How to Get Scholarships for College - The Secret to Scholarship Success

As the economy worsens, students are scrambling to find extra money to finance college expenses. In times past students were able to supplement tuition and expenses by working jobs while attending schools. But the job market is low in every part of the country; even those who have already graduated from college are having trouble finding jobs. And with the cost of college at an all time high, a low paying job would not begin to scratch the surface in helping fund school costs. Unfortunately, some students have had to leave school or delay enrolling in college because of their lack of finances and want to know how to get scholarships for college.

Scholarships have been very helpful in getting students in college and assisting those in college with extra money. There are so many sources for scholarships available to students. Knowing what they are and how to qualify is important to help increase the chances of getting a scholarship award. These sources include websites with listings of available scholarships, libraries and the school guidance counselor at the student's high school. In addition, many charitable organizations such as church offer scholarships; as do groups such as alumni associations. The student should look into every possible option for financial help.

The proper planning makes the scholarship application process more organized. Having this organization helps save time and also decreases the chance of missing out on a scholarship for which the student may qualify. Beginning with the first year of high school, students should intensify their study habits to improve their grades even more. In the long run this will pay off when the student applies for academic scholarships for college. In actuality, a student's grades, even from elementary school, can follow him through his entire educational lifetime. Scholarships are often awarded to students who show team spirit and leadership ability. Joining extra school activities and getting involved in community endeavors not only provides networking opportunities, but helps you find out how to get scholarships for college and get a successful scholarship award.

Students should also keep their resumes current so that all new skills are added as they are learned. Reference letters from employers and professionals in the community also help to build a positive image for the student; which can be impressive on the scholarship application. The scholarship application itself should be carefully filled out. Correct spelling and grammar are a must. The essay portion of the application is vital because it allows the reader a chance to get a feel for the student's intelligence and ability to put thought to paper.

While there are no guarantees that the student will be awarded a scholarship, the reward of free money for college is the incentive to make the very best effort possible throughout the application process. If you want to get a degree and want to know how to get scholarships for college get online and start applying today.

College Swimming Scholarships - What You Need to Know

The competition for college swimming scholarships is extremely competitive. There are several factors that go into a coaches decision to award a swimmer athletic scholarship money. While everyone typically thinks only those swimmers with the fastest times in the pool will get scholarship money, that is just one factor that a coach uses.

Colleges are looking for swimmers that still have potential to increase their times every year in college. There are high school swimmers who have already reached maximum potential and will not attract much attention from colleges even if they have times that are tops in their State.
Academics are also very important. Swimming in college demands much more time than high school. Coaches want athletes who can handle the academic demands of college without it affecting athletic performance.
Coaches want athletic diversity in their swimmers. If you can swim and compete in multiple events you are more attractive for scholarship money than a swimmer who is specialized. Be willing to compete in multiple strokes and let coaches know you want to compete and help the team however you can.
College swimming in the NCAA is an equivalency sport. Coaches can and usually do divide the scholarship money amongst multiple athletes.  Division I swimming programs have  9.9 scholarships for Men and 14 for Women. In DII there are 8.1 scholarships for Men and 8.1 for Women. This means if you are are offered a DI Women's swimming scholarship that is a .5 or 50% partial, the coach has 13.5 more scholarships to offer. Typically each program has only 20% to 30% of their total swimming scholarship money to offer to incoming freshmen each year.

There are over 190 colleges and 1,800 swimming scholarships for men available in NCAA DI and DII. For women in NCAA DI and DII there are over 240 colleges that offer over 3,100 scholarships. You can earn one if you know how to compete at the recruiting game.

If you have solid swim times in high school, good academics and the ability to improve and compete in multiple events than you can earn a college swimming scholarship. You must be willing to work as hard at your athletic recruiting as you do in the pool. Thousands of other high school swimmers are competing for the same scholarship money. You must start early in your recruiting, have a solid recruiting plan and be aggressive to separate yourself from the competition.

How to Find Scholarships on Internet

Today, scholarships have become a great way to get free money for college. But most of the time, students and parents seem to a little apprehensive about whether they will be able to receive the scholarship. Students think that scholarships are available only for meritorious students. Internet has proved to be an excellent resource for finding different types of scholarships. There are scholarships for almost every kind of student. Finding scholarships on the Internet requires some tips and suggestions, so that students or parents do not become a victim of scholarship scams.

There are numerous scholarship search services available on the Internet. However, finding the right kind of scholarship service is key to winning scholarships. While you begin searching on the Internet, you will come across hundreds of such scholarship services. But you need to find the one that saves you time and provides you with a list of scholarship that you can be potentially eligible for. There are a number of things that you need to keep in mind while you go about selecting a scholarship search service on the Internet.

You can find scholarships on the internet without much hassle if you are able to find a scholarship search service which features sophisticated machine technology. A service on the Internet actually matches your profile with many scholarships that they have stored in their database. It is therefore necessary for the scholarship service to make use of a sophisticated technology. Otherwise, the service may just give you a list of hundreds of scholarships, making you waste a lot of your valuable time. If the technology used by the service is sophisticated and advanced, it will list you only those scholarships that exactly match your profile and for those you can be a potential candidate. So, while you find scholarships on the Internet, go only for the scholarship service that uses an advanced matching system or search machine technology.

Another important thing to take notice of is whether your selected scholarship services on the Internet has their database updated with the current scholarship programs available. If the service has a list of outdated scholarship programs, you will only waste your time wading through these funding programs. So, check the date of the scholarships available and make sure that the scholarship service provides scholarship information for the current academic year.

Another essential tip on how to find scholarships on Internet is to avoid those service websites that seem to be packed with commercial advertisements. You will come across many such websites that display lots and lots of student advertisements as windows keep popping up. Many of such overly commercial websites may also require you to go for an email subscription. If you want to save time searching for scholarships on the Internet, you need to keep away from such websites who aim is to generate revenue form the commercial advertisements.

A right kind of scholarship service on the Internet should have user friendly features. What if you want to edit or change the personal information that you had previously submitted or filled in on the website. Does the scholarship service website save the information you submit? Or to edit the information, you need to re-submit all the information?

Always keep these tips in mind while trying to find scholarship programs on the Internet. The whole point is that your time is valuable. You can not waste your time wading through scholarship programs that are actually not going to be of any use to you. Choose a scholarship service on the Internet carefully and avoid sites that do not have customer oriented service.

Weird College Scholarships and Grants (Part 1)

Most college scholarships and tuition grants are based on academic excellence, exceptional athletic skills, and leadership potential. But even college scholarships, serious as they come, do get hit with a jolt of weirdness.

If you happen to be a bagpipe enthusiast, then perhaps the Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship is a fit for you. Sponsored by the highly revered Carnegie Mellon University, this college tuition initiative is yours if you so choose to pick bagpipe playing as your college major.

For hard core Star Trek fans, you could be in luck as well. The Klingon Language Institute's Kor Memorial Scholarship is created to financially aid creative language majors. For those who are not familiar with Klingons, they are big, hairy creatures that have appeared in Star Trek. Fortunately, you do not have to be a fluent with the Klingon language to qualify.

The Starfleet Academy Scholarship is $500 college tuition grant awarded to members of the Starfleet Academy, an organization copied directly from the fictional Star Trek academy. Aside from that, the Starfleet Academy also offers the Gene Roddenberry Memorial Scholarship for Aspiring Writers and the DeForest Kelley/Dr. Leonard McCoy Medical Scholarship to its deserving members.

Another bizarre shot at college education is the Duct Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest. Aside from the fact that you are going to college, the only other requirement is that you and your date should dress in duct tape on your prom night.

There are still a number of weird scholarships and college tuition grants that are out of this world when it comes to weirdness. But if such scholarships can land you in college, then perhaps you better try to internalize and see if you have some weirdness in you.

Watch out for Part 2!

Get a Dad Scholarship

If you are a dad looking to go to college or school, then getting a scholarship can literally change your life.

Because studying is so expensive, any financial help that you can get to pay for your tuition and classes is going to make a tremendous difference to your ability to continue studying whilst also being a great parent, and possibly holding a part time job down as well!

Which Scholarships Can Dads Get?
There are so many scholarships available today, regardless of where you live, what your background is and what you want to do in life.

There are:

Minority scholarships for people who are part of specific sectors of society
Academic scholarships for high achievers
Sports scholarships if you excel in a particular sport
Grants which are given in exchange for you achieving pre-determined goals and achievements

A father can apply for any of the above types of grants and scholarships. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will be successful in getting the money but the key is to try as hard as you can.

Make Yourself Look Great
A scholarship application, when required, should make you shine.

You will want the assessors to believe that you are the very best person. After all, they are giving money away and want to know that it will be put to good use by a person who is dedicated and determined to do well in school.

A dad scholarship is simply the easiest and fastest way to get money for college or university without the requirement to pay it back.

What Can You Expect From the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship?

The Oprah Winfrey Scholarship is one of the most talked-about and popular scholarships out there, and is attracting a lot of attention. But just what is it? And more importantly, how do you get one? In this little post I'm going to tell you a bit more about it and what it means for you.

First of all, I should point out that the scholarship isn't actually a scholarship at all! In reality, it's an Endowment fund set up by Oprah Winfrey which aims to give money to other organisations which support the general ethos of the fund. In other words, the endowment fund has a pot of money that it dishes out to various scholarship funds which give opportunities to minorities with a strong academic record, but who face financial need.

The fund has a strong emphasis on empowering ethnic minorities and women in particular, and often the endowment fund will sponsor scholarships that tackle these groups directly. The fund recently helped the Lori Hacking scholarship fund in Salt Lake City which is aimed at women business students "seeking an education in the face of significant life changes". The scholarship was set up in memory of a young woman who disappeared and is presumed to have been killed by her husband.

If you're thinking about applying for one of the scholarships the Oprah Winfrey endowment fund sponsors then there's a few things you should think about:

Do your research!

Sounds obvious, but there's no point trying to apply for a scholarship that's unsuitable. By comparing a broader range of scholarships, you're more likely to find one that is best for you. You can get help searching for various scholarships by visiting this oprah winfrey scholarship link at in the resource box of this article.


Know what the board is looking for


Every scholarship is different, and you should tailor your application to suit each of them. If you've done your research, you will hopefully have a good idea of what the board is looking for. Even better, if you can you should try to seek out past winners of the scholarship, or try to get in touch with the scholarship fund first before applying. Often a phone call and a chat with someone within the organization can work wonders for your application.


Try to choose less popular scholarships


High profile scholarship funds can often be over-subscribed, so it's worth looking for those that are not often applied for. Applying for one of these 'neglected' scholarships can often be far more fruiful than one of the more popular ones.

Consider a grant

Sometimes a scholarship isn't the best option, especially if you cannot demonstrate obvious financial need. If you can't, the likelihood is that the scholarship will go to someone else who really needs it. But there are tons of grants out there, and even more since the last budget was announced in February.

Florida Schools Scholarship Program Offers Alternative School Choices to Students with Disabilities

The McKay Scholarship Program of the Florida schools offers parents and their children with disabilities the option to attend the public or private school of their choice. Florida schools students in grades kindergarten through high school, who are mentally handicapped, speech and language impaired, deaf or hard of hearing, visually impaired, dual sensory impaired, physically impaired, emotionally handicapped, specific learning disabled, hospitalized or homebound, or autistic may be eligible for this program. This allows parents who are dissatisfied with the educational progress of their children with disabilities to request their children be enrolled in and attend schools that better suit the needs of the students.

To be eligible, the Florida schools student must meet the following requirements:

o Has one of the above mentioned disabilities;

o Has attended a Florida public school in the previous year (this requirement is waived for students transferring into the state with a parent of the Armed Forces, who has moved due to change of station orders); and

o Has an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

According to the Florida schools, the average value of a McKay scholarship is $6,114 annually. Parents and their children may take advantage of this Florida schools program from kindergarten through high school. There is no time use limit on the scholarship.

Transportation for the Florida schools student varies, depending upon the selected school. The school district provides transportation if the child transfers to another school within the same district of his or her prior year and is consistent with the district's school choice plan. Parents are responsible for providing transportation and its cost, when:

o The chosen public school is not consistent with the district's school choice plan, even though it is within the same district;

o The chosen public school is within an adjacent district and offers the student's IEP services; or

o The chosen school is a private school.

The Florida schools' McKay Scholarship Program is funded, using the per student expenditure amount for each individual child (including the costs to accommodate the disability) OR the cost of tuition and fees for the private school -- whichever is less. The program requires no additional state funding by the Florida schools

There are currently 703 private schools participating in the Florida schools scholarship program, though not all private schools are eligible or wish to participate.

Online Education Eligible For Traditional Scholarships and Grants

Private colleges and universities are known for small class sizes where students receive individual attention. These same institutions tend to offer frequent opportunities for involvement, more study abroad opportunities and boast higher graduation and retention rates, according to the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Many also associate a private education with pricey tuition.

While tuition and associated school fees at private colleges and universities are often higher than those at public institutions, scholarships and grants can greatly offset the cost. In fact, financial aid has been increasing and accelerating at private institutions, Bloomberg Businesweek recently reported. Scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid at private colleges and universities between this coming fall semester and the fall of 2009 increased by 6.8 percent as compared with tuition and fees, which rose by 4.5 percent, according to a June report from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Private institutions aren't only slowing tuition hikes and enhancing scholarships for campus and distance learning programs. In some instances, they're freezing tuition and offering three-year degree programs, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President David L. Warren was quoted in a news release as saying. "Our colleges are redoubling their efforts to keep out of pocket costs as low as possible for students and families...," National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President David L. Warren was quoted in a news release as saying. "The bottom line for consumers is that they should not rule out a private college just because of the price tag."

The average published tuition and fee at private colleges and universities throughout the country is about $26,273, an amount that after financial aid and federal tax benefits came to $11,870, information from the College Board shows. Even for the 2008-2009 academic year, the average net tuition charge for private college and university students in Wisconsin, after financial aid including loans was considered, was $4,737, a web site for the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities shows. Student loans do have to be repaid, but 71 percent of the $18,478 average freshman financial aid package came in the form of grants that do not, the Wisconsin association reported.

Students and families can check the website for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities for a list of private institutions that have kept their tuition rates the same as last year. These colleges include the AIB College of Business in Iowa, Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, Fresno Pacific University in California and The Sage Colleges in New York State, according to the site. In Ohio, Ursuline College and the University of Akron have launched three-year bachelor's degree programs, the national association site shows.

Students might also consider saving money that might otherwise be spent on commuting and meal plans, since many private colleges according to a June 2010 report in USA Today have added or are planning to add distance learning options. Some private institutions have seen substantial enrollment increases as a result of new online learning opportunities, the report noted. The USA Today article focused on Christian institutions that an Eduventures consulting group analyst told the reporter have an advantage in the strongly religious United States and a crowded online learning market.

Online college programs themselves offer opportunities to schedule studies between the demands of work and family. Some distance learning programs are entirely online, while others combine time on campus with time online. Scholarships and grants for campus and distance learning programs might be based on financial needs or on instances where students have demonstrated academic success, community involvement, leadership abilities and more.

The Minnesota Private College Fund alone administers an array of scholarships for its 17 member institutions. Students in some instances might have to demonstrate academic success or community involvement and in others might have had to overcome barriers to pursue a degree. The Private College Fund also awards scholarships to students studying specific subjects.

College Grant Money - About Grants, Scholarship and Loans

Once you decide that you would like to go to college, the next step is to plan how to finance it. Many adults are not able to finance college by themselves and thus look for college grant money in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. Find out more about these 3 options below.

Scholarships
There seems to be a misconception that scholarships are only for persons that are straight out of high school. The good news is that there are many scholarships for adults available. Not all scholarships are based on academic results either, some focus on minority groups and another example is those that focus on specific subjects or interests, for instance there are super scholarships for women studying engineering. Scholarships are usually offered by colleges and universities, private companies and organizations.

Grants
Grants refer to the federal grant aid that is available. There are various grants available and you need to check to see which ones you would be eligible for. The FAFSA web site is the best place to go to complete your application online and also to get more information. The best known federal grant is called the Federal Pell Grant and this could give you up to $5350 per academic year. Then the runner up would be the FSEOG, meant for financially needy people, and here you could get anything from $100 to $4000.

Loans
If you have applied for all the grants and scholarships you can and find you are still short of money, then you need to consider a loan. Remember that grants and scholarships are non repayable so always make that your first choice for financing. But do not worry if you are short of funds, as there are excellent loans available. Have a look at Perkins loans and Stafford Loans. Some loans are interest free and others accumulate a very low interest.

Always apply for free money first as this is your best option. To get the ball rolling, why not apply for a $10000 scholarship right now? It is quick and easy and will take no time at all, do it now.

How to Find a Great College Scholarship For You

When you are looking for a college scholarship, you will find to your dismay that you are certainly not alone. There is no shortage of people who want a good education and when you go looking for a good scholarship, you are going to find that the competition is quite fierce. There are scholarships for many different majors and studies, for people of every background, and you will find that no matter how hard you look that there are still going to be things that you need to think about.

In many ways, the situation for students who are going to college now is more dire than it has been in a while. Due to the economic crunch, many loaning institutions are closing their doors when it comes to student loans, and scholarships seem to be the way to go. There are plenty of ways that scholarships are preferable, after all. In the first place, they do not have to be paid back when you graduate, and in the second place, they are specifically geared towards helping you get the right kind of support.

Too many students feel hopeless when it comes to getting a college scholarship. After all, we can't all be valedictorian and when it comes right down to it, our grades could have been better, and all kinds of things you kick yourself about in retrospect. But there is also a good chance that you fall into that gray area where you do not qualify for financial aid but paying for college is still not an option. However, you don't need to be an academic whiz kid or have financial need to get a lot of scholarships.

The issue is that scholarships are often not supplied by people who publicize them, and when you think about it, it makes sense. Just because an organization has money to provide for a college scholarship doesn't mean that they have the networking it takes to get it to the people who need it. There are plenty of scholarships out there that go unclaimed specifically because no one knows about them! These are scholarships are not necessarily based on financial need, and you will find that while this is not precisely free money lying around that you might be closer to it than you think!

When you are in a situation where you are feeling despondent about getting the college scholarship that you need, remember that there is help out there. Catalog your resources and think about what you have to offer. Chances are, you qualify for more cash for college than you think you do, so start searching! The smart students are the ones who will apply themselves, and many of them have multiple scholarships that are taking care of their college education needs. Is that due to the fact that they have more of a financial need than you do or that they have better grades than you do? Not at all, but the ACTION they have taken is to apply for each and every scholarship that they could have, and found they were awarded at least one if not more.

When it comes to getting a college scholarship awarded to you, the very first step is to actually APPLY for the scholarship. Sure it may be tedious and take up a lot of time and be boring, but remember that getting one or more college scholarships awarded to you that can take care of the finances for most or all of your college education is going to be absolutely awesome.