Scholarship Money, Honey

Every year in the United States over 2 billion dollars in scholarship money goes unclaimed.  Many students don’t go to college because they think they can’t afford it.  Once you do the math it is easy to see that college can be affordable if a student is willing to work hard and search for scholarships.

Searching for scholarships isn’t as hard as it seems.  There are so many options out there.  Did you know there are scholarships for being left-handed?  There are also scholarships for being short, tall, blue-eyed and much more. Some scholarships are based toward an individual major or hobby. For instance, there is a scholarship for students interested in confectionary technology, and another one for students who are vegetarians. There are scholarships for student athletes, scholarships for students who are involved in their church, scholarships for students who want to go into nursing, culinary, business, marketing, mechanics, communications, engineering and just about anything else you can think of.  The options are endless when it comes to scholarships; the key is to keep searching for the scholarships that fit an individual student.

The first way a student can find scholarships is by evaluating what they have done in high school.  To do this, simply make a list of all the activities, athletics, hobbies, and volunteer work that a student has been involved with.  Don’t forget to include any musical or artistic involvement and any after-school jobs during high school years. Using a search engine such as Google or ask.com can be a great way to find the scholarships that meet an individual student’s needs. For example if a student plays baseball, search scholarships for baseball players, if a student plays the trumpet, type in scholarships for trumpet players, the possibilities are endless.

The next way to find scholarships is through the intended career.  Once a student has decided their general course of study or exact major(s), scholarship hunting is relatively easy.  Use a website, such as fastweb.com or collegeboard.com to explore scholarships that coincide with your intended major. There are scholarships out there that for every major possible.

Ethnicity, race social status, religion and orientation are all factors in searching for scholarships.  Many scholarships today are as simple as filling out a form that indicates a student is, in any way, a minority.  These scholarships are not based on athleticism, artistic ability, grades or community involvement. 

And last but not least don’t forget to check out the scholarship section on your college’s website.  It is surprising how many scholarships are available through the college for first time freshman.

There is no reason that any student should pay full tuition for college. It just takes time and work to find ways to pay up. Happy scholarship hunting.