If you need more information about scholarships and other types of financial aid, The SmartStudent(TM) Guide to Financial Aid is a good place to start.
To find national scholarships, you can check out Fastweb, ScholarshipExperts.com, CollegeAnswer.com, Goodcall.com, and CollegeNet.com.
Applying for any scholarship is helpful, but you will have a better chance of being awarded local scholarships that have a smaller applicant pool. Check with your high school guidance counselor to learn more about these.
Also, be aware that there are some potential scholarship scams. Sometimes opportunities are too good to be true and scholarships are no exception to this rule. When you apply for scholarships, there are a few ways to spot a potential scam:
- A fee is required to process the application
- The potential of winning a scholarship is used to sell other goods/services
- A scholarship is guaranteed before applying
- Scholarship has little/no eligibility requirements
One way to determine if a scholarship is a scam or not is to type in the name of the scholarship and then “scam” after it into Google and see what comes up. If others have found the scholarship to be a scam, they may talk about it online.