Free College Money Part 4: Searching for Scholarships

February 19th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under • by erica

NOT JUST FOR HONOR STUDENTS

In Free College Money Part 3 of this five-part series, college grants were defined as “a gift of money…not a reward that you have to pay back or compete for…” Unlike grants, you do have to compete to win scholarships and they are awarded based on prearranged criterion, creativity and a unique application. While grants are usually given from a budget and awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis, scholarships are given all year long and have definitive deadlines that you must keep in mind when applying. Also, where grants are given to any number of students, scholarships are awarded to a select few applicants.

In the past, it was common for scholarships to be awarded largely based on merit, but nowadays, scholarships are awarded for a large variety of reasons including where a student lives, goes to school, the profession they are pursuing, and personal interests. The key in searching for scholarships is to apply where your student fulfills the largest number of criteria, thereby eliminating the competition and increasing the odds of taking home the award.

Listed here are seven places to begin your scholarship search:

Federal Student Aid: The U.S. Department of Education has set up a website (Student Aid) to provide free college money information, as well as money for technical schools, trade schools or career enhancement. This handy little website has a Scholarship Matching Wizard that anyone can use to create a search for free college money. You simply enter as much of the student’s information as possible to find all types of related scholarships. Once entered, this site will match you with hundreds of potential scholarships based on race, ethnicity, high school, college, national merit status, Greek organization, sports, religion, disability, profession, affiliations, marital status, art, interests and other miscellaneous criteria.

By State: One of the best ways to find available grants and scholarships is to do a search at the website of the state a student resides in or is planning to attend school in. State websites gather information for legally registered programs within their boundaries, and scholarships listed there have the best chance of being legitimate as well as having a more narrowed criterion. These scholarships are often state-related and generally awarded first to residents of the state.

By College: Each college a student may wish to attend (whether community college, trade school or university) has a financial aid office. This is an excellent place to begin a search for free college money since they have lists of scholarships created strictly for their own attendees. These scholarships often come from local contributors and corporations, but the college financial aid office will also have the 4-1-1 on other scholarships frequently awarded to their students. Drop by the prospective colleges and find out from their financial aid officers exactly which scholarships your student might receive for attending their college instead of another.

By Major/Minor: Once a student has stated their desired major, they will be able to find a long list of scholarships awarded strictly to that major. However, just because a student has declared a major, this does not mean they cannot qualify for scholarships in other fields as well. Declared minors also open up the possibility of winning more free college money. Therefore, apply for everything your student is interested in regardless of whether you think your student will qualify or not.

By Trade Affiliations: Checking with your job is an excellent way to find money for students. Not only can you deduct up to $5,250 of money given to you by a job for college expenses, but it gives your employer tax advantages as well. If this is out of the question, look for trade associations related to your student’s future profession since many of these trade associations offer discounts or scholarships that are never awarded. These programs are not advertised as widely as other scholarships, so your student will have a better chance of winning them.

Online: Fastweb.com, Scholarships.com, and CollegeBoard.com are three excellent online resources to begin your search for college scholarships. You simply fill out a free application and within minutes, thousands of scholarships will be listed that are related specifically to your student’s future. Through these websites, you can also download scholarship applications, apply directly in some instances, find out the amount of the awards before you apply, review detailed deadlines at a glimpse, and quite possibly win hundreds of thousands of dollars for your student’s college education. As an added bonus, these companies will e-mail you whenever a new scholarship becomes available that fits your students application.

Books: Although I would recommend doing a search online before getting a book, there are many books available that provide excellent resources on scholarships and their qualifying criteria. Some of these books include: the Fiske Guide to Colleges, The College Board Scholarship Handbook 2008, and Kaplan Scholarships: Billions of Dollars in Free Money for College. However, you can also find books dedicated specifically to your student’s criteria, grades or major, like College Guide for Performing Arts Majors 2008: Real-World Admission Guide for All Dance, Music, and Theater Majors, Financial Aid for Asian Americans 2006-2008, and Technology Grant News : Everything Technology 2008. These are just a few that you could look for in your local bookstore.

BEWARE OF SCAMS

A scholarship or grant is free money…money you should never need to pay for. Beware of companies that charge an application fee, demand money to pay out an awarded scholarship, claim you’re a finalist in a scholarship contest but need money for that scholarship, or request your social security number, credit card number or bank account information in relation to “holding a scholarship or grant for you.” Be wary of free seminars that turn into high-pressure sales pitches regarding financial aid since financial aid information is easy to find for free. Also, do not believe companies that “guarantee” a scholarship. Any and all claims should include qualifications or disclaimers.

Now that you have an idea of where to begin looking for scholarships, don’t forget to check out Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this series (Starting with Pennies, Tax Programs and Hundreds of Grants) for other great resources on Free College Money. Also, check back next week for the last article in this five-part series: “Free College Money Part 5: Rock Bottom College Alternatives.” This last article discusses the little-known options that can help your student get their degree for a fraction of the cost.