Scholarships

Scholarships are one of the many, but very beneficial, types of financial aid awarded to students to help in furthering their education in college. There are many types of scholarships out there for many different types of people. Lets take a look at some of them.

There are essentially four different types of scholarships: Merit-based, Need-based, Career-specific, and Student-specific. Merit-based scholarships are based on a student's academic, athletic, artistic, or other abilities. These scholarships also often factor in community service hours and standardized test scores as well. Need-based scholarships are awarded based on a student or families financial need. These require a student to fill out a FAFSA if the scholarship is awarded federally. FAFSA determines the amount a student receives based off of the expected family contribution (EFC) and how much the tuition is for the institution the student plans to attend. There are also career-specific scholarships. These are awarded by an institution to students planning to pursue a specific field of study such as nursing or education. Typically fields in high demand give out more generous awards. Lastly, Student-specific scholarships are given to a student based on specific criteria they may meet such as gender, age, race, religion, and a multitude of other factors pertaining to the student. Not all of these scholarships are based out of the United States either. Many other countries also offer these scholarships typically based around family background or heritage.

So now that you know about the different types of scholarships, I'm sure you may be asking yourself where to begin looking for various scholarships. A great place for high school students to start is with your guidance counselor. They should be able to guide you in every direction possible in a search to find you the money you need to reach that level of higher learning. Out of high school already though? No worries! Many state or local agencies offer scholarships to students. Don't forget that many states offer scholarships to residents of the state as well. The biggest example of this is Florida's Bright Future's program. Also remember, an internet search for scholarships could be a great resource as well.

There are also many notable North American Scholarships. To name them all would be a list far too big to contain in one article! America's Junior Miss, The Fullbright Program, and The United Negro College fund are but a few. Make sure that you meet the qualifications for these though.

Many people are willing to give money to students, you just have to do the searching! Give it shot, you have nothing to lose and oh so much money to gain!