If you want to know how to find college scholarships you do not have to look any further. You have found a resource that will outline different options for finding scholarships, some you may have forgotten about or never even thought of.
The Bookstore or Library
The best place to start looking is to pick up a book. It may seem a little silly in the electronic age and in fact many libraries offer ebook versions of ‘the’ scholarship guidebook. There are a couple you will definitely want to read through, copy pages, or just jot down notes.
The Best Scholarships for the Best Students
Scholarships 101
Scholarships, Grants, and Prizes
The “C” Student Guide to Scholarships
Ultimate Scholarship Book
Scholarship Handbook
Many of these books have been around for decades with a new version every year for up and coming scholarship students. You need to make certain the book is current for the year or semester you will be starting. There are deadline limitations meaning you must be applying for the scholarship with a deadline that fits the months prior to your first semester or continuing education semester if you are a graduate student.
The reason you want to start with books is verifiability. Not all online sources are going to offer you real chances to win scholarships. Too many fake websites exist to make it simple to rely on what you see in an advertisement. By using the book you have an idea of what is legitimate and what is not before beginning any online search.
Books are often split into sections that apply to hobbies, sports, grades, accomplishments, interests, race, ethnicity, and even if you are left handed versus right handed.
Online Websites
To find decent online websites for scholarships you want to look for a couple of recognition stars. These are not given out or publishable on every website. They are the guide star exchange gold and A+ rating from American Institute of Philanthropy’s Charity Watch. You can also check with the about page on the site and look to see if you are able to verify the website. A few things that will help point out a more legitimate site is .edu or .org as the ending versus .com in the URL. You will also want to see that Google recognizes the site as secure and verified. This is usually seen in the https:// format. Not all legitimate sites offer the security protocol, but they may list scholarships you find in the books mentioned above.
For instance scholarshipamerica.org lists scholarships from other websites and from the scholarship books. They simply give you a tool to find what scholarships are currently allowing you to apply and the deadline. Anything that is open now with a deadline is posted there.
University Financial Aid Center
Another place to start checking is with the university nearest you. You do not need to be attending or enrolled in the university to ask questions of their financial aid center. By definition the financial aid department is there to help you secure financial aid. The school may start out talking about their scholarship, but they can also have resources and materials that are about independent funding. It is always a good idea to talk with a financial aid department no matter your interests just to see what might be on the horizon for government student loans. By planning for all situations you can be prepared for entering a university instead of trying to find funds at the last minute.
High School Counselors
Your high school has counselors for a reason. They are not all there to pat you on the head and make certain you are psychologically in a good place. In fact most high school counselors are supposed to be career counselors. This means they are supposed to help you with your college or career goals including helping you secure financial aid and scholarships. Talk with your counselor to see if they have heard of any recent scholarships that have to do with your interests in continuing education. See if there are clubs you can join in your last year or two of high school that might lead to scholarships.
Teachers can help too
It might seem a little odd, but teachers can be of great help with regards to scholarships. If you think about it—it is actually not odd at all. Your teachers had to go through a university and gain a proper degree to teach you. This means they have gone through the scholarship process. Many teachers also have students and those who have students in your school are probably looking for information too. Not only will they have personal experience with financial aid, but they will also have information on clubs, activities, national scholarship options and much more.
What if you want to be a chef? Did you know there is a local, regional, state, and national cooking competition that offers partial and full ride scholarships to universities? Your teacher may be aware of these competitions simply because they want their students to shine. This means they also know about the rewards.
Competitions
The last discussion led us to competitions. Even if a teacher is unable to help with scholarships or you want to look for other options—you can do so by looking for competitions in your field of interest or hobbies. Writers can get scholarships by turning in written works that are also published. Hundreds of competitions and scholarship options, including internships and workshops are available for various continuing education seekers. Looking outside the books and normal online research could lead you to a scholarship no one else is attempting to get or at least a lesser competition of students.
You should have an idea of how to start your research and how to find college scholarships. How you proceed is going to be up to you. However, make certain you are looking at legitimate places that are not marketing to you or stealing your information.
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