How to Find and Apply for Scholarships and Grants

Your high school guidance counselor or academic advisor can offer valuable advice on finding scholarships and grants to apply for.

To apply for federal grants, all you need to do is file the FAFSA. Students should also consider local organizations, membership associations, and charitable foundations, which usually provide guidelines and links for available college grants on their websites.

While federal student aid is a great starting point, finding scholarships for college requires due diligence. You can start with BestColleges’ compilation of scholarships based on demographic and major. Other websites, such as Fastweb and Cappex, maintain more extensive lists of scholarships for college students.

Current undergraduates seeking scholarships should contact their financial aid department to ask about institutional scholarships. Filling out the FAFSA and CSS Profile (if required by your school) can also lead to scholarship opportunities.

Note that while grants normally just require you to fill out the FAFSA, merit-based scholarships tend to come with their own applications. Merit-based scholarship applications may call for transcripts, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, and a personal essay.

How to Raise Your Chances of Getting a Scholarship

Students need to consider their academic background, strengths, and weaknesses to identify the best scholarship opportunities for them. For example, if you have a low GPA, you may want to focus on need-based scholarships rather than merit-based scholarships.

Putting together a list of potential scholarships and organizing them by their deadlines can help you with time management so that you don’t miss any due dates.

Finally, applying for local scholarships can increase your chances of winning money, especially if you hold membership in or actively engage with the organization. – Online