Are you looking for a way to pay for school without racking up a whole lot of debt? College scholarships are the way to go. There are tons of scholarships available for all types of educational programs, you just have to find the right ones that apply to you and take action. In this article, we reveal 5 easy ways to find college scholarships, plus a few simple tips on how to apply successfully.
- Find College Scholarships using Database Searches
- Go to the Library
- Visit Local College Aid Offices
- Check with High School Guidance Counselors
- Look Locally to Find College Scholarships
1 – Find College Scholarships using Database Searches
Use a free personalized database search from a reputable website, such as FastWeb, Petersons, The College Board, or GoodCall.
This is one of the best ways to find college scholarships. Just plug your personal information into the database, and it will compare it with all the scholarship awards they have. Only the scholarships that fit your personalized profile will come up as matches, and they even send you updates as new scholarships that match your information come in.
There are several free scholarship databases available online. The key is to only use the free sites and avoid anything offering to-good-to-be-true lists for a “small fee”. These are typically scams.
2 – Go to the Library
Don’t forget to look for notices announcing college scholarship opportunities posted on bulletin boards at your public library. You can also do searches in the library database to find college scholarships and maybe even find obscure scholarships that are based on a unique quality that you may possess.
3 – Visit Local College Aid Offices
Visit your school’s financial aid office or any local college aid office to get your hands on extensive resources to find college scholarships. Each college should have their own specific resources that include private scholarships just for their school. These scholarships may apply to students from particular regions, students of certain ethnic or religious backgrounds or students interested in specific subjects.
4 – Check with High School Guidance Counselors
Take advantage of your high school or any local high school’s guidance counselor office to get as much scholarship information as you can. Be sure to inquire about scholarships that have been awarded by students in the past. Your high school should keep a record of these and can provide vital information on how the scholarships were won.
5 – Look Locally to Find College Scholarships
Contact local community service organizations, religious groups, your Chamber of Commerce, your personal place of business or the businesses of family and friends and your church.
These scholarships do not usually offer huge sums of money, but you have better odds with privately sponsored scholarships than with national scholarships.
Student Resources
- http://www.scholarships.com/
- http://www.fastweb.com/
- http://www.goodcall.com/scholarships/