Scholarships
Scholarships options are vast. The easiest way to make sense of them is to rule out the ones for which you don't qualify. Understanding various awards' criteria simplifies your choices.
It should be stated that this site is not the be-all and end-all for U.S. scholarship information. That distinction falls to scholarships.com and fastweb.com, which are highly recommended clearinghouses for all things scholarship-related. Scholarships.com even features a "scholarship of the week."
What we can do is simplify the journey so you can see the various scholarship avenues available to you. Be sure you watch out for scholarship scams.
That being said, here are the broadest scholarship categories:
- merit
- need
- personal quality (ethnicity, gender etc.)
- career (specific to field of study)
Beyond these broad categories are several types of community-based (or local) scholarships:
- churches
- non-profit/volunteer organizations
- community foundations
Check out our easy breakdown of some of the most notable scholarships. Explore libraries, local newspapers, and the web (see top of article) for the more hidden scholarship information.
If after trying all these routes you're still uncertain, or if you don't have the time to explore every path yourself, you can follow the advice of SmartMoney and seek help from a certified college planner. Increase your chances of success by landing a college planner who is also a certified financial planner.
Once you've found a relevant scholarship, check out how to mess up your scholarship application. Don't be one of those people.