Difficulty: Moderately challenging
Step1
Beware of guarantees that you will receive money.
Step2
Steer clear of scholarships that ask you to send in money for information or application fees.
Step3
Avoid scholarships that say everyone is eligible. Scholarships are given for a specific talent, not just because you applied for them.
Step4
Be wary of scholarship programs that claim they'll apply for you. Only you can complete the application form and necessary paperwork.
Step5
Stay away from scholarships that request financial information or identification numbers other than a Social Security number.
Step6
Make sure a scholarship application offers contact information such as a phone number and return address. Make sure the organization has a business listing.
Step7
Check with the Better Business Bureau. Many times, scholarships with impressive-sounding names or misleading titles such as "fund" and "foundation" are not legitimate.
Step8
Ignore scholarship offers by phone. Legitimate offers come through the mail.
Comments
Jason1986 said
on 8/3/2008 I found out there are some good free scholarships that you can apply for at http://www.scholarship-listings.com
I applied for all of them yesterday, and I'm hoping I get one! (:
Anyone regardless of age, what you are studying, or what school you go to can qualify. They range from $10k to $50k. I think it's worth checking out!
luv2laugh said
on 6/5/2008 GREAT article!! I def. recommend applying for local scholarships through your school counselor, you know they are legitimate and typically only a small amount of people are eligible to apply (the graduating seniors for your year in your city) and very few of them do apply, so you have a good chance. :)
I wrote an article about how to write winning scholarship applications. I think it is related to this article if anyone wants to check it out. http://www.ehow.com/how_2202993_write-winning-scholarship-applications.html
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 Avoid scholarships that ask for a fee to apply to their cause.