How to Get Free Money for College

When you're searching for funds to cover tuition costs, don't forget private scholarships. The following are some options that may be available to you--that you may never have thought about.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. After you have exhausted your possibilities with public and government scholarships, you can look to private scholarships for additional aid. Most of these are for around $2,000, and the average student applies for five to six of them. Best of all, the student doesn't have to be a genius, future professional athlete or musical prodigy to get one.

2. The Ayn Rand Institute offers 521 different awards for aspiring entrepreneurial students. The awards range from $30 to $10,000, and they can be won by writing an essay on one of Rand's novels.

3. Talk to your high school guidance counselor and the financial aid officers at your prospective schools. They will be knowledgeable about the various scholarships available that you might never run across yourself. The Internet is another resource: visit fastweb.com for a list of over one and a half million scholarships now available.

4. You will probably get the most aid by staying local. Your parent's employer, your own employer or another local organization may have something to offer local students.

Tips & Warnings

• Never pay for any kind of service that claims to be able to match you with a scholarship that you could find on your own.

• Never pay application fees for scholarships. They are, by definition, free!