Being a low-income student in college is difficult, but it’s likely to be even more difficult if you’re also a woman. Barbara Gault, executive director of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, points out that female students are much more likely to be raising children and may even be caring for older relatives as well. Colleges’ schedules and services have long catered to traditional, childless students, she says, but they need to change to accommodate a new student population.