Educational Scholarships, Grants, & Awards

Educational Grants, Scholarships and Awards are free money, and they’re specifically offered to students attending institutions of higher education. Are all scholarships awarded based on GPA or athletics? Absolutely not! Regardless of your current grades or athletic ability, you could potentially get free money for college.

Scholarships are essentially contests. See also Sweepstakes, Contests & Prizes. Most wouldn’t put “sweepstakes and contests” in the same boat as “scholarships”, but many of the same regulations apply to both. Like any contest there is a specific set of rules that determines who can be selected for the prize, and if a participant doesn’t follow those rules then they immediately become disqualified. Sometimes the rules for a specific scholarship might say that the participant must have a certain GPA and others are based on athletic ability. However, there are others that are based on research, heritage, community involvement, creativity or other criteria.

Who Gives Away Free Money For College?

There are 4 basic entities that give away money for higher education:

The Federal Government – Since the government has a program where you apply for financial aid, this is the resource that most people think about when funding a college education. You can apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Schools and Universities – Schools and universities offer scholarships to recruit the best students and athletes. Applying to these scholarships may already be included in the application to attend the school. They will take information from the FAFSA, others might require that you fill out the CSS Profile.

Charities & Non-Profits – Charities and non-profits offer scholarships that are inline with the missions for which they were created. You would apply to these individually. This is generally where the hunting begins for additional scholarships after you’ve completed the FAFSA.

Private Companies – Sometimes scholarships are offered to children of employees. Others are promotional scholarships that give the company good public relations and fun exposure. One example is the Duck Tape Prom Scholarship.

Source: US News & World Report.

College Scholarship Myths

Some believe that they must have a 4.0 GPA or be a sports superstar in order to get a scholarship. That is FALSE. There are other criteria for scholarships listed below.

Some believe the only remaining scholarships besides academic scholarships and athletic scholarships are awarded to low-income families. That is FALSE. There are other criteria listed below.

Some believe that they can only apply for scholarships when they’re senior in high school.That is FALSE. Timing is very important and your senior year of high school is one of the best times to apply. However, there are scholarships offered to kids in middle school and even beyond high school. It’s best to prepare a soon as possible and apply for possible scholarships as you become eligible.

Some discard possible scholarships because they don’t currently meet the criteria. That doesn’t mean that they can’t meet the criteria later. Perhaps the scholarship is only for residents of a particular State where you don’t live. It’s possible that you’d only have to live in that state for a period of six months to qualify. You can also avoid out-of-state tuition costs this way. Although the schools have varying requirements.

Some believe that if you qualify for financial aid that they shouldn’t apply for scholarships. That’s just CRAZY! Only a portion of financial aid includes grants (free money). The rest consists of loans that you have to pay back with interest (NOT free money). Why not try to get free money for your entire education, not just part of it? Besides the housing bubble burst of 2008, student loan debt has been one of the biggest burdens on the US economy because tuition costs have been rising exponentially since the 1970s. And since there is less emphasis on college majors that produce a return on investment, more and more students are having trouble paying student loan debt. AF.c mentions plenty of corporate scams and gimmicks to help consumers spend less and student loan debt is as bad as it gets.

Some believe that they should apply for every scholarship that they can find. That’s true only after other factors are considered. If you don’t meet the criteria for the scholarship then it could be a waste of time since not meeting the criteria immediately disqualifies you. It’s also important to consider quality over quantity. If you don’t take the time to make your application competitive then applying at all could also be a waste of time. Remember, in many cases there are judges selecting the winners and they won’t consider your application unless it meets withe mission of their organization and “wows” them.

Different Types Of Scholarships, Grants & Awards

One of the best ways to increase your chances of winning a scholarship is to consider why the scholarship was offered or created in the first place. Each scholarship that is awarded is not just to give you a free education, but to promote the ideals and history of the organization that is offering it. Here are a few of the types of scholarships that are awarded:

Grade-based, Academic-based – If you are reading this in time to plan your academic career, then scholarships are one reason to always get the best grades you can get. Even academics are not the focus of a particular scholarship, it may still have a minimum GPA requirement. The best way to be eligible for the most possible scholarships is to keep your GPA high. But if you’re reading this too late, no worries, there are other options.

Athletic-based – Usually athletic-based scholarships are given by schools so that they can build their sports teams. Recruiters will mostly likely look for you in high school sporting events and they’ll be monitoring stats that are reported through various resources.

Income-based, Need-based – Some scholarships and grants are awarded to students with low-income backgrounds. Getting married or reaching a certain age before applying for these scholarships can make you more eligible, because at that point it’s your personal income that is considered, not that of your parents or guardians.

Heritage-based –  Some scholarships are awarded based on your ethnic background. These scholarships are usually offered to give minorities an equal (or superior) chance of receiving a college education.

Community-based – Some scholarships will consider your community involvement. Did you do a lot of extra-curricular activities? Do you do a lot of community service?

Membership-based –  Some scholarships will only be awarded to members of a specific organization. For example, a scholarship for Boy Scouts will only be awarded to members of the Boy Scouts of America.

Accomplishment-based, Skills-based – Sometimes winning a competition will not only get you acknowledged, but they often come with scholarships. You might have a winning science project in the science fair, small business marketing plan at a business competition, or a number of other possibilities. Some scholarships will be awarded based on your creativity.

Leadership-based – Most if not all scholarships are awarded to people whom the scholarship organization has determined is a leader. They all want to be responsible for raising leaders because then their scholarship is justified and it makes them look good for contributing to your success. If a candidate of the scholarship is less likely to be successful down the road then the organization and their scholarship don’t get as much attention.

Random Drawings – Some scholarships are luck of the draw.

Where Can I Find Scholarships?

The first place to apply is the FAFSA which will help with government scholarships and school scholarships. Then be on the hunt for scholarships offered by non-profits and private organizations.

There are multiple books on scholarships that would list possibilities which you can get at the book store or the library. One book that is updated every year is The Ultimate Scholarship Book, by Gen and Kelly Tanabe.

Beyond books, you can possibly find additional scholarships through your parents’ employers, your employer, high school counselor, college financial aid officer, high school websites, college websites, student clubs and organizations, community organizations, local businesses, parents’ or grandparents’ military service, local government, religious organizations, unions, professional sports teams, and the local newspaper.

You can form your own scholarship hunting club where you and friends meet once a week to make each other aware of scholarships that you’ve found and help each other. This makes the hunt more collaborative and can save a lot of time. In your search, you might find a scholarship that doesn’t apply to you, but it could apply to one of your friends. And hopefully they’ll bring scholarships that apply to you.

Here are some possible places to look for scholarships online:

Adventures in Education – “The Quick Search allows you to easily search our database of over 15,000 scholarships. Simply enter one or more keywords.”

Broke Scholar – “Welcome to Broke Scholar. Students who register can use this free service to help locate third-party scholarship and grant money.”

CollegeExpress – “Start your FREE scholarship search now and take advantage of over $7 billion worth of college scholarships and grants in one location! Completing registration also automatically enters you into our annual $10,000 Scholarship Contest.”

College Board – “Welcome to the College Board’s Scholarship Search! We created this online tool to help you locate scholarships, internships, grants, and loans that match your education level, talents, and background.”

College Data – “Find the scholarships that are looking for students like you — with your academic qualifications, interests, and other personal characteristics.”

CollegeNet Match 25 – “Keyword Search is a great place to start if you already know something about the scholarship you are looking for. Profile search looks for scholarships that match your personal profile.  Provide as little or as much information as you want to find the scholarships that you are most qualified to receive.”

CollegeScholarships.org – “We created this site to serve people who are interested in college funding. What makes us unique is that we list a broad array of funding opportunities without asking for information from you.”

CSS Financial Aid Profile – “Financial aid application service of the College Board — a national, not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.”

FindTuition.com – “Finding money for college can be a real challenge. At FindTuition.com, we’re here to help you find the money you need from all available funding sources.”

Free Application for Federal Student Aid – FAFSA, School Grants and Loans from the US Government, Pell Grant, Federal Student Aid. You can find other federal resources for education on the Government Freebies page.

FastWeb.com – “For nearly 15 years, FastWeb has been the leading scholarship search provider for every student, whether you’re in high school or a mother of two returning to school. One in eight high school seniors use FastWeb, and the site comes recommended by over 16,000 high schools and 3,600 colleges. FastWeb has attracted more than 34 million users and our numbers continue to grow daily.”

Whenever scholarships are discovered, they’ll be added to the Scholarships Directory.

• Scholarship Search Engines
• Scholarships
• Scholarship Application Assistance

Do you know of any scholarship resources that should be added to the Scholarships Directory? Please let us know.

Avoid Scholarship Scams with this info from the Federal Trade Commission.

How Do I Apply For Scholarships?

The process of applying for scholarships could begin just before middle school because the first step involves hunting and research. You’ll create a timeline of scholarships. You can apply to many scholarships leading up to your senior year of high school, many during your senior year of high school and many while you’re in college. The senior of college is considered the most because many scholarships require that you apply a year before you need it.

Fill out the FAFSA for Government and School Scholarships. Your school’s financial aid counselor will be able to help you apply for any additional scholarships or complete additional steps as needed.

Some scholarships are simply luck of the draw. However, applying for most scholarships is very similar to applying for schools and applying for a job. A scholarship may require the following:

• Scholarship Application
• Scholarship Essay
• Scholarship Resume
• Referrals or Recommendations
• Scholarship Interview

It is important that you qualify for the scholarship, so make sure you read the fine print and all instructions for applying. The most important thing to ask yourself is, “who is offering the scholarship and why are they offering it? What philosophy or mission do they want to promote”. If you can appeal to the judges personally then you’ll more likely win the scholarship.