It’s Never Too Late – Scholarship Resources for Your Students
Scholarships are a valuable way for your students to reduce what they pay for their education, which may help set them up for future financial success once they leave school. Even though it’s not the traditional time to search, some scholarships are awarded at different times throughout the year. Here are a few great places for your students to seek scholarships all year round.
Free Online Search Tools
Fastweb
Fastweb allows users to match with more than $3.4 billion in scholarships. While that might seem like an overwhelming amount to sift through, Fastweb features organizational tools to help students track the programs they’d like to apply for, mark off those they’re not interested in, and the ones they’ve already completed.
Scholarships.com
As one of the largest scholarship databases, Scholarships.com is updated daily with new funding opportunities. Students can browse by category, or create a profile for more personalized results.
Peterson’s
The scholarship search at petersons.com allows students to search almost 2 million scholarship, grant, and fellowship programs. Designed as a one-stop shop for higher education funding, it features search filters and easy navigation to quickly find individualized scholarship sources.
The College Board
As a not-for-profit organization dedicated to connecting students with college success, The College Board offers scholarship search resources, and then some. Test prep, college search, and other helpful tools are available to guide students toward their goals.
Additional Resources
In addition to online searches, there are a number of places to check for scholarship assistance that your students might not consider when they think of scholarships.
- Financial aid office
- State grant agency
- Library reference section
- Foundations, religious or community organizations, local businesses, or civic groups
- Organizations (including professional associations) related to your field of interest
- Ethnicity-based organizations
- Current employer or parents’ employers
A Few Things to Keep In Mind
While searching for scholarships, there are a few things your students should take into consideration.
- Watch out for scams. Make sure to use reputable scholarship search organizations like the ones mentioned in this article, and stay away from programs that require an application fee, come with advance fees, or pose as sales pitches promoting “financial aid seminars.”
- Ask how it affects you. Accepting scholarships may affect other forms of financial aid you are already receiving. Always check with your financial aid office before accepting funds.
- Every little bit helps. Don’t rule out a scholarship because it seems like a trivial amount—every scholarship dollar you earn is a dollar you don’t have to pay towards your education.
Stay on the Lookout
Be sure to communicate the importance of scholarships with your students a few times a year. An occasional reminder is a great way to keep their minds open to new opportunities. Want to keep yourself open to new opportunities year round too? Keep checking our ScholarNet Central posts for great product and industry updates to assist you as you help students reach their goals.