General Scholarship Resources

Tips To Keep In Mind

according to financialaidfinder.com:

Personalized profile matches. A personalized profile is the key to a good search engine. This sophisticated matching technology cross references information you provide about your academic record, interests, leadership experience, ethnic background, etc. to a pool of over a million different scholarship programs. The more questions the search site asks, the less you will have to sift through irrelevant entries.

Current information. The frequency of updated information is the hallmark of a good scholarship search site. Reputable sites will list on their homepage when they update new scholarships and how often they review their current pool. If the site does not contain information for the current academic year, don’t waste your time.

Free. Don’t get sucked in by a site (or worse, a person cold calling you on the phone) that promises access to “secret” scholarships, for a fee. You should be able to search whenever you want, as often as you want, for free. Otherwise, you might be (and probably are) getting scammed. Even a free site should set off your scam radar if it asks for your credit card information in order to provide you additional services.

Top Five Scholarship Search Sites

according to financialaidfinder.com:

FastWeb Database contains more 1.3 million scholarships worth over $3 billion. Only site that also lets you research and compare colleges based on relevant scholarship matches. Unique data profiles for personalized list of matched scholarships.

College Board Database has over $3 billion in aid from 2,300 sources. Features personalized scholarship matching. Updated annually; original data source from 2005.

Sallie Mae America’s leader in college lending provides access to award-winning database with over $16 billion in scholarships from 2.8 million sources. Expanded and updated daily. Customized list of scholarship leads provided.

Scholarship Monkey $3 billion in undergraduate, graduate and professional scholarships from 4,000 sources. Continuously updated. Personalized matching with a friendly primate guide.

Scholarship Experts Forbes.com’s vote for best scholarship search engine. Founded in 2001. 2.4 million scholarship and fellowship programs totaling $14 billion. Customized list of scholarships that match student’s hobbies, interests and academic background.

*Be sure to check specific college/university websites to learn about scholarship opportunities that may be available as well.