Scholarships

Scholarships and fellowships are usually awarded to students with special academic, athletic or artistic talents and qualifications or talents. These scholarships are based on merit and are usually quite competitive.

Scholarships are also available for students who have financial need. These scholarships are available at many schools and can be quite large depending on the financial-aid resources of the particular university.

Other scholarships exhibit a special interest in particular fields of study or are for students who reside in a certain area of the country or belong to a certain group. For more information about applying for and pitfalls of searching for a scholarship, please see Scholarship FAQ.

Beware and stay away from scams - if you have to front money up front for any reason, it is usually a scam. If it sounds absolutely too good to be true, it probably is . . . check them out first!

One way to search for scholarships and fellowships is to use an online database search that compares your student profile with a database of available scholarships.

FastWeb has the largest online database and is updated more frequently and lets you apply online for many of the scholarships.

College Board's Fund Finder
This database lists national, state, public and private source scholarships and other types of financial aid programs. The database is updated annually.

SRN Express
SRN Express is the free version of the SRN database including private-sector, non-need-based aid and is updated annually.

CollegeNET MACH25
CollegeNET MACH25 uses a loose match database by Wintergreen/Orchard House (WOH) scholarship database. WOH updates quarterly.

Other Scholarship and Funds Searches

Scholarships and Aid for Specific Fields of Study

These are a very small example of the listings you can find on the web by doing a search on Google, Yahoo or another major search engine with specific search terms like "your field of study + scholarships", "your field of study + scholarship listings", or list a "specific university + scholarships + your field of study". Most of the universities and colleges have a web page giving information of available scholarships if you have decided which university you will be attending OR even which state. Click Here for an example of Miami Dade College's scholorship page. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Some may be large and some may be small, but they all add up. People, organization and corporations award funds for education, but you must apply for them.

Other Resources

Below, you'll find pointers to a variety of financial aid resources offered by the federal government.

Students.gov
Unbelievable assortment of government links to everything from children of migrant workers who are college bound to reviews and critiques of colleges by current students.

US Department of Education
Listed are their information centers for Grants, Contracts and Student Financial Aid.

Department of Education Student Guide
The Student Guide is a comprehensive resource on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. Grants, loans, and work-study are the three major forms of aid available through the Department's Federal Student Aid office. Updated each award year, The Student Guide tells you about the programs and how to apply for them.