Where are the best places to search for scholarships and grants?
Ever wonder why some students seem to get a good portion of their education paid for while you’re filling out yet another financial-aid application? Scholarship winners aren’t always Rhodes Scholar contenders. Sometimes winning grants is just a matter of knowing where to look and then giving it a shot. Here’s a look at the best ways to find scholarships suitable for you:
1) The Internet Is Your Friend
Searching for scholarships online is easy, fast and free—check out Web sites like Fastweb.com to see what is available. This easy-to-use scholarship site matches your personal background profile against a very large database of billions of dollars of scholarships, highlighting only the scholarships for which you are eligible. Completing a profile takes about a half hour and most high-school seniors will match 50 to 100 awards. It is then up to you to do the work of applying for—and then hopefully winning—the award.
Searching for scholarships online is easy, fast and free—check out Web sites like Fastweb.com to see what is available. This easy-to-use scholarship site matches your personal background profile against a very large database of billions of dollars of scholarships, highlighting only the scholarships for which you are eligible. Completing a profile takes about a half hour and most high-school seniors will match 50 to 100 awards. It is then up to you to do the work of applying for—and then hopefully winning—the award.
2) You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For
Do not be fooled by cost. Paid scholarship matching services are not any better than the free scholarship databases, which tend to be larger and more accurate anyway. The Fastweb site is updated daily, and will e-mail you notifications of new scholarships that match your profile.
Do not be fooled by cost. Paid scholarship matching services are not any better than the free scholarship databases, which tend to be larger and more accurate anyway. The Fastweb site is updated daily, and will e-mail you notifications of new scholarships that match your profile.
3) Optional Questions Matter
When using Fastweb or one of the other free scholarship matching services, make sure you answer all of the optional questions. These questions are used to trigger matches to specific scholarships. On average, students who answer all of the optional questions match about twice as many scholarships as students who answer just the required questions.
When using Fastweb or one of the other free scholarship matching services, make sure you answer all of the optional questions. These questions are used to trigger matches to specific scholarships. On average, students who answer all of the optional questions match about twice as many scholarships as students who answer just the required questions.
4) Punctuality Pays
Start searching for scholarships as soon as possible. Many families wait until the spring of the senior year in high school to figure out how to pay for college. By then, half of the deadlines have already passed. Students can also apply for scholarships in grades K–12 and after they are already in college. But, the sooner you start, the better your chances of winning money for college.
Start searching for scholarships as soon as possible. Many families wait until the spring of the senior year in high school to figure out how to pay for college. By then, half of the deadlines have already passed. Students can also apply for scholarships in grades K–12 and after they are already in college. But, the sooner you start, the better your chances of winning money for college.
None of the free-scholarship Web sites, however, will allow students age 13 and under to register to search for scholarships because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA precludes collecting personal information from young children. Instead, visit www.finaid.org/age13 for a list of scholarships available to students in grades K–8, such as spelling and geography bees.
5) Scholarships Take Many Forms
FinAid includes other lists of scholarships, such as a list of unusual scholarships, a list of the most prestigious and generous scholarships, a list of scholarships for average students and a list of scholarships for volunteering and community service.
FinAid includes other lists of scholarships, such as a list of unusual scholarships, a list of the most prestigious and generous scholarships, a list of scholarships for average students and a list of scholarships for volunteering and community service.
6) Just Google It
Google and other Web-search sites can give you scholarship lists as well. Just combine the name of your hobby or field of study with the word “scholarship” or “scholarships.” The FinAid site includes a tool that makes this easier at www.finaid.org/websearch.
Google and other Web-search sites can give you scholarship lists as well. Just combine the name of your hobby or field of study with the word “scholarship” or “scholarships.” The FinAid site includes a tool that makes this easier at www.finaid.org/websearch.
7) Real World Searches
Don’t overlook the offline world. Your local public library and bookstores have many periodicals that contain long lists of scholarships. These are great tools for random exploration. You can usually find the scholarship books in the jobs and careers section. But before you rely on such a book, check its copyright date. If the book is more than one or two years old, it is too old to be useful. About 10 percent of scholarships change in some material way each year, such as a new sponsor’s address or a different scholarship deadline.
Don’t overlook the offline world. Your local public library and bookstores have many periodicals that contain long lists of scholarships. These are great tools for random exploration. You can usually find the scholarship books in the jobs and careers section. But before you rely on such a book, check its copyright date. If the book is more than one or two years old, it is too old to be useful. About 10 percent of scholarships change in some material way each year, such as a new sponsor’s address or a different scholarship deadline.
Local awards may be posted to a bulletin board outside your guidance counselor’s office, the financial-aid office of local colleges and in your local public library. Also check with your community foundation, as community foundations typically manage many scholarships for local students. Other local awards may be sponsored by your high school Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Rotary Club, and Dollars for Scholars. Your church, synagogue, or mosque, local businesses, employer or union, fraternal organizations, and other social organizations may offer scholarships too. Also check your city’s newspaper. Many national scholarship sponsors promote their scholarship programs in the coupon section of the newspaper.8) Beware the Application-Fee Scam
If you have to pay money to get money, it’s probably a scam. Never invest more than a postage stamp to find out information about scholarships or to apply for one. A scholarship that charges you a fee to apply should raise a red flag. They may disguise the fee in various ways, such as calling it an administrative fee or the taxes on the scholarship. Or the fine print on an unsolicited scholarship check will sign you up for an expensive service with the monthly fee direct debited from your bank account.
9) Need-Based Grants
You should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov to apply for need-based grants from the federal and state government and most colleges.
You should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov to apply for need-based grants from the federal and state government and most colleges.
10) Tax Credits
There are also several education tax benefits, such as the Hope Scholarship tax credit, that you can obtain when you file your federal income tax return. These tax benefits are based on amounts you paid for college tuition, fees, and course materials.
There are also several education tax benefits, such as the Hope Scholarship tax credit, that you can obtain when you file your federal income tax return. These tax benefits are based on amounts you paid for college tuition, fees, and course materials.
