Scholarship resources developed by outside agencies
Your high school
Local scholarship providers typically send information to all local high schools. Your high school may have one general scholarship form that you can fill out to be considered for multiple scholarships; some scholarships may require their own application. Some high schools post scholarship offerings online; students at other high schools should check with their counseling/school office for scholarship information (check frequently). If your school is not on the list, ask your school office for more information (and/or check out the list from a different school). Make sure you attend your school’s financial aid information night (November-January).
Other Local Scholarship Sources
Colleges to which you have applied
- University of California:
- The application for admission is used to screen for scholarships as well (another reason to put some extra effort into the essays!)
- California State University
- Scholarship application is separate from admission application. Go to the campus’ website and type “scholarship” into their search field. Typically scholarships are handled by the financial aid office
- Private universities
- Some colleges use the application for admission (like UC), others require separate applications (like CSU); some, like Simpson University, offer scholarships simply for applying early
- Community colleges
Some really good free scholarship information sites
- College Scholarships.org
- Recommendations on how to write scholarship essays, how to request scholarship information/applications, how to recognize scholarship scams, how scholarships can affect taxes and more.
- Zinch: I am More than a Number
- A Facebook type profile that can be viewed by colleges and scholarship providers – no charge to students. Your Zinch profile is used to search for matching scholarships; any scholarships you win through the Zinch site will be matched, dollar for dollar by Zinch.
- Scholarship Help.org
Selected National Scholarship Search Engines
Create a personalized profile and you will be emailed links to possible scholarships. Consider creating a particular email address for your scholarship search engine profiles; check at least weekly (you WILL get a tremendous amount of mail from these engines).
Other places to consider
- National and local corporations: Google “(name of corporation) scholarship”
- Religious organizations: check with your church
- Military: Money for dependents of military personnel, money for those going into the military (before or after service)
- 2009-10 List of Scholarships assembled by U.S. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard
- 2010-11 Hispanic Scholarship Fund