I’m sorry, this isn’t actually a top ten list. I promise I’ll write one for you after this contest is over.

Scholarship Experts is offering another scholarship contest this month. To apply, you simply need to register and submit a list of 10 reasons why you need money for college! Entries will be judged on overall quality, so whether you decide to go with something funny or something serious, make sure it stands out and leaves an impression. Creativity is going to be key in a contest like this, because if you think about the first things that come to mind you’ll end up with a list that looks like everyone elses’!

What are you waiting for? While you’re there, complete a profile and browse scholarship results, or get other financial aid help in the expert articles section. They have information online that will help you file a FAFSA, find scholarships, and write a winning essay.

If you’re looking for examples of popular top ten lists, try Digg.com, Listverse.com, and Reddit.com. There are lots of lists on the web, and they’re popular for a lot of reasons. A list of brief ideas is easy to read, avoids unnecessary words, and offers a sense of progression. You could start off with something serious, and work toward something downright silly. Or, you might think up something completely different.

Whatever it is, I’m sure we could all use some money for school. Share your top reasons and share your top wishes and have a chance to have your financial dreams come true!

Source: http://freecollegeblog.com/

Applying for scholarships can be confusing if you have no experience with it, but if you break the process down into these following steps, you can see exactly how to find money for college and win awards over the competition.

Step 1: Search for Scholarships

Use any one of the free scholarship search engines on the internet:

Profile-based Scholarship searches:

• Fastweb – Find Free College Money! Use FastWeb’s free scholarship search to find information on more than 600,000 scholarships
• ScholarshipExperts – Another top-quality scholarship search engine is available for free at ScholarshipExperts

When you register an account with these free services, you’ll be asked to fill out a student profile including education history, intended major, group memberships, awards, test scores, etc… Based on the answers in your profile, the website software will direct you toward scholarships and contests that you’re eligible for.

Search-based Scholarship Services:

• Free College Blog – No registration college scholarship search
• FreschInfo.com – Provides another free search-based scholarship finder

These search-based scholarship searches don’t require the student to fill out a registration or permanent profile, instead they allow the students to search for specific topics related to eligibility for scholarships like major, awards, or really anything like what you would otherwise fill in at the profile sites.

Step 2: Identify which eligible scholarships you should apply for

Just because you are eligible for the scholarship, that doesn’t mean it is worth spending your time to apply for it!

Many scholarships and contests are open to broad parts of the student population. Some might have requirements like a 2.0 GPA and legal residency in the USA. If everyone who can get into college is eligible for the award and winners are selected by a random draw, there’s nothing you can really do to improve your odds of winning. So, if everyone is eligible, its probably worth it to just fill out a form or two and have your name entered. But beware of such contests that want lengthy essays it may not be a good use of your time if tens of hundreds of thousands of other college students are applying for the same contest.

If an award describes a much more specific set of eligibility characteristics and you’re included, then this is the type of scholarship you definitely want to print out and learn more about.

Step 3: Review the Sponsor’s requirements

Make a checklist of every part of the application. Take note of every essay question, required letter, and required transcript. Pay special attention to the number of copies of the application that the sponsor requires – many times they want one complete application for each member of the scholarship review committee. This can get up to seven or eight copies of a multi-page application! This is another big reason you shouldn’t try to apply for every scholarship you can, just the printing costs can get significant after chasing a few prestigious awards.

Step 4: Complete the Application

When you’re absolutely sure of everything the scholarship provider requires, start the actual application. If there is a specific form they want filled out, make sure you download the most recent version and get it printed out, or pick one up from your school’s guidance or financial aid departments.

Presentation matters, so use an erasable pen or have some white-out handy. Scratched out text isn’t going to convey the professional image you want to put forth!

When it comes to essay questions about more general topics, make sure to tie in your personal goals and career plans. If you show a bigger concept of how certain ideals or philosophies relate to what you want to accomplish through education, it will help you out big time compared to other applicants.

Step 5: Find Someone to Proof the Application

Even if you think you’ve got the perfect application ready, find someone older who can help proof it for common spelling and grammar mistakes. Also ask them to review the application requirements and confirm that everything is present. Parents, teachers, and guidance counselors can be a big help in this final phase.

Remember to keep an eye on deadline dates and don’t put this off to the last minute. Many scholarship providers require the application to be received by the deadline date, so you’ll have to add at least a week or two for mail if its long distance.

Step 6: Collect some scholarship money (maybe)

Scholarships are typically not guaranteed, in fact most non-government scholarships that claim to be guaranteed are likely to be scholarship scams (ESPECIALLY if they want payment up front).

Apply for multiple scholarships, because competition will be significant. It may not sound like much, but if you set aside time to apply for two scholarships each month, that is a total of 24 chances every year. By the time you graduate college, you’ll have applied for nearly 100 scholarships! (Well, as you get higher in the college years, it will be harder to find awards but they are still out there in the form of paid internships, essay contests, science contests, etc…)

Source: http://freecollegeblog.com/

Maybe you got the idea in your head that scholarships, grants, and contests are just for other students. Maybe at some point you decided that applying for scholarships is just for students with 4.0 GPAs and a filing cabinet full of awards and certificates of appreciation.

Sure, there are scholarships for students with top-level achievement, but every student should put the time in to apply for scholarships – either online, through the local business community, and at the college or university he/she plans to attend. Yes, yes, every student should apply for scholarships – sometimes their parents should be applying too.

Sometimes Parents can Apply for Scholarships

Some scholarship programs are as much for the benefit of the parent as they are for the student.  The scholarships that parents can apply for are often related to their employment or professional & academic organizations that they may be members with.  Whenever you’re filling out an online scholarship matching profile, make sure to get some input from the parents to ensure that you aren’t missing out on opportunities that are available.

In some cases, the parent applies for the scholarship directly from the provider.  But most of the time, the student still completes the application even if they are only eligible by virtue of their parent’s associations.

Myth – Scholarships are just for Freshman

While it is true that the largest number of scholarships are aimed toward first-time college students and incoming freshman, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t awards for students at other levels of their education, too!

This advice isn’t just for people who have already finished their first year in college, it also holds for students who are just getting into high school!  Many scholarship programs are out there that only require the applicant to be 13 years old.  Sound too young to worry about money for college?  No way!  Competing for scholarships early will not only increase the student’s chances of achieving free college, it will also prepare them for the academic challenges they’re likely to face throughout the rest of their school years.

Myth – Scholarships are just for Overachievers

Scholarships are available for students of all levels of academic achievement and all sorts of organizational affiliation.  Cultural groups, religious groups, and professional groups all provide funding for college scholarships – and every organization sets its own requirements for eligibility and selection.  One committee may be looking for flawless grades, but perhaps the next one is more interested in the student’s volunteer work and how they’ve used their time and skills to serve the community.

There may be scholarships available for you and waiting on your application based on any of the following:  language(s) spoken, religion, culture, family history, race, gender, sexual orientation, major, academic achievement, financial need, or even just because you’re in the right zipcode and you’re close to a business who is providing money to college students like you.

Myth – My parents make too much Money

Not all scholarships are based on the student’s financial need.  In fact, the major program that takes family income into account isn’t a scholarship at all, its federal financial aid.  Its true though, some scholarships do only want to consider students with significant financial obstacles to their education, so just avoid those awards if you’re certain that you won’t qualify!  There are still plenty of other awards that don’t take a student’s financial situation into account.

Every Student Should Apply for Scholarships

So the short answer to the question “Who should apply for scholarships?” is:  Every student, and possibly their parents too.  If you convince yourself – or let someone convince you – that you won’t find any money for school, you probably won’t.  If you put in the time to find and apply for scholarships, you may just be pleasantly surprised to find some free money in your mailbox or school account.

Source: http://freecollegeblog.com/

There financial aid programs are divided in two categoires; need-based aid and merit-based aid.

• Need-based aid - Need based aid are given to students who are not able to afford college payments. Therefor students from lower income families are awarded a need-based scholarship. Some of these scholarships focus on the students who are disabled or chronically ill. Also young parents, single mothers are awarded a need based scholarship.
• Merit-based aid – This kind of programs help students based on their academic achievements. GPA, academic awards, and school related activites like sports are important factors. Contests are usually in this category , because winners are selected based on the invention they have produced or the essays they have written.

Awards Classifications:

There are different terms of awards depending on some requirements.

• Fellowships: These are given by associations. The reqiurement is you have to be a member of the group to get some scholarships. You represent the organization and you may seem as a public image which can have you stayed out of the controversy.
• Scholarships: No requirements need to be met to get some scholarships. Scholarships are designed to recognize a student’s accomplishment or to assist someone in need.
• Contests: It can be anything from engineering to an award for the best student song. Most of the time it is based on the creativity you got.

Always be aware of what kind of financial aid you are getting. Do they need to be paid back? Are you supposed to be a member of a specific organization?

Good Luck!

Source: http://freecollegeblog.com/