Seeking scholarships? Four tips to help your search

Tip 1: Start early

Your high school student doesn’t have to wait for senior year to start searching, since many scholarships are awarded to juniors. With loads of opportunities to search through, the earlier your child starts, the better the chances of finding suitable prospects. Consider setting aside a Saturday morning once a month to review the opportunities and help your child with the applications. Try to avoid procrastination, and keep in mind that scholarship award announcements often come several months after the application deadline passes.

Tip 2: Use free, online search engines

Be wary of any websites that charge a fee, whether it’s to apply, run a search, or submit a scholarship application. You don’t have to pay for searches; many online resources offer free search engines. A few of the more popular include:

• The U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop search tool lists more than 9,500 scholarships, fellowships, grants, and prizes.
• Scholarships.com has more than 3.7 million awards in its database, representing nearly $19 billion in financial aid.
• Scholarships360.org offers a database that’s searchable by state, academic interests or majors, extracurricular activities, demographics, GPA levels, award amounts, and other criteria. You can also target your search to include only scholarships that don’t require a written essay with the application.
• Fastweb.com allows users to create an individual profile that automatically identifies potential scholarship matches among its 1.5 million opportunities.

Tip 3: Apply for many

There’s no limit to how many different applications you can send out. Don’t automatically rule out smaller scholarships. A $100 award may not seem worth the effort, but combined with several other smaller scholarships, it may add up nicely. 

Tip 4: Check locally

Your child’s high school guidance counselors may also be able to identify local awards, and area businesses and civic organizations often offer scholarships to local students. Ask your employer’s human resources department if your company has any opportunities. Check out your local library; it may have listings posted on bulletin boards. 

A sampling of unusual scholarships

Among the myriad scholarship opportunities, most prioritize academic achievement and community service. However, for students who may have a tough time standing out using such traditional criteria, other scholarships seek to reward less conventional achievements. Here are a few examples.

• Minecraft Scholarship: Apex Hosting, a server host for the popular video game, offers a $2,000 annual award. Applicants must write a short essay about how Minecraft can positively influence education and career development.
• Create-a-Greeting-Card Scholarship: A greeting card company, The Gallery Collection, offers a $10,000 prize to the student who creates a greeting or holiday card judged to be the best among the submissions.
• Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship: UNIGO, a scholarship search company, awards $2,000 to the student applicant judged to have written the best short essay about their plan to survive a scenario in which zombies invade their school.

While scholarships can be a key part of the puzzle for funding a college education, they're just one important component of a comprehensive plan. A financial professional could help you implement a plan for sending your child to school, including setting up a specific savings vehicle, such as a 529 education savings account.