Find College and Graduate School Scholarships

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… »

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… »

If you are one of the many single mothers trying to find scholarships to get an education, you’ve got a lot to worry about. You have kids and most likely debts to deal with. So, what can you do to accomplish it? As as matter of fact there are lots of options out there for you.

A scholarship is a way for you to get FREE money to go to school and is awarded to you if you meet certain standards.

The money you are receiving can be used to pay for your tuition and feels. Normally it pays for some part of your schooling, but if you find something good you may able to get it all paid for. The best part however, is that you never have to pay it back. Part of this money comes as grants from the federal government, and the rest is paid for buy private organizations.

You can get access to this money if you do well in school, live in a certain area, belong to a certain religion, are an athlete or belong to an ethnic minority.

Learn more about it Read more… »

Farm Credit Services of Mid-America (FCS) is giving away $100,000 in scholarships that will be made available to students enrolled in agricultural and business programs within its four state territory.

FCS is an $11 billion lending cooperative and serves farmers in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. Every year the cooperative offers $100,000 in scholarships to deserving students enabling them to pursue an education in finance, or an agriculture-related field of study.

The Scholarships they offer are

1 University Scholarship Program: Scholarships are provided to agriculture-related universities in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. The universities determine the deadline for submitting applications as well as the amount and payment schedule.

2 4-H / FFA Scholarship Program: 8 scholarships awarded to state FFA and 4-H programs in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

3 Farm Credit Scholarship Program: 18 scholarships for $2,000 each awarded to customer-members of Farm Credit, or children of customer-members.

Eligibility Read more… »

Finding ways to raise enough money for college is important, whether you are a high school senior or an adult getting ready to go back to college for more education. The cost of college has never been higher than today, and the high prices are making it more difficult to afford going to college.

Today, most jobs require that you have a college education, and a quality education definitely helps people on the road to success. While you may not have money set aside for college and your parents may not be able to make large contributions, scholarships can help you get the money you need for college. There are literally thousands of scholarships out there and it may be quite daunting to know where to begin. Using a scholarships search can help you sift through the available scholarships to find those that are applicable to you.

Get Started Early

One of the most important things to remember when you are doing a scholarship search is that you should start as early as possible. If you wait until the last minute, the number of scholarships available will be much more limited and you will miss out on some great opportunities. Starting the summer before you senior year or the first semester can help you have the time you need to find quality scholarships. Many scholarships require a great deal of paperwork, and some even require that you write essays for them as well, so you want to be sure that you have plenty of time to complete them without rushing.

Online Searches

One of the best places to do a scholarship search is on the internet. Read more… »

In this article we’re going to discuss what a student can do in order to get a scholarship to help pay for his college expenses.

One of the myths that needs to be done away with is the one where students believe that there is no way they’re going to get a scholarship because they don’t have good enough grades, their SAT scores aren’t high enough or they just don’t have the smarts.

There are many ways to get scholarships. The traditional way and your main scholarship will be from good grades. There is no getting around that. A student at the top of his or her class with good SAT scores, when accepted to a college will most likely get a full or at least partial scholarship to the school of their choice. Of course a lot of this has to do with the school itself. The more elite schools will have stricter requirements for giving out scholarships. For example, a student applying to a county college may get a full scholarship for being number one or two in the class while that same student when applying to an Ivy League school may only get a partial scholarship or none at all. But again, good grades and SAT scores are only part of the equation.

The next part of the equation is economic need. There are many organizations who provide funds for students to go to school who simply can’t afford it. The main organization for this is FAFSA. A student’s first step in financing their education should be to file an application for financial aid with FAFSA. You can get an application for this at any college office or fill one out online. After filing, their program will immediately tell you, based on your reported income, how much money you will be expected to pay towards your child’s education. For example, if your child is going to a school that is going to cost $30,000 a year and the FAFSA application says you are responsible for $20,000 then that means you should be getting $10,000 in aid from the government after you have submitted the paperwork to them with your school expenses. Read more… »

You don’t have to be a valedictorian or star athlete in order to secure a college scholarship. See if you’re eligible to win one of the top 10 most unusual scholarships.

1. Duck® brand duct tape Stuck at Prom® Contest

Shopping for a prom outfit can be tough and students want to ensure no one else has the same dress. If a student wears the latest fashion in duct tape, he/she may win cash for college and flex their creative muscles at the same time.

2. Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest

Students can quack their hearts out for 90 seconds using four calls: hail, feed, comeback and mating and win big ducks, oops, we mean, bucks for higher education

3. Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship

Fakie, dropin, and Ollie sound familiar? Not only is skateboarding not a crime, there is even a scholarship available for students with a solid GPA. SK8 on!

4. Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award

Milk does a body good, and helps pay for college! If students demonstrate excellence in academics, athletic performance, leadership and community service, and like to sport a milk mustache; this is the scholarship for them.

5. Tall Clubs International (TCI) Scholarship Read more… »

There are various sources of scholarship money awarded to students each year – probably more than you realize. The trick in finding these opportunities is understanding each type of scholarship and whether you’re eligible for them. While wading through countless resources may seem a daunting task, if you’re serious about finding legitimate ways to fund your college education, the task of learning about various opportunities can be well worth it.

College Scholarships

Many colleges offer monetary awards for their specific college. If you know which schools you’d like to attend, it may be to your benefit to find out whether those schools offer school-specific scholarships as part of your financial aid package. Schools that do offer specific scholarships to students of their college typically include requirements the student must maintain in order to remain eligible for the money.

For example, many colleges require students receiving scholarship money from them to maintain a certain GPA, pursue a defined course of study, or other specific academic requirements. Not every college offers school-specific scholarship awards however, so it’s a good idea to do your research beforehand so you won’t end up disappointed.

Athletic Scholarships Read more… »