How to Get Scholarships for College

With the cost of college continuing to rise and lenders tightening up who exactly they lend money to these days, many people might be feeling the pinch when it comes to paying for college for the next four years. Before you start to think that you might not be able to get your hands on the funds that will allow you to attend the college of your dreams, make sure that you check into the wonderful world of scholarships. Not just for the star athlete or the class brain, there are scholarships for just about every qualification that you can think of, the key is knowing where to look.

Local

One of the places that many students overlook for scholarships is right in front of them! Start searching for scholarships locally in places like the grocery store, bank and places of worship. It might not be a full ride somewhere, but the competition to get the scholarship will be significantly less and once you get a few smaller amount scholarships, they can add up to big savings over the years. 

High School Guidance Counselor

Your high school guidance counselor should have a wealth of information about the scholarship process. Not only have they themselves been to college, but they have helped countless students like yourself through the process in the past. They can sometimes have “inside” information or helpful hints that can point you in the right direction when it comes to scholarships that could save your thousands in the coming years. 

University

Believe it or not, but many universities and colleges offer scholarships for you to come to their schools. A lot of times, the private and more expensive schools have more of these monies to offer, so don’t overlook a school just because you have sticker shock when you look at the price tag the first time. 

Parents’ Work

Many times one of the benefits offered by employers are scholarships to college for their children. This is often a forgotten benefit that many don’t even know is out there to take advantage of. Depending on the size of the company, it might be a scholarship on the smaller side, but having your book expenses covered for a year is money that you don’t have to fork over for those huge, sometimes expensive textbooks.

Athletics/Activities

You always hear about the Division I star athlete that gets all expenses paid to go play their sport for four years, but you don’t always have to be a super star to get money for college. So you don’t have the skills of Eli Manning or Herschel Walker, but smaller colleges are well known for giving scholarships to athletes to play in a division that might not be quite as competitive or high profile. Even if you aren’t athletic, many schools give scholarships for other activities that you enjoy like music or ROTC.

You can get a scholarship for that?

It might sound strange, but did you know that you can get scholarships based on your race, gender, location and heritage? What about your last name, your height, the fact that you are left handed or were a member of the safety patrol? The key to searching for these more obscure scholarships is to start early and be ready to put some time into your search. But most people would agree that when they have loans to cover all or part of college, that time is very well spent.

This guest blog was written by the Cadet Admissions department of North Georgia College & State University, The Military College of Georgia. North Georgia College & State University is one of the top military colleges in the US and offers a college army ROTC program. Cadet Admissions also offer Army scholarships to those pursuing a field in the army.