Apply for Scholarships

Once you've found scholarships you'd like to apply for, simply contact the organization offering the scholarship to see how to go about applying. You'll want to apply to as many as possible to maximize your chances of getting money for college. Most will have an email address or a phone number for this purpose. These days, in fact, it's the rare scholarship that doesn't have a website, or at least a page on a website, devoted to it. If you happen to find one that doesn't have email, phone or a website listed, simply type up and mail a short letter telling them a little bit about yourself and why you think you'd be a worthy recipient of their scholarship, and ask about their scholarship application process. Keep it short-there's no need to go into much detail, since you're just requesting an application at this point, not actually applying. Include your contact info, and request that a scholarship application be sent to you.

One thing to watch out for is scholarships which want you to pay a scholarship application fee in order to apply. Reputable organizations offering scholarships don't charge you a fee for applying. Another warning sign is an offer of a guaranteed scholarship. Again, reputable scholarships are limited, and based on a selection process, and there is no guarantee that you'll receive one. If you ever see an offer for a guaranteed scholarship, it will probably include some sort of processing fee. Don't fall for this. You should never have to pay any money to apply for scholarships. That's an added benefit of using FastWeb.com for your scholarship search - it automatically filters out any scholarships that charge a fee.