I was recently accepted to a school which does not offer any merit scholarships and I do not qualify for any need-based financial aid from this institution. I am not looking for scholarships given by any universities because I am not applying anywhere else. I have been specifically looking for scholarships that DO NOT look at financial need, but have been having a little trouble. Every website I have used to look for scholarships does not allow you to filter scholarships by whether or not you demonstrate financial need. I feel like I have wasted a lot of time going through scholarships only to find that I am not eligible to apply for them. Does anyone know of any websites that allow you to do this or of any scholarships that do not require that I demonstrate need?
The best scholarships are from the schools themselves (the best schools don’t have to offer them, as you now know). Scraping for outside scholarships at this point indicates you cannot afford this school. Good outside scholarships that offer loadsamoney (for all 4 years) are unlikely to be lying around at this point for seniors. Are you accepted ED to a top school (the no merit thing…)
What is your financial shortfall?
What is your plan B?
How much do you need?
You might find some smaller one year only local,scholarships… see your school counselor for info about those.
The likelihood of you finding anything very large that is renewable for all four years is…well…just about zero…with no financial need.
If your college costs $60,000 a year and your family contribution was calculated at $0…your family income is in the Over $200,000 a year range…or so…or you have substantial assets.
Are you saying your family won’t pay for,this school…or are you looking for something just to help put.
Your best bet are local scholarships (those given by community organizations in your town or city). They are typically not for a lot of money ($500 here, $1K there), are usually only for Freshman year, and some of them (not all) screen for income and need. I’ve sat on the selection committee for a local organization- although we didn’t specifically state that financial need was part of our criteria, most years the money went to kids who were in pretty dire straits and had already maxed out their need based aid at the college they were attending.
How much money do you need? If it’s a few thousand dollars, it’s worth meeting with your guidance counselor to get a list of local scholarships. If it’s more than that- don’t waste your time. The local realtors associations would rather give 10 $500 scholarships and get a nice group photo in the paper, then give one kid 5K.
Just the way it works.
Try signing up for a FastWeb account. They post plenty of new scholarships a day. Or you could try the site Dollars for Scholars and see if your school has a chapter (if they do it will house a bunch of local scholarships).
Both fastweb and dollars for scholars might net this poster a small amount of money.
BUT if they need a lot to attend this college…neither of these options will likely work for the long term.
Most of these are smaller, one time awards and are not renewable for subsequent years.
You can search on collegedata for schools that offer merit aid-click on college match put in your prefernces-and go to financial friendliness tab. Click on merit aid. Hit search.
We are in the same position. There are so many sites that offer scholarships, and not a single one that we have found offers a filter for merit only. It’s frustrating! Keep in mind that some schools have departmental or other scholarships for sophomores and up. DD1 received $2000 in her sophomore year from her program which was a complete surprise. DD2 had one school on her list (just rejected for her ED school) that had a 12K scholarship for juniors in her area of interest. The dept chair came close to guaranteeing that she would get it if she stayed on her same path as there were typically not many students who chose her type of art. Worth a call! I personally know a student who got $5k for her freshman year from small scholarships… most were on Naviance for her school. I have found a short list by googling “art scholarships California art”or something similar.
That said, her attendance does not depend on these scholarships. She is looking at them as an alternative to a PT job.