Scholarship Information
Federal student financial aid often doesn’t provide enough money to pay for school, even for students who are eligible for federal grant programs. Unmet need has increased steadily in recent years, as tuition has outpaced the growth in Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and other forms of student aid. Other students may not have much in the way of financial need on paper but may still be struggling to cover their full cost of college tuition, even with college savings and money from work figured in.
Rather than resigning themselves to rely on costly private student loans for all four years of college funding, high school students should investigate scholarship options. Awards exist for every type of college-bound student – from academic superstars and amazing athletes to average students with somewhat quirky interests. Scholarship opportunities based on academic achievement, financial need, family background and student involvement are all available for high school students, as well as other awards based on even more esoteric criteria. But to win these awards, students need to find them and apply. In order to help you guide students through the scholarship search and scholarship application process, we’ve prepared the following educators’ resources.
The scholarship search process can be frustrating for students as well as for counselors. With so many different sources of scholarship information, it can be tough for busy high school students – especially prospective first-generation college students – to keep everything straight. The abundance of information available online can be helpful but it can also be overwhelming, leaving students lost as to how and where to start their scholarship search. Our Scholarship Information for Students section endeavors to be such a starting point. Here we answer students’ most basic questions about the scholarship search process, letting them know how to look for scholarships, when to apply for scholarships and what to keep in mind while finding scholarships. This section also contains links to helpful resources to get their scholarship search started.
It’s one thing to point students towards a list of scholarship opportunities and say, "Here, have fun, apply!" but it’s a tougher job entirely to give them the resources they need to successfully make a difference in their college funding outlook. Many students have little or no experience applying for scholarships and depending on their situation, they may have few people in their lives able to help them. Students could help not only finding scholarships but also digesting scholarship information and formulating application strategies. In order to help counselors better guide their students through the scholarship application process, we’ve prepared this guide to the scholarship application resources for students available free on Scholarships.com.
High school juniors and seniors are dealing with lives that are more tightly scheduled than ever. Extracurricular activities, assignments at school, part-time jobs and volunteer experiences all place regular demands on their time. Add in standardized testing and college applications and it’s easy for financial aid and scholarship application deadlines to be lost in the shuffle. To keep students on track and ensure they get the most out of the college financial aid available to them, we’ve prepared a list of important deadlines for scholarship seekers, ranging from state-by-state filing deadlines for the FAFSA to annual deadlines for some of the largest and most popular scholarship awards.