Scholarships and Grants

Unlike student loans, scholarships and grants do not have to be repaid. Scholarships and grants are essentially free money. Every years millions of dollars that are available for scholarships and grants goes unclaimed.

More than 1,000 grant programs are offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies, and these programs fall into 21 categories. Select any of the categories below to learn more about specific grants and agencies. Some agencies may be listed in multiple grant categories.

There are thousands of scholarships available, and many have special criteria for which you may qualify. In fact, millions of dollars a year in scholarships remain unclaimed because no one knows about them. A large number of scholarships given do not take into account academic merit, however, good grades can only help your situation.

There are many Scholarship and Grant search sites. Some are free, others want to sell you their "services". We recommend using the free search sites.
Before taking out a private student loan, find out if you are eligible for any scholarships or grants.

Finding Scholarships and Grants

At Your School:
Begin your search your high school guidance office, college career development center, or the financial aid department of the school you wish to attend. If you already attend college, check with your department head, bulletin boards and newsletters for listings on scholarships, grants, and internship information. Many schools offer a variety of scholarships that are particular to that school. To qualify for these scholarships, most colleges request that you fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. There is usually a deadline to receive priority consideration, so be aware and complete your application on time. For more information check out: http://www.ed.gov/finaid.html.
At Your Job:
Talk with your employer, parents' employers, and any volunteer or hobby organizations in which you participate. These companies and organizations may already sponsor scholarships for which you could qualify.
At Your Library:
The library is a great place to get online if you don't already have Internet access at home. Ask a librarian to help you research resources for scholarships. Here are some good places to start:
- "Peterson's Scholarships, Grants, and Prizes", Peterson's Guide, The A's and B's of Academic Scholarships," provides lists of scholarship, most not based on financial need.
- "The College Board College Scholarship Handbook 2001", College Boards (editor), Joseph Russo
- "Winning Scholarships for College: An Insider's Guide", Marianne Ragins
- "College Financial Aid for Dummies", Davis, Kennedy
- "Dan Cassidy's Worldwide Graduate Scholarships"
Through the Mail:
Online:
- Grants.gov search for government grants.
- AESsuccess is divided into sections to help students and parents plan for higher education, obtain financial aid, apply for a student loan, make loan payments and manage a borrower account. AESsuccess also offers other key features such as an advanced savings calculator; a loan consolidation worksheet; aid application timelines; checklists to help high school students plan for higher education; tips for parents including online forms, downloadable publications and more.
- AESmentor is a free and informative website containing valuable information on career planning, scholarship searches, college planning and selection, online college admission applications, online student loan applications, and much more.
- CampusChamps.com is a reference tool for the high school student athlete that contains information on playing high school sports and preparing for college. This one-stop resource for college planning and financial aid offers a friendly, sports-based community.
- CollegeToolkit.com allows students to find and apply for scholarships, search through a database of more than 4,000 colleges, and explore 900 careers all in one location. It is one of the most comprehensive sites for life after high school... and everything on the site is free for students to use!
- HBCUmentor allows students to search for historically Black colleges and universities that meet their specific needs and interests, take virtual multimedia campus tours, communicate with schools via free e-mail accounts and submit applications online.
- The Financial Aid Page provides links to free databases of information on scholarships and funding. >
- The Scholarship Page! provides a free searchable database of scholarship information.
- College NETMACH25 lists over 500,000 awards for free. You may write Pat Summers at Universal Algorithms, Inc., 1 SW Columbia, Suite 100, Portland, OR 97258 or call (503) 973-5200 for more information.
- The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Inc. offers a free search of 200,000 financial aid resources for Hispanic students. You may write them at 504 C St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 or call (800) EXCEL-DC.
- GoCollege provides a scholarship search, ACT and SAT practice, and a school search.
- College Board Online has searchable scholarships & lots of other information.
- Information from the American Indian College Fund, while not funding direct scholarships, this group provides a list of scholarship resources specific to American Indians.
- The American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) provides scholarships - you may also write them at 5661 Airport Blvd., Boulder, CO 80301 or call (303) 939-0023.
- The Jeannette Rankin Foundation (JRF) awards grants to low-income women, age 35 or older, who are seeking to better themselves, their families, and their communities through an education.
- White House Fellowships - a limited number of positions to spend 1 year as a paid assistant to a government official.