College is an expensive venture, so that is why so many people seek out free college scholarships to help them out. After all taking a student loan out is one option, but once you get out of school, you could be paying that loan for years. If you don’t find a job that is high paying it can often put quite a strain on your finances, and that isn’t helpful at all for the new graduate who is trying to use their college education to better themselves.
Merit Based Scholarships are a great option
There are many choices you have out there, like the Gates Millennium Scholarship.
This option is something that will pay full room and board for the scholarship winner. Each year they award 1,000 scholarships that will pay for complete tuition and room and board. You will have to hold at least a GPA of 3.3 and will also need to meet the criteria for the Pell Grant, and that means being a citizen of the United States as well. It’s available for everyone, though there will be special consideration given to minority groups.
Well not completely free, but as long as you aren’t going to a school that cost over $100,00 this one will pay for it all. The Intel Science Talent Search award. It’s the oldest pre-college competition for science. Winning the highly competitive competition will have you walking away with the grand price of $100,000, which can pay for a full year of college in many cases.
Another $100,000 scholarship is offered in the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway. You just go to their website and place what your “one of a kind goal” is and you may win the big award. Not necessarily merit based, but a good idea could have you walking away with the big money, even some people will get smaller awards that could help pay a bit of the cost of books for school.
Siemens has a competition for Science, Technology, and Math that could have you winning $100,000 towards your college tuition. This is a fairly new program that began in 1999. It’s a tough competition that you will have to work to earn the top prize, there will be awards rewarded to the top 6 people and the top 6 teams. The big prize is for the top individual winner, getting $100,000.
For those students who have excelled both in and out of the classroom you have the Buick Achievers Scholarship program. This is awarded in the amount of $100,000, and helps those people who without the money may not be able to go to school.
The Thiel Fellowship was created by Peter Thiel and awards an amount of $100,000 to students who are under 20, the amount will be over two years. It’s not really a college degree though, it’s a chance for people to start a business, or something else they wish to do, with the money.
A scholarship that was offered to bring in more people to Arizona is the Flinn Scholarship. This is for high school students in Arizona who need financial help to go to college, and it will provide the winners with room and board as well as free tuition to any of the university choices in Arizona.
If you are a golf caddie, you have the chance to win the Chick Evans scholarship. This does have the chance to earn full tuition and housing for a caddie who demonstrates an outstanding character, a great academic record, and the need.
While the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship is offered to new Americans. For naturalized citizens they can earn $90,000 to attend college any location in the United States.
Not Completely Free but Close
The Davidson Fellows Scholarship is a chance for four people to get $50,000 towards their scholarship. Unfortunately with the prices of tuition raising this most likely won’t pay for everything at many choice for the graduate. Offered to a student is under 18, and has shown significant work in one of the fields of technology, math, literature, science, music, philosophy or something that is outside the box and may benefit society.
Burger King Scholars offers employees as well as their children money that can range from $1,000 and up to $50,000 to help attend college.
Boys & Girls Clubs each year offers a winner $50,000 towards their college tuition. The youth will need to show character, leadership and personal growth, and have overcome incredible odds to be a member of the community.
Miss America is supposed to be a great way for women who range from 17 up to 24 to earn money towards college. Depending on where they finish in the competition the range of money can be from $50,000 down to $10,000.
While there are many other options for a person who wants to attend college and doesn’t have the money. You can always discuss the options with your guidance counselor at school to find out other options that you may be eligible to try for, many will depend on the grades you’ve gotten throughout your high school years.
There is always the Pell Grant that is a free grant, and will often pay a large portion of college tuition and room and board. Another option that is not on the list is joining one of the military forces in the United States. They all have a wonderful college tuition program, plus the option to take classes while you are serving in the military.
The education fund once you get out can be used for up to 10 years and often will pay for a community college easily. Along with signing up for a Pell Grant you will often be able to afford to go to college, and not pay a single cent out. Look into all the options that are out there.
Consider each of them and research what the requirements are for each scholarship, and even talk to the college that you plan on attending. They may have other scholarships that you haven’t even considered, or possibly didn’t even know about.
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