College Scholarship & Grant Search
According to the College Board, on average, tuition and fees cost $26,273 per year at private four-year universities and $7,020 per year at public four-year universities for the 2009-2010 school year. Since most students cannot afford these high fees, many look for scholarship and grant opportunities. From government agencies to multinational corporations, there are billions of dollars in financial aid for needy students.
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Timeline
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Since most scholarships and grants are reserved for high-school upperclassmen, college-bound students usually start looking for opportunities during their junior or senior year of high school. Scholarship organizations target upperclassmen since they want to see grades from a longer period and because upperclassmen are about to enter college. Nevertheless, many scholarship organizations, such as the Leopold Schepp Foundation and the Business and Professional Women's Foundation, give aid to currently enrolled college students.
Online Resources
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Many college-bound students use the Internet to find college grants and scholarships. Most use scholarship search engines, such as Fastweb or Collegenet. These search engines ask the student for demographic information, GPA, standardized test scores and state or residence and use that information to find opportunities for which the student is eligible.
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Government Resources
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One of the most generous sources of financial aid is the government. In many states, such as Tennessee, revenue from state lotteries are used to cover financial aid programs for college-bound students. Financial need is often part of the eligibility criteria, so students must complete a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application on time in order to qualify. The government will use the FAFSA to determine financial need and which scholarships and grants.
Other Resources
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Community organizations and businesses often offer scholarships to local students. They send the eligibility criteria and application materials to the guidance counselor's offices of local high schools. Hence, many high-school students periodically check in with their guidance counselor to take advantage of these opportunities. Large corporations, such as Wal-Mart and Boeing, also offer scholarships to employees or the children of employees. Other places to find scholarships include books about paying for college, religious organizations and fraternities and sororities.
Scholarship Scams
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Most scholarship organizations are legitimate, but some prey on desperate students. Some illegitimate scholarship organizations pose as scholarship search engines and request payment in order to access their sites. Others request high application fees that can exceed $50. The worst scholarship scams will request Social Security numbers and other sensitive information in order to commit illegal activity. For this reason, high school guidance counselors advise students to not pay expensive application fees, refrain from revealing personal information and not pay for scholarship searches.
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References
- Photo Credit computer image by michele goglio from Fotolia.com
