Finding Free Money... Funding Your Dreams
“Scholarships turn dreams into degrees.”
Congratulations! Your applications are in, and you’ve been accepted to your dream school!
That’s the good news. Now you are wondering how you will pay for your dream. Everyone says “just apply for scholarships,” but once you start searching Google you realize it's trickier than it sounds, but with a few tips you will be on your way to finding scholarships and the money for college.
With that said, here are 10 ways to search for scholarships:
Consider applying to scholarships - a job with a huge payout. Plan to spend at least 10 hours a week.
Contact your guidance counselor and search your school district’s web site and contact the college you plan to attend. Often, they will have a list of local scholarships. Apply to all local and school affiliated scholarships first.
Consider using an educational consultant. Admission Magician can help you search for the perfect scholarships and keep you on track to meet deadlines.
Create a list on a table to keep track of scholarships, requirements and deadlines.
Then apply to the soonest, quickest, simplest, largest awards, and best match to your qualifications. Apply to smaller scholarships too. Often these have fewer applicants and add up quickly.
Search by your county’s name, your major, your interests, your state and the word “scholarships.”
Use a junk email with the student’s name to avoid flooding your inbox. Some of these are sweepstake style scholarships and have many applicants so complete the local scholarships first.
I suggest parents act as an administrative assistant and help fill out all the mundane parts if students are too busy doing the things that earn them the scholarships.
Gather references, transcripts, FAFSA and tax information references and keep them handy.
Tweak your college application essay to fit the scholarship essay requirements often you can use the majority of your essay.
Before you start your search, make a list of your unique strengths so you can zero in on scholarships that target those traits.
To help you get started, here are seven common scholarship types you'll likely encounter:
Academic Achievement/Merit: If you're a top student, you could win scholarship money for academic achievement. Some schools give free rides to high-achieving students.
Community Service: Scholarships aren't reserved only for top students. There are various opportunities for those who volunteer in their communities.
Athletic Achievement: If sports is your thing, shift your attention to athletic scholarships.
Unique Hobbies/Creativity/Traits/Clubs: While you're probably familiar with academic and sports scholarships, you might be surprised to find more random opportunities.
Personal Background: A number of scholarship programs have a mission to support traditionally underrepresented students. When searching for opportunities, you might want to indicate your gender, race, ethnicity, or another aspect of your identity to find scholarships that are a good fit.
Financial Need: A variety of scholarship organizations seek to help students with demonstrated financial need. As you search for need-based scholarships, review any additional criteria required before applying.
Family's Workplace or Military Affiliation: Finally, you might narrow down your search according to your family's affiliation with a company or the U.S. military.
There are many search engines online, and it can get overwhelming. Often, these are just sweepstakes style scholarships, and are looking to gather your data. I suggest using all your local resources first, but I have found success with several search engines.
Click here to access a free list of these search engines. Earning scholarships is a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
It takes time, organization, and diligence, but the payoff can be 100% of your college fees paid for with free money!
