ADVERTISEMENT
A piece of paper saying SCHOLARSHIP laying on top of money earned by finding available college scholarships.

College Scholarships: Where to Find Them

If you’re in need of financial assistance and don’t want to acquire a student loan, then college scholarships are the best way to fund your education. Scholarships provide attachment free funding for higher education. That mean you don’t have to pay the money back and can typically use it for whatever portion of your expenses that you want.

Your school can point you in the right direction.

The first step you need to take is to visit your high school guidance counselor’s office to inquire about any scholarships he or she knows of. The advantage of speaking to your counselor is that you will have ample time to review various scholarship foundations, GPA requirements, and application deadlines. After you have found scholarship funding prospects, you can begin contacting those sources for more information.

Universities provide numerous scholarships.

After speaking to your counselor, you should investigate the schools you are thinking of attending. Universities often provide scholarships for students as a way of persuading students to attend and they usually share information over foundation scholarships offered to their students by outside parties.

Independent research pays off.

You can also be proactive in conducting your own scholarship fund search online. By doing so, you’ll be able to find more scholarship sources that not everyone know about. For example, FatWeb, Chegg, Scholarshipamerica, and USNews are a few sites that offer listings of scholarship foundations for high school graduates and college students. When you’re trolling the web for scholarships, think of organizations that you or even your parents have been involved in. Many organizations offer money for college to their members and members’ children. It is also worthwhile to sign up for e-newsletters so that scholarship providers can send you regular updates about requirements and new funding sources.

The more scholarship applications you submit the higher the likelihood your education will be partially or even completely paid for. The sooner you begin searching for scholarships, the better those chances are. When it comes to your education and future, there really is no such thing as a wasted effort. Exhaust all of your options and don’t stop searching for scholarships simply because you receive one or two denials.

Last Updated: February 08, 2017