Scholarships?

<p>What are some sites that I can look up scholarships?</p>

<p>Your best luck will be local scholarships – stop by the high school library or guidance counselor and ask to see their files. Ask if there is a state clearing house for scholarships offered in your state. </p>

<p>A lot of people mention Fastweb – but, after two kids going through the process, I have to say that a lot of the scholarships there don’t pan out. There is a ton of competition and/or crazy requirements (Write a 10,000 word essay on . . . – that one goes to a home schooled kid who has all week to devote to one project!). </p>

<p>Honestly, you may do better to work like mad on your grades and your SAT scores. That always helps. Go for “targeting” instead of “broadcasting” – so instead of doing a sloppy, quick job on a dozen national scholarships applications, take your time and find the one or two that really fit you like a glove and really spend some time putting together a killer application. </p>

<p>I’ve sat on two scholarship review boards and each time I was given a dozen applications to start with. What’s the first to get booted off ? The applications that are 1) incomplete or 2) a wild misfit. So if it says send a transcript, send a transcript. If it says “for soccer players”, don’t tell me that you plan to take soccer in PE next year. Tell me that you’ve played for a decade — or that you are the team captain or were voted “most dedicated team member” (and if none of that is true, don’t apply for the soccer scholarship!). </p>

<p>Start at the library and at your guidance counselor’s office.</p>

<p>Your best chance of large scholarships is through the schools you apply to. Look for schools where you have a good shot at getting a scholarship (either you fit the category or your stats are above the norm).</p>

<p>Just put a company name into google and then put “scholarship” after it. You’ll find a ton that way. I actually only won 2 local scholarships, but I won 3 national/regional scholarships, so don’t count yourself out for the big name ones. You never know. Just give it a shot.</p>

<p>What is your situation?</p>

<p>Do you need scholarships in order to afford college, or do you just want a few extra dollars to defray some costs?</p>

<p>If you need scholarship money to afford 4 years of college, then private scholarships are usually not the answer since they’re often small and only for one year. That would leave uncovered for most costs - especially for your soph, jr, and senior years.</p>

<p>If you need scholarships, then apply to the schools that will give them for your stats.</p>