Different Types of Scholarship Programs

Scholarship programs are offered from a wide variety of institutions, companies and associations. Following are a few example of what kind of scholarships are available:

High School or School District Programs

High schools may offer scholarships to their graduating students. If this is something you are interested in, you can usually find out more about availability, the application process and guidelines for entry from the high school guidance counselor. You might also find more information about local scholarships opportunities at City Hall.

Colleges

Colleges make scholarship funds available as part of a financial aid package offered to a student who has been accepted into their program. There may special conditions such as the maintaining a certain level of GPA or studying a specific major. College scholarships can often be applied for when applying for admission at a college.

Athletic Scholarships

Gone are the days when those with athletic prowess could only pursue that dream and leave any notion of academic merit beyond. These days athletes can compete for athletic scholarships although it should be said that demand is high and scholarships are limited. For more infomation on these scholarships, visit the website of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Academic Achievement Scholarships

While a financial aid office can usually tell you all about this kind of award, they do tend to be automatically offered to students who have high GPA, so in general students do not need to seek them out.

Private organizations and businesses

Many private organizations and businesses around the country offer scholarships, each with their own specific set of requirements like a specific college major, life background, age, gender, etc. The best way to find out about these scholarships is to visit Fastweb.com, which has been around since the late 90s to provide students with scholarship opportunities.

Once you sign up you’ll have to fill out a profile which FastWeb uses to match up scholarship programs to your specific situation. Yes, you have to deal with quite a bit of advertising, but it’s still worth it.

Religious Organizations

Many religious organizations offer scholarships designed to assist members of their congregation or poor demographics within their community.

Military Scholarships

The military is a popular source of college scholarships. There are many variables and terms that need to be fulfilled in order to qualify for a military scholarship – it’s a good idea to contact your local Military Recruitment Office for the most up-to-date information. Visit Aid.Military.com for more information.

Bottom line: There is a lot of free money available for college. The key is to make it a habit to check online and put in some effort to seek out scholarships through many different types of channels. Just remember, that every dollar you get for free now you won’t have to pay back later. Don’t give up!