend to get higher grades with roughly one-third receiving a 3.5 GPA or higher. Many credit their children as motivators for higher grades.

Moms always find a way to get things done, even if it means sacrificing so much of themselves to get a degree and better the lives of their children. A study done in 2018 revealed that student-parents have about 10 hours a day leftover to dedicate to schoolwork after children/family and full-time work. We applaud all student parents!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, students, graduates, professors, etc.! Are you a mom and working toward your degree? Let us know in the comments!