6 Great Places to Find College Scholarships

No doubt about it! Attending college can be a real budget buster. And for many people, it is simply not feasible to undertake a college or university program without financial assistance.

One of the best types of educational financial help comes in the form of scholarships. Why are scholarships so great? Because, generally, as long as you follow the stipulations for use of funds and are aware of  any requirements such as need maintain GPA, provide progress report, etc.. you do not have to pay the money back.  Now that’s a deal!

Take a look at these 6 Great Places to Find College Scholarships

1. Through Online Scholarship Databases-Many online scholarship databases are available via the Internet. Some that rate highly include BigFuture by The College Board, Fastweb, and Scholarships.com. These databases are free to use. To get started, just fill out required forms with information about yourself so that scholarship opportunities can be narrowed to match your qualifications and study interests.

2. Through High School Guidance Counselors-These counselors have access to lots of information about a variety of scholarships. Some counselors even maintain online scholarship opportunities billboards on school websites. Get to know the counselors. They have so many resources to offer.

3. Through College Financial Aid Departments-Many college financial aid departments offer great information directly through their department’s section of the university websites. Also, do not be shy about picking up the phone and contacting someone in that department to see what information that he or she may be able to offer you via the phone or through an in person visit.

4. Through Your Own, or a Parent or Other Relatives’ Workplace-A number of larger companies offer college scholarship opportunities to employees and relatives of employees. Check with the department or person(s) who handle human resources at companies of interest to see what funding opportunities may be available.

5. Through Civic Organizations-For example, I belong to a Kiwanis Club that provides several scholarships a year to students that are members of our Key Club partner chapter at our local high school. Routinely less than 10 people apply for this scholarship, making the odds of a candidate receiving a scholarship much higher than some of the more well-known scholarships that they may apply for.

6. Through Chambers of Commerce-A vital part of these organizations’ missions is to understand the business communities’ employee training needs.  In our area of the country, several businesses have funded programs that pay a student’s costs to learn a skilled trade at a local community college and then based upon his or her performance in the training may hire them upon completion. Our Chamber of Commerce works hard to make area residents aware of  these funded opportunities through media appearances, a special section in a workforce directory, etc..

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