There is free money out there to attend college or university as an undergraduate student. It comes in the form
of college scholarships and grants. There are two basic types of free money which are need based (family income
and savings) or activity related. For high school students, the best time to locate scholarships is in your
junior or first half of the senior year at the latest due to scholarship deadlines. I recommend applying for
scholarships no matter the amount because it means less money that either has to be paid by your family or
in future student loans. However, you can still locate scholarship money as an undergraduate student, but the
money would be for future semesters or quarters. I will list some free resources to locate money to attend
college.
First, the college's financial aid office and website has a list of private scholarships offered from outside organizations and companies. Sometimes a college major's website will list scholarships, too.
Second, the public library has a book listing scholarships with some not even listed on the web.
Third, the high school guidance office has a list of local scholarships and state scholarship and grant
programs. However, some of the state scholarships might have a GPA or income qualification. In regards to
local scholarships, they might be tied to a particular civic group or location such as a school or region
(township, borough, city, etc.).
Fourth, a campus work study job can help with money needed during the school year. The program is funded by the federal government. It will be a job on campus and most times can work to your availability schedule. There should be a box on the FAFSA form for it.
Fifth, fill out the FAFSA form after January 1 of your
senior year of high school and every year afterwards until you graduate from college. It will qualify her for
need based financial aid from the federal government and the school itself. It will come in the form of
scholarships, Pell Grant, student loans, and the work study program.
Finally, I recommend joining several free membership scholarship search websites. There are scholarships
for a variety of things including ethnicity, clubs, hobbies, and even wearing duct tape to the high school prom.
Most are updated on a regular basis. Most offer a customized search based on information entered onto a form
on the website. Some scholarship searches include
ScholarshipExperts.com, BrokeScholar.com,
Fastweb.com, and
Findtuition.com.
