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… »

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… »

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… »

My daughter is a Junior at St John’s University in New York City. I just checked her financial aid record and discovered that so far, it has cost over $82,000 to attend.

$82,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS!

$82,012.36 to be exact. And she still has at least one more year to go. The tuition is $24,400 per year (and increasing).

That adds up to about $72,000 over 3 years – (according to my calculations). So where did the other $10,000 come from?

FEES… New Student Fee, University General Fee, Student Activity Fee, Late Payment Fee, ID Card Replacement Fee, A/R Interest (what’s that?).

And this doesn’t even include books (which average about a hundred bucks each), food, transportation or room and board. She doesn’t even live on campus.

According to St John’s University – the cost of attendance for the 2007-2008 Academic Aid Year will be:

Books and Supplies…………….. $1,000.00
Fees………………………………… $640.00
Home Maintenance………………. $2,700.00
Personal Expenses………………. $1,800.00
Transportation……………………. $1,100.00
Tuition……………………………… $26,200.00 Read more… »

Whether the US economy slows down or perks up in the near or long term, what is now widely considered as one holding great promise is the demand for qualified nurses in the country for at least the coming 6 years. There is however the fear of growing shortage of good nursing teachers, which means that the gulf between availability of nursing jobs and that of qualified nurses is likely to grow bigger in the years to come.

A situation such as this holds promise for serious students who wish to pursue a career in nursing. Even nurses, who have few years of experience behind them, may find it convenient and timely to enhance their qualifications to aim for higher career goals.

The good news for students is that there are many scholarships available to study courses in nursing. It is advisable however, that students explore different avenues for funding their studies before zeroing in on likely choices. More often than not, sourcing funds for a nursing degree is a multi-step process that may vary from one program to another, which in turn calls for diligence and ability to work out the best deal from amongst various options available. For example, it may be so that some scholarships cover only a part of educational cost, while others meet the entire educational cost but with conditions to be fulfilled. Read more… »

As you consider how to pay for college, the very first place to start is with college grants and scholarships. Unlike student loans, grants and scholarships generally do not have to be repaid. There are billions of dollars of grants and scholarships available from hundreds of thousands of organizations the key is doing your research and starting early.

Grants are based on a combination of financial need, and in some cases, academic performance. For example, the Federal Pell Grant offers up to $4,050 (for the 2006-07 school year) depending on your financial need and the cost of attendance at your school. Applying for the Pell Grant and other federal grants is done through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA, which is a free financial aid form. Your FAFSA results, called the Student Aid Report (SAR), will inform you if you’re eligible for a Pell Grant, and for how much. Other grants controlled by the FAFSA include the Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant, the National SMART Grant, and the Academic Competitiveness Grant.

College scholarships are another source of funds for education that don’t have to be repaid. They are typically offered to students who meet specific requirements, and are typically funded by private benefactors. Though many scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit or financial need, not all are. Some scholarships are random drawings, while others have requirements designed to focus on improving access to specific demographics, like minorities or certain fields of study. Read more… »