Start searching for scholarships now! Some scholarships can be hard to find and many have early deadlines. You can never start too early.
Talk to your school counselor about local scholarships. You should also expand your search to include:
- Public libraries scholarship reference section
- Local businesses and corporations
- Employers — yours or your family’s
- Professional associations, community foundations and local service clubs
- Occupational, political or religious organizations like churches and unions
- Department of Veterans Affairs (if you or your parent(s) were in the military)
Online searches
A number of reliable, free online scholarship search services are available. Some point you to state and national scholarships and some to local scholarships. Don’t rely solely on online searches. Talk to your school counselor and the financial aid office at the college you want to attend about their own scholarships.
Sites for scholarship searches
Avoid scams
Never pay to search for scholarships. Plenty of reliable, free scholarship search services are available. Start with the ones listed above. If a scholarship service asks for payment, it may be a scam. Avoid any gimmick that promises a scholarship or “your money back.” Never give out a credit card number, bank account information or your Social Security Number. Be wary of “scholarship application fees” and don’t believe the claim that “you can’t get this anywhere else.”