Find College and Graduate School Scholarships

The cost of a college education has increased dramatically over the last few years. With budget cuts to higher education and increased tuition, the burden of cost has increased for the average college student. While loans are an option, they have the drawback of needing to be repaid eventually. Another option for funding are scholarships, many of which are overlooked.

What are college scholarships?

College Scholarship programs essentially provide free money for college. Scholarships are awarded by charitable foundations, businesses, schools, universities, government agencies and private organizations and are awarded based on criteria set by these organizations. The criteria could be academic, athletic, membership in a specific group or club or on the basis of community service.

Finding College Scholarships

The search for college scholarships or grants is a timely process and applying can also take time, as some scholarships require essays or other material you will need to provide for consideration. Read more… »

Thirty-two students from Western Michigan University have each been awarded a State Farm teacher scholarship of $1,000, for their involvement as teacher interns for the spring semester.

In a ceremony held earlier this month, the recipients of the state farm scholarship and their families were joined by the officials of State Farm and WMU. The dean of WMU College of education Dr. Gary L. Wegenke was the first one to congratulate the recipients for their hard work that involved educating local children. Then the vice president of operations for State Farm, Mark Odland, said a few words on how the job of being a teacher can change the world.

The students successfully completed five months in a teaching position at districts schools around Michigan. These positions were provided by the Western Michigan University’s Partnership Team. The University’s program had been funded $32,000 from State Farm and has been nationally acknowledged as a well-known curriculum for a Teacher Program. The partnership of WMU and State Farm look for different ways to provide area public schools with great education for children and future teachers.

The State Farm Companies Foundation makes many donations to national scholarship programs. They fund programs run by the Hispanic scholarship Fund, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and the American India College Fund. Read more… »

Do you need help with the myriad of college expenses and tuition you will encounter in higher education? You can apply for scholarships to help you cover some or all of the costs. When you think of scholarships you most likely think of academic scholarships for class Valedictorians. Or athletic scholarships for athletes recruited for collegiate sports. While these types of scholarships are more prevalent, they are not the only avenue for earning scholarship money. Just take a look at some of these oddball scholarships available.

Oddball scholarships for golf caddies:

Do you have an interest in golf? Did you play on the high school team, but was not at a high enough level to be recruited to the college team? Are you considering becoming a golf professional after college? Then become a golf caddie and put yourself in the running for the golf caddie scholarship. This type of scholarship is offered at many colleges and universities. Upon acceptance of the scholarship, some students are required to work for the local college or university golf course.

Oddball scholarships for descendants of the signers of the Declaration of Independence:

If you can trace your family tree back to a signer of the Declaration of Independence then you are eligible to apply for this scholarship. Family history must be verified. Currently the scholarship is around $1,500 and the student must attend a four year Public university. It looks like it is time to trace your family genealogy and see if you might be in the running for this scholarship. Read more… »

No credit is better than bad credit so this condition will not preclude your from getting a loan for study. Before looking at just any student loan, here are a few loans that require absolutely no credit checks:

Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, some other Government and State-funded loans, Pell Grant and other Government grants, some private grants and scholarships.

Federal Student Loans

Although the amount given is small and may need supplementing with a private type of loan, it is your first step and is an essential part of any Student Loan credit package. Why? Because it is government funded and has the best terms available.

There are two types – Subsidized and Unsubsidized.

Subsidized Loans are for only very financially needy students and the government pays for all your interest payments – not bad eh! – until the student has graduated. You also have a 6 month grace period before paying back the loan.

Unsubsidized Loans are available to all students and are much easier to obtain. The interest rate is still low – around 6-8 percent and also provides a six month grace period.

The Perkins Loan – this loan type is the hardest to get and is for only the most financially needy of students. It therefore has the best terms – a nine month grace period and you have 10 years to pay it back.

As with most federal student loan programs, having no credit shouldn’t be a problem. Read more… »

O.K. men, it’s your turn. Take the nursing field and run with it. First of all congratulations and salutations to all men entering the nursing field. It is about time, thank you. With that said, how about finding some scholarships to help you achieve your goals. Yes, there are scholarships out there just for you gentlemen. Take advantage of them. Nursing school is a whole other ball field now that men have entered into it full swing. As most of you know, it is not a pretty sight.

Many of the nursing instructors have been holding their own as women for quite sometime. I really don’t think they had planned to see so many men in the field. So What! Right? Wrong. I realize that it is an uphill battle sometimes. The mind and mentality of a nursing student with respect to their instructor is not much different than the humility that the student must show his Samurai Sensi, as he backs up to leave the room never turning his back out of respect for his teacher. Yeah, I know, corny, but hey you have to know how to roll with the punches. Sometimes that doesn’t even work. However men, hang in there. You will make it, and be good nurses, no, great nurses you will be.

Up to this point, I hope that I have not shaken, not stirred those men who are contemplating going into the nursing field. From my own personal experience as a second year nurse with only fifteen weeks left to go, all I can say is that the male nursing students are intelligent, kind, patient and all around very pleasant to be with. Albeit there are not many men in our clinical but those who are do fantastic. So, with that let’s get down to business and get those scholarships for nursing school. Where to go? Well, there is an excellent scholarship for men going into the nursing field called, The American Assembly for. Men Read more… »

We are at a time when educating children is more expensive than ever and both parents and students seek some relief from those costs by applying for scholarships or grants. Undergraduate and Graduate fellowships both have many types of aid that can help student further their education and some of them are rather unusual. Take for example the asthma scholarship. Is this a type of scholarship you would think to be available? Likely not.

However, there are many colleges, private sponsors, fellowships, and nonprofit organizations that offer scholarships like the asthma scholarship. You simply need to know how to go about finding these scholarships.

There are many unusual scholarships available. Take for example the scholarships such as the ones for left handed students, bowlers, scouts, blind student, bird watchers, and bicyclists. Not enough? How about unusual scholarships for farmers, cheerleaders, entrepreneurs, and cartoon experts, and of course the asthma scholarship we already mentioned.

If you suffer from asthma and you want to return to school, there is certainly a chance to save big dollars just by looking for those that offer an asthma scholarship. Online has made this procedure much easier.

In no time you can find a list of companies and organizations that have an asthma scholarship that they offer. Many times it will be organizations that have a relationship with some type of asthma related industry, whether it’s preventions, a help group, or a pharmaceutical. Read more… »

You have heard the expression many times before – if you think college is expensive, you ought to see how expensive ignorance is. While there might be some wry humor in that expression, there should be no excuse for someone not going to college these days. There may be very valid reasons for not going to college, but a lack of financial funding should clearly not be one of those reasons.

College grants and college scholarships are abounding today, and in fact, many of the available grants and scholarships actually are not awarded every year, for the simple reason that nobody applied for them! As crazy as that sounds, it is true. Businesses and corporations use the college grant and college scholarships they offer as a tax writeoff, and if it is not awarded, then they lose out on that writeoff, so they are more anxious than ever to award these college grants and college scholarships.

One common myth which is held by many people is that you need to show a financial need before you will be awarded a college grant or college scholarship, or that you need to excel in a particular area, like the star quarterback in football, the ace basketball player who can shoot three-pointers all day long, the violin player or the piano player where it appears that Carnegie Hall is clearly in their very talented musical future, etc. But note that I said these are “myths”. In other words, these perceptions are incorrect. Read more… »

It’s that time of year when many high school seniors are solidifying which colleges they’re interested in and getting those applications ready. What things should a senior look for?

So many, many colleges to choose from – how does one make an intelligent decision? The first consideration in most minds is probably the type of programs offered at the school. Is your student interested in a medical field? Then the college should offer a good program in that field. Engineering? Likewise.

But what if you’ve already found several colleges with programs that fit your student? Or – even more decision-defying – your student doesn’t yet know what he or she wants to major in? Choosing the right program may not narrow down the potential list of colleges enough. What other things should you (and your student look for)?

Many other considerations make up the decision-making process. Here are a few:

(1) The school’s overall approach to education. Does its philosophy of education match yours?

(2) The academic level of students the school attracts. If the college chooses students whose ACT scores range from 24-30, and your student got a 24, will he have a difficult time being on the lower range?

(3) Average class size. If you live in a small town and your student is accustomed to small numbers, perhaps the large university (often placing 150 freshmen in core classes) may be a difficult adjustment.

(4) Types of financial packages available. Since finances are often a big hurdle to overcome, let’s look at this one in more detail: Read more… »

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it is a required application for students who want to apply for federal and state financial aid and college scholarships. Even if the student does not qualify for federal or state aid, many colleges and universities, especially public institutions, require the the FAFSA for students interested in receiving college scholarships. Students who want to apply for financial aid or college scholarships must submit the FAFSA every year they are in college if they want to be considered for such awards.

Federal and state aid is designed to assist students with educational expenses when their resources do not cover the costs of attending an institution. A student’s financial need is the difference between the student’s educational expenses and the amount of money the family is expected to contribute. In general terms, the formula is:

School costs – Expected Family Contribution – Financial Aid = Financial Need.

There are three types of financial aid. The first is a grant, or college scholarship, which is a gift of money that does not have to be repaid. The second is a loan. A loan allows the student to borrow the money to cover schoool expenses and must be repaid. Usually interest added to the loan. Some loans are subsidized. This means the student does not have to repay the loan and interest until 6 months after the completion of college. A non-subsidized loan is repaid after the student graduates from college. However, the student is responsible for paying the interest payments from the beginning of the loan. The third type of financial aid is work. This may be set up through a college or with a local, independent business. Employment during the school year helps the student earn money to pay for college expenses.

Students sometimes ask if they need to file the FAFSA and the answer is yes. If a student wants to be considered for college scholarships or federal and state loads they must fill file the FAFSA. There are college scholarships available to match academic ability, talents, interests, diversity, leadership and extracurricular activity participation. There are also many free resources to help students find college scholarships. However, the first step to receiving scholarships and any other form of financial aid is the FAFSA.

I want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to go to college. This means getting in, finding the right college fit and paying for school. I love to share what I’ve learned and I hope you can find some useful information useful in your college search

On May 23, 2007, twenty five graduating seniors from El Paso and Las Cruces each received a two thousand dollar scholarship from the El Paso chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities at UTEP’s Tomas Rivera Conference Center. More then 200 students from the local area applied for these scholarships.

Erik Cigarroa who is going to school for business and plans to pursue law school afterward said that with this scholarship he will be able to pay for his education. He wants to do this so he can help his family.

An interview with Marcella Alvarado of Burges High School, one of the recipients of the scholarship described how this scholarship would help her take care of her expenses so she can become a biology major. Her life long dream is to become a doctor and with the scholarship, she now can not only experience college lifestyle but also fulfill her dream.

Grecia Heredia from Hanks High school spoke about how her dream was helping the sick. She has a full scholarship to The University of Texas at El Paso’s pharmacy program for two years then she will transfer to UT-Austin to finish her education. Read more… »