How To Get Money For College: Scholarships

Like many people, you might assume that money for college in the form of scholarships is only available to people with perfect grades or test scores, or for those with low income, or incredibly talented athletes. But times have changed, and so have scholarships.

In fact, most private scholarships (and academic philanthropy is more prominent than ever in the United States today) do not require proof of income or high grades. Many are given to students for their personal backgrounds, ethnicity, special talents and affiliation with certain organizations or religion.

To research scholarships that might be right for you, the local library is still the best place to go. Online searches are certainly helpful, but be wary of any who charge money to get information. The same information is available for free in the reference section, where you can find the names and addresses of organizations that offer money for school.

Gather as many possibilities as you can, even if the scholarship criteria is stretching the boundaries of your achievements or capabilities. Many scholarships are not awarded to people each year because not enough people apply for them. Make sure you do this research about a year before you plan to attend school, because it takes awhile to fill out applications, possibly write essays, and obtain letters of recommendation.

Actually, many people start researching scholarships in their freshman or sophomore year of high school, because they can ask friends and guidance counselors what types of essays, grades and special talents might have been provided by past winners. It gives you time to get involved in any clubs, community service or organizations which might give you an extra boost on your scholarship application, and those same extracurricular activities might provide knowledge about scholarships which might not be widely published.

Once you have identified those you are interested in, you can then e-mail or write to them individually to request an application. You do not have to provide any personal information at this time – you are merely obtaining the criteria for the scholarship. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you are writing by snail mail.

When you get the applications, be prepared to answer each question completely and clearly. Do not skimp on anything it asks for, like SAT/ACT scores, recommendation letters, transcripts, resumes or answers about your ambitions, accomplishments or talents.

Have all your personal identification information at hand: a mailing address that’s good for at least a year, Social Security number, date of birth, citizenship status papers and possibly marital status information. You might need financial information, like family income and the number of children in the household.

Hopefully your senior year will be busy enough to distract you from the stress of waiting for scholarship answers to come back to you. Don’t forget to talk to your school counselor about scholarships - that’s what he or she is there to do. And most importantly, don’t let a rejection letter discourage you from applying for all the other myriad scholarships out there, or sway you from reapplying for future years in college if criteria permit.

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