Are you a distinguished scholar? A single mother? A former cheerleader? Ambadextrious? A red-headed athiest? If so, there just may be a scholarship waiting for you to claim. Scholarships can be a great way to fund your education. Many schools, clubs, and organizations offer scholarships based on a number of greatly varying factors. Some organizations require that recipients deomostrate academic potential or achievement, while others are simply looking for someone to fill specific qualifications, such as the place you were born, your native langauge, particular talents, and club or relgious affliation. A number of scholarships are avaliable for distance learners. So, whether you've written the poem of the century or are a twin from the Southern states, take a look at the three types of scholarship opportunities avaliable to you.
Individual School Scholarships
Several distance learning schools have begun to offer limited scholarships to their students. These scholarships are generally based on academic achievement or potential for success. Some schools offer all-inclusive scholarships which cover the full cost of tuition, books, fees, and basic living expenses. However, most scholarships are partial and are meant to be a suppliment to your finances. Each school has different policies and scholarships. If your online school is related to a physical university, you may be eligible to apply to the scholarships of the affiliated university. Check with your schools' financial aid department or counseling office to get up to date information about what money may be avaliable to you. But, be sure to check early; many scholarships are only offered once a year and you may need time to prepare matierals before the deadline.
Organizational Scholarships
Many organizations offer scholarships to students who they deem worthy. Qualifications are not always based in academiecs; you may be surprised what talents and attributes people are willing to award you for. If you belong to a youth orgnanization or club, such as the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, there are many scholarships avaliable. You may be able to score a scholarship based on your athletic ablility, music talent, or writing skills. Extracurriclular activities, such as volunteering, always look good on an application. There are scholarships for twins, former high school cheerleaders, overweight feminists, and people who had exceptionally difficult childhoods. Look for organizations that will honor your acomplishments or your quirks. One of the best places to look for scholarships is
FastWeb.com. This free scholarship search engine begins by asking you a series of detailed questions about yourself, and then offers information about scholarships that are individually suited to you. In all, it provides information about over 600,000 scholarships and $1,000,000,000 in funding.
Contest Scholarships
Another way you can get money for college is by entering one of the many contests avalible. Many companies and clubs hold contests with cash rewards for student winners. The majority of contests focus around writing, although in some cases the content of the writing is weighted more than the presentation.
All Ink, a printer supply company, offers $10,000 in scholarship awards each year for essay responses. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have a 2.5 gpa.
The Writer's of the Future Contest gives amateur writers the chance to win cash awards for their fictional writing. The sponsoring organization awards three prizes, of up to $1,000 each, every year.
The Ayn Rand Institute offers a $5,000 first place award for the winning essay. The only personal qualification is that entrants be full-time college students; there is no minimum gpa. There are dozens of contests such as these avaliable to students every year. To find a contest that suits your skills, put "scholarship contest" in to any search engine and sift through the sites, or log on to FastWeb and check "writing" as one of your interests in your profile. Before you go to the trouble of writing for a contest, make sure the sponsoring organization is legitimate and will offer you the award without unreasonable obligation. Most reputable organizations will offer a phone number and address on their website. Avoid contests that require an application fee or will charge you for "publishing" your writing. If there is to be any money exchanging hands, it should be coming your way.
