The cost of a college education has increased dramatically over the last few years. With budget cuts to higher education and increased tuition, the burden of cost has increased for the average college student. While loans are an option, they have the drawback of needing to be repaid eventually. Another option for funding are scholarships, many of which are overlooked.

What are college scholarships?

College Scholarship programs essentially provide free money for college. Scholarships are awarded by charitable foundations, businesses, schools, universities, government agencies and private organizations and are awarded based on criteria set by these organizations. The criteria could be academic, athletic, membership in a specific group or club or on the basis of community service.

Finding College Scholarships

The search for college scholarships or grants is a timely process and applying can also take time, as some scholarships require essays or other material you will need to provide for consideration.

There are several resources available when searching for college scholarships. One of the most important resources is the school you plan on attending or are already attending. Your high school counselor may be able to provide information on scholarships and many universities have an office devoted to helping students
find scholarships or grants.

Additionally, the university and public library may be good resources as well, especially if they have a section devoted to helping students find grants. If you’re already attending a university, there may also be special seminars that provide information on how to go about a scholarship or grant search. Lastly, there are various online resources that will help you find scholarships. Be sure to research the website, though, to make sure they have a good reputation and are successful in assisting in the scholarship search. There are also inexpensive books on that may be helpful as well.

While the task of searching for college scholarships may be take time and energy, if you’re successful, it will mean having to take out less in student loans and having less debt in the future related to your education.

Did you know that there are thousands of dollars worth of unclaimed scholarships each year? And there are also a handful of odd scholarships that are virtually unknown and have very low competition. These are sources of real money that could be paying for your college education. I would like to share with you how you can get your hands on some of these awards that often go unclaimed.

The answer is actually easier and more straightforward than you think: Find and apply for unusual and unheard of scholarships that you are eligible for. It is the process of actually doing this that can be a bit more challenging.

Where do you find these unknown odd scholarships? There are several approaches that you can take to find strange, unclaimed, and low competition scholarships.

The most obvious way to find these free money sources is through internet searches. Using keywords such as “unusual scholarships” “odd scholarships” and “unclaimed scholarships” are good ways to find the direct source offering the award. However, this approach can be time consuming since there will be a lot of material to weed through.

A more efficient way to conduct this search is by finding scholarship databases online. A website of this type allows you to fill out a custom profile that collects details about your interests, hobbies, skills, and personal characteristics. After you have completed this easy step, the unclaimed scholarships will be brought to you. The database will show you a multitude of awards and contests that you are eligible to apply for and it will contain all the details you need. Now all you have to do is choose the ones you want to apply for and start the applications, many of which are online also. These databases are very inclusive and contain unusual and strange scholarships as well as the more traditional.

Unclaimed Scholarships is the best website I have found for bringing the information to you. It’s fast, easy, and free!

Using Fastweb

Fastweb.com is a great place to find scholarships. They have more scholarships listed than you could ever apply for, and you can even narrow down the search results so that you only see the scholarships you are eligible to apply for.

The problem with Fastweb scholarships is that there are lots and lots of people applying. Before applying remember that the competition is extremely high here. Don’t waste your time applying for as many scholarships you can on Fastweb. If you apply for 100 and don’t get one, you probably won’t get one if you apply for another 100.

Scholarships from the college

Scholarships awarded by your prospective school are probably the easiest to win. The number of applicants will be far less than those of Fastweb, and you will also probably get a lot more money. Make sure you apply for ay scholarships available along with your college applications. You usually need to apply by a certain deadline to be eligible for scholarship consideration.

Alumni scholarships

Ask your college counselor if there are any scholarships available from the high school you attend. Alumni often provide scholarships for graduating classes, and your chances of getting these are high because there won’t be too many people applying.

Also don’t forget that there will definitely be alumni scholarships available from the college you are applying to, so make sure to check those out too.

National Merit

Score well on the PSAT and you may be considered for a National Merit Scholarship. There is more information on the PSAT website.

If you don’t get any scholarships your first year, do well your freshman year and then apply for continuing student scholarships straight from your college. My colleagues have had a lot of success with these so don’t slack off freshman year!