Scholarships are free money for College – Here are some tips to find them!

In our surveys of Counselors Scholarships typically come up as the #1 thing Counselors want to see more coverage about. Here are some tips for finding and applying for scholarships from the Newton Daily News:

Use free scholarship aggregator sites online. There is no need to pay for a service with so many free tools available. Sites like scholarships.com, College Board and FastWeb all offer free searches. Students can often create profiles or filters to make the search easier.

Use school and community resources. Your office should generally have a list of local scholarships available to your students. Parents’ employers, civic organizations, area businesses, and religious and community groups are all potential scholarship sources. Colleges themselves often provide scholarship awards, so it’s well worth the time to explore the admission, financial aid and departmental pages of the student’s top college choices.

Complete the first application. Once one application is in, it may be easier for students to complete others. It may help to set aside time each week to search for and apply for awards.

Don’t give up. It’s important to keep looking for scholarships because sponsors make their opportunities available at various times. The search should continue during the college years too, as students may become eligible for departmental or industry-related awards later on.

See the big picture. While smaller awards may seem insignificant compared to the total cost of college, remember that every scholarship earned allows savings to go further and reduces the need to take out student loans that have to be repaid with interest. Multiple small awards can add up quickly as well.

Using these tips will put your students on the path to maximizing their scholarship opportunities.