5 Places to Look for Scholarships and Grants

December 29, 2016

It’s that time of year when students are hearing from colleges and having to make decisions of where to go and how to pay those college bills. When it comes to reducing college costs, there are many options, but none come with the benefits that scholarships and grants have. Unlike loans, they don’t have to be paid back and unlike work study, they don’t have to be worked for. They’re basically free money. Here are some places to find them:

1) The high school guidance counselor. If your child hasn’t spoken to their guidance counselor yet, this is a great place to start. After all, it’s part of their job. They’re often notified of scholarship opportunities and can at least point your child in the right direction. In fact, I found out about the scholarship offered by my college from my high school guidance counselor.

2) Employers. Some employers offer scholarships to employees and their children. Ask your employer, your spouse’s employer, and your child’s employer about any possible programs. Even a part-time or summer job may qualify.

3) Community organizations. Many local community organizations may award scholarships to local students, especially if your child has performed community service or if either of you are members. These scholarships tend to be small, but there’s less competition for them. I remember winning a small scholarship in an essay contest by my local bar association. You can find a list of some community service programs here.

4) National scholarships. There are literally thousands of opportunities to win scholarship money out there based on your child’s ethnicity, religion, interests, academic and athletic achievements, essay-writing ability, and other skills and attributes. You don’t have to pay a scholarship search service to find them though. This article compares some of the top free online scholarship search engines.

5) The college. Finally, there’s the actual college your child applies to. They generally offer scholarships and grants based on both need and merit. While your child may not know what merit scholarships they’ll qualify for until they apply, you can estimate the need-based grants by using the net price calculator tool that each school has on their web site. In calculating your expected out-of-pocket costs, they estimate how much your child would receive based on family income, assets, number of children in college, etc.

While your child may not be able to get enough scholarships and grants to cover all of their costs, you may be surprised by what they can qualify for. All it takes is a little research and legwork. If nothing else, it will be good preparation for the work they’ll have to do in school and the rest of their lives.