How to find scholarships

High School is your last chance for a free education (unless you attend a private high school, which requires tuition now). So take full advantage of the scholarships that are available because they can help you pay for your plans after high school. Scholarships provide FREE money that you can use towards your college expenses.

Here’s what to do:

1) Use a pen and paper to record your search findings (or any method that will help you store important information that you’ll need).

2) Use this website that offers a list of great scholarship search engines. Create an account at each website you choose for ease of returning to your research on each site.

3) Look for ALL scholarships that you qualify for by reading its details, qualifications and deadlines.

4) Fill out the application correctly and before each deadline.

5) DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. Some scholarships take up to a few weeks or several months to prepare. So start today!

6) Contact us by email or telephone whenever you have any questions about any application. We will help you with all of our resources.

**We will never fill out an application for you nor complete any sections. Instead, we will guide you through the application and critique any work that you have completed first. You are more than capable!

7) You can also do your own Search: Using search engines like Google, Yahoo, Excite etc., try using combinations of search terms like these (be sure to use the quotation marks when entering the words in the search box): “college scholarships” “pacific islander scholarships” “mathematics scholarships” “music scholarships”, “leadership scholarships”, etc.).

A Word of Caution

Beware of any Scholarship search services that want to charge you for finding scholarship awards. Remember, free money shouldn’t cost a thing! Scholarship search services do not provide you with awards directly. They provide you with a list of “sources” of financial assistance. You must apply separately to every scholarship for which you may be eligible. Most of the information they provide can be obtained free from other sources.

Common aspects of a Scholarship. Be prepared!

Most scholarships require common items. Be aware that a scholarship application is an initial way for a company or organization to learn as much as they can about you. Their goal is to offer financial help in order to ultimately provide you the opportunity to succeed and to give back to society in a meaningful way. So you must take the scholarship application process very seriously and be prepared to do what it takes to apply.

Start today because most applications will ask you for:

Your grade point average or transcripts: To determine your level of focus and commitment to success.
Your ACT/SAT scores: Not all applications require these or both. So read through the application carefully.
Your personal interests: To find out which direction in life you are headed.
References: To determine if you display your skills and ambition to adults around you.
Essay(s): To give you an opportunity to share your personal story and commitment to making the scholarship money that you may receive, if awarded, matter.
and more…

One last piece of advice…

Once you earn a scholarship be very aware that it can also be taken away. Just as easy as it is for a company or organization to award you some money, it’s just as easy for them to retract the funds or even require you to pay the money back if you don’t meet the expectations of the scholarship. For example, some scholarships may require you to maintain a certain grade point average. Others may require that you major in a certain field of study, while others may require you to take a certain number of classes or earn a certain number of credits during a certain period of time. So it is very important to understand ALL of the terms of your scholarship(s).

Good luck! We’re very proud of you for taking on your college preparation steps with purpose!!