As the cost of college tuition continues to rise, students and, especially, their parents may worry about how to pay for college. There are various options for need-based financial aid, including student loans, work-study programs, payment plans and other options. In addition to need-based aid, merit-based aid, or scholarships, present another avenue to pursue for funding college. Read on for more information on scholarships and information on how students can find scholarships that match their talents.
Fast facts about scholarships:
- Scholarships come from different sources: colleges, the state and private organizations.
- Scholarships are merit-based aid, rather than need-based aid. In other words, scholarships do not depend on the ability or inability of a student to afford college, but rather on how well a student meets the criteria for scholarship (for example, academic ability or athletic ability). Scholarships may also be awarded to qualified students of specific populations (for example, students who are the first in their family to attend college).
- On the common application, colleges may ask if students wish to be considered for scholarships, so students will want to indicate their interest in receiving a scholarship if asked on the application.
- Students who apply to schools where their academic qualifications are higher than the schools’ average student may be especially attractive candidates for merit-based aid from those colleges. This is a good reason for students to take their applications to foundation or “safety” schools seriously.
- Merit-based aid from universities in the form of scholarships depends on individual schools. Students should be sure to know whether colleges automatically consider applicants for scholarships, or whether additional application materials are required to be considered for them and what the deadlines are; procedures vary by school.
- Scholarships are also available from sources beyond the colleges themselves. Students can find scholarships from local and national government, as well as from private organizations ranging from local community organizations to large businesses. Students and their parents might also check if the parents’ employers offer scholarships for employee children.
- There are a number of free scholarship search engines that can help students narrow down their options and find scholarships for which they might qualify.
- Researching private scholarships takes time and initiative, and students should be certain to begin early to allow themselves time to prepare the application materials (which will likely require essays).
Watch out for scams
Students and their families should never pay for college scholarship searches. Searches that require students to pay for scholarship information or claim to be able to guarantee aid should be avoided. Scams related to scholarships are not unheard of, so always be careful.
Free Search Engines to Help Students Find Scholarships
Students can conduct scholarship searches (free of charge and using a variety of criteria) at the websites listed below:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
https://www.salliemae.com/plan-for-college/scholarships/scholarship-search/
https://www.petersons.com/college-search/scholarship-search.aspx
Bottom line:
As college tuition skyrockets, families understandably face concerns about how to pay for colleges. In addition to need-based aid, students should consider researching and applying for scholarships. As with most college application materials, it is best for students to begin their search early and verify deadlines and requirements. In the case of merit-based aid from colleges, students will need to determine if they are considered upon application for scholarships or they need to submit additional application materials. Private scholarships ordinarily require essays, so students should budget their time accordingly to write essays and compile the materials necessary for the scholarship applications in addition to the college applications that they will be completing.
