How to apply for grants/scholarships?

Question

How to apply for grants/scholarships?

Answer 1

I'll just add to what has been said.

Fill out your FAFSA as soon as possible, as close to Jan 1st and before Feb 14th. This way, you know what grants the government will give you, what grants your college can offer, what federal scholarships you qualify for, and how much more aid you need

If you're applying to college for the first time, the college application process usually automatically assesses your info (grades, etc) and tells you what freshman scholarships you're eligible for.

If you're already in college, they usually post the scholarships they offer online, with apps, requirements, and deadlines. I would check their website asap and get a move on.

Also, someone mentioned talking to the head of the collegee you're in, ex education, business, etc. That is really important. They might have apps for scholarships the fin aid office doesn't know about or doesn't list. They might also tell you about opportunities outside campus.

Parents, friends, family, colleagues, etc. can usually qualify you for a scholarship/grant from their workplace or any clubs they are members of. Ask around, and at your workplace too.

There are also search engines such as fastweb.com that ask you for info and give you results based on that info. I used it last year and found some really good ones. However, I would advise you to use your own judgment when it comes to deciding which ones to apply to. I would stick to popular ones and ones close to home.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Along with everything else that has been recommended to this point, I would also add searching for scholarships in the department that handles your major.  For example, if you plan to study elementary education, check with the actual school of education to see if they offer scholarships.  For some reason, many university financial aid departments don't actually handle all scholarships offered by the university.  

Answer 3

Try Sallie Mae's Free Scholarship Search. You answer a few questions about yourself, then the site matches you against a database of more than 2.9 million scholarships worth more than $16 billion and is expanded and updated daily.

You can access the scholarship search here: http://www.salliemae.com/scholarships

or if you're on Facebook you can become a Fan of our Scholarship search page, where you'll see featured scholarships and tips for applying and avoiding scholarship scams, AND you can download our new Facebook app, which will allow you to search for scholarships all within Facebook.

Facebook app:

http://www.new.facebook.com/apps/applica...

Fan Page:

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Sallie...

Whichever option you choose, good luck to you.