Scholarships & Financial Aid Tips
Read these 10 Scholarships & Financial Aid Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about College tips and hundreds of other topics.
Apply Again and Again
Didn't get that scholarship you applied for? Keep trying. Apply for as many as you possibly can, every month, every semester until you graduate. The more you apply, the better your chances of getting a scholarship.
Finding Scholarships
You can look for scholarships in your high school guidance office, college financial aid offices, at the library, or online. Good online scholarship search services to try are Scholarship Experts, WiredScholar, CollegeXpress, and Financial Aid Officer. These services have the most accurate and updated scholarship information.
State Tuition Programs
Take advantage of state sponsored Pre-Paid Tuition Programs. It is a great way to purchase a college education at todays cost and use it in the future.
Scholarship Search Services
When selecting a scholarship search service, choose one that has an accurate database of scholarships. It will do you no good if you use a service that provides outdated scholarship information. How can you tell if the information is outdated?
1. The deadline is incorrect or states a previous year.
2. The contact person is incorrect.
3. The information about the scholarship is wrong.
4. The scholarship has been discontinued, but the search service still lists it.
Federal Financial Aid Deadline is Fast Approaching
Mark your calendars! Beginning in January you may start the process of applying for federal aid by filling out the FAFSA. Now is the time to educate yourself on the process and begin gathering all of the documents required.
Scholarship Seekers Beware
Do not use scholarship search services that sell your personal information to third parties. You will get bombarded with credit card applications, advertisement mailings, e-mails, spam and other nuisances.
Scholarship Search Services - Part 2
When selecting a scholarship search service, make sure the service has a profile-based system that asks you a lot of questions about yourself. A good profile-based scholarship search service will only let you see scholarships you qualify for. If a scholarship search service does not have a good profile system, you will see many scholarships that you cannot apply for. Not only is that frustrating, it is also a waste of time. Make sure the scholarship search service you use has an accurate database that is updated daily.
Scholarship Essays
Most scholarship providers will require you to write one or more essays or personal statements. Usually, the topic will be about your career plans, need for the scholarship, volunteer activites, life experiences, etc. The scholarship essay is one of the most important aspects of the application process. Make sure your essay makes sense, and proofread for errors.
Searching and Applying for Scholarships
Although you should start searching and applying for scholarships during your junior year in high school, you can continue to apply for scholarships throughout your college career. There are many scholarships available to college undergraduates and graduate students. You just need to start looking for them!
No Time to Find Scholarships?
High school students and college students have busy schedules. It may be difficult for them to find time to search for scholarships. To save time, use a scholarship search service.
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