Finding Scholarships Online

By: Morgan James

Applying for college or university can be a daunting procedure by itself. Also applying for scholarships can seem like a monumental task. Applying for scholarships doesn’t have to be painful. You can now find many scholarships on the internet.

Using the internet to find scholarships might not be painful, but it will still be time-consuming. You will probably have to fill out a profile at each site on which you want to search. It is in your best interest to fill out your profile as accurately and as painstakingly as possible. Choose as many options as you can so that you will be given as many matching scholarships as possible. This way, you can weed out the ones you don’t think are worth it.

A simple way to find scholarships online is to google scholarships. This, however, isn’t always going to take you to the most reputable sites. You will be taken to contest sites as well as scholarship sites.

The best way to find scholarships online is through a few reputable scholarship search engines.

studentawards.com

This is the best scholarship website out there. It has scholarships sorted by their availability in Canada, the US, and abroad.

scholarship.com

This scholarship site is worth checking out. Although not as extensive as studentawards.com, it is best to search for as many scholarships as you can.

scholarshipscanada.com

This site is dedicated to Canadian students or students studying in Canada. It has tons of helpful information.

With all scholarship search engines, you will likely find that some scholarships require money to apply. Find out if that is worth it to you. Only send money if the scholarship is coming from a reputable source. Be sure to establish the difference between scholarships that are based on your merit and scholarships that are more like contests, or that are based on financial need. Any money is good money, but it’s also nice to know why you deserve that money.

Other places to look online include cfuw.org (the Canadian Federation of University Women) and aauw.org (the American Association of University Women). The Rotary Club (rotary.org) also offers scholarships. Are you involved in any national groups, such as scouting, a church, or a club? Check out their websites too for scholarships you might not even know existed.

Governments often offer quite large scholarships. Check out your municipal, state/provincial, and federal government website to see if there are any awards to which you can apply.

Another place to check for scholarships is with local public broadcasting. Go to cbc.ca or radiocanada.ca or pbs.org or npr.org and search for scholarships to see if there are any salient scholarships. The places to look for scholarships are endless. Often, you will find wonderful scholarships simply by signing up for search engines. Don’t be afraid to sign up and take the time filling out the profile.

If you are a graduate student, it is time for you to start looking at getting grants instead of scholarships. You can find out how to apply for grants and fellowships by asking one of your professors. You will want to apply for grants in your field.

In the end, remember that it will take you hours to find and apply for pertinent scholarships. However, because in the end you will be earning hundreds or thousands of dollars, it only makes sense to spend more time now for earnings in the future.

The key to successful scholarship organization is to be organized. Get started early so that you won’t have to scramble at the end of any application. Online is only one place to look for scholarships (and be sure to add the www. at the beginning of these web addresses!). You can also ask for at your school (and your prospective school’s) office of student awards and financial aid. Don’t be afraid to call around and ask for help. Online scholarship engines are a great way to start looking for scholarships, but they are certainly not the last step in obtaining funding for your education.