Hi,
when I was just becoming a single mom I was about 23 and had a daughter about 3-4 years old. I began attending a local Jr. College. I loved school and lived on the financial aid. The problem with Jr. Colleges is that they don't provide any housing options. I lived in low income apartments and took M to day care close by and I walked to and from school. My financial aide covered everything because my rent was only a few dollars a month. In Oklahoma financial aide isn't counted toward income because it is specifically designated for school costs.
After I completed my 2 years at the Jr. College I received a scholarship to OU. It was a good one that covered all my tuition, fees, and books. I moved into a small rental house that was on the trolley route. I eventually got low income housing and moved into a beautiful home in a wonderful area, my rent was $18 a month.
I didn't like OU, so I took a huge risk, I called a friend who received a scholarship to OSU instead of OU and I started going to OSU in Stillwater OK. I am NOT a person who likes change and it amazed me that I could uproot myself to a town I had never been to, just move on a whim, I only knew one person, and had no support group for babysitting, family around, etc.... My financial aide/low income housing/AFDC/food stamps at OSU for the first year there was over $26,000. I had bought an old car from my brother so I was able to get around town as needed, I was on campus and I walked everywhere there, M rode the school bus that stopped right by my apartment, I arranged my classes/study time within her school hours so I didn't need child care, I took her to class with me if she had a day out that I had class, we had all the time in the world to do stuff together, life was good. I had a monthly AFDC check coming in for things like gasoline and any money I needed, it felt like it was play money because all my bills were paid by my financial aid. My apartment was all bills paid, even phone and cable and since I received low income housing my rent was only $42.00 a month. Long distance was paid separately of course. I felt absolutely rich. After my tuition, fees, books, and rent was paid I left some money in my account and then got the rest in cash. I paid cash for a newer car, paid the insurance for a year, bought all the clothes and household things I wanted, life was good. I made good friends, never worried about where the next meal was coming from, never had to work, it was the best time of my life, I joined a new church and met the man of my dreams there and married him. Moving to a new town was just what I needed to start over.
I looked up online how many colleges are near you and within one hundred miles of you there are 7 Universities or Colleges. A couple are in Louisiana and you should be close enough to qualify for regular tuition instead of out of state, they have over 2000 students so they should have good programs.
I encourage you to take the chance. Admission to College can take some time so get your enrollment started. Contact the schools you are interested in and talk to a financial aide counselor about sending you the forms you need. If you don't qualify for aide then you still need to start looking at how to budget so you can start in the Fall.
Link to the list of schools in your area. The information is about half way down.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Center-Texas.html