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Grants and Scholarships: How to find them

If you want basic, general, overall information about college grants and scholarships, then please go to the Financial Aid Basics page. However, listed below, you will find a list of resources that will help you find grants, scholarships, and some loans for college. We will start out with sources that can be found on the World Wide Web. Farther down this web page will be a list of Reference Books that will list hundreds of thousands of grants, loans, and scholarships.

Many of the books and online "free money" databases make it sound so very easy to find the right grant for you. For MOST people, it is NOT that easy. We want to emphasize that, for most people, it takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to obtain grant and scholarship money. Most grants, scholarships, and free money are awarded on very specific criteria. For that reason, we have listed a number of what we feel are very good resources for finding college grants, scholarships, and some loans. Hopefully, some of these resources will help.

Sources on the Web | | Sources in Books | The College and Career Library Special Lists

Sources on the World Wide Web

There are organizations on the Web that will provide financial aid search services, for free. These services will allow you to input information into a search box and then search for grants that are listed in their database (computer). We strongly recommend that you read the EXCELLENT article at College Scholarships.org that compares different grant and scholarship search services such as FastWeb, Scholarships.com, and many more. This article goes a long way to explain why there are varying results with the searches http://www.collegescholarships.org/search/helpful-reviews.htm.

These services allow access to millions of grants. The services are a convenient, quick, easy way to help you find grants that are available to you.

Definitely, the search services are NOT perfect. If you receive a list of grants, then probably many on the list will not apply to you. Hopefully, some will apply to you, but a majority of "hits" will not be for you. Many of the scholarship search services ask you to fill out a personal profile so that the computer program can search the database in order to find the right grants for you, based on your profile. ALWAYS remember to avoid revealing sensitive information (like social security numbers). There are plenty of advertisments on the free scholarship services so read the pages carefully to make sure that you do not receive unwanted material.

There are pros and cons to these free online scholarship search services, but it appears to us that the pros outweigh the cons. Of the searches that we performed on some of the following search services, we have to admit, that we were presented with some encouraging leads. As we stated above, out of the lists that we received, only a few of the grants looked like something that we could use. However, it is possible that only a few leads may be all that we need. If you do not receive a list that contains many grants, then you may want to try the survey again, but change some of the options / criteria that you used before. Maybe you were too specific the first time around.

We hope that the following Free Grant and Scholarship Search Services will present you with plenty of options:

College Scholarships.org is a very good website to start so that you can get an overall idea of what searching for financial aid is all about. This site will not provide a search service, but this site will mention some very good places to start looking for grants and scholarships. Listed are sources of information by different criteria such as ethnicity, gender, financial status, geographic location, and more.

FastWeb is an EXCELLENT scholarship service that is free. It is part of the Monster.com company. FastWeb is one of the more well-respected and recognized free scholarship search services. You need to register and make a number of selections for your profile. Like most of the free search services, if you do not like the results, then go back and change (edit) some of your original profile criteria and then perform another search. This particular service allows you to choose criteria such as field of study, gender, ethnicity, age, country of origin, disability, medical condition, single parent, and much more.

Scholarships.com is an excellent site to find out all kinds of information about college, especially financial aid. Once you are on their pages, review the links on the left side of the screen. Their scholarship search service is located at http://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-search.aspx. It is free, but you need to fill out a profile.

CollegeBoard.com is a very well-respected organization that has been involved with college education since 1900. The search engine for scholarships is free, but you need to fill out a questionnaire.

SallieMae's scholarship service is free and you need to register. Up front, SallieMae says that their "privacy policy ensures that you will not receive unwanted emails or be subject to intrusive advertising." This organization is well-known and can be considered one of the "nation's leading provider of saving, planning, and paying for education programs." The search service can be located at http://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/scholarship_search/pay_scholarship_search.jsp

Fresch Free Scholarship search is an excellent site to find out very good tips for searching for financial aid and then what to do when you find the appropriate grant. Finding news of a grant that you can apply for is just one of the steps in the process. Actually applying for that grant and convincing the organization or association to give YOU the money, is quite another part of the process. We feel that it would be well worth your while to check out the many links on this site.

The College and Career Library's Special List of Grants and Scholarships:

We have seen requests for grants and scholarships based on special criteria such as "single moms" or "single parent." Slowly, we continue to research grants and scholarships for college. However, we are finding for some criteria that there just are not that many grants. Grants and scholarships based on the specific criteria of "single mom" is one such example. We list what we can find, so far, for grants and scholarships for "single moms," but it is not much. Single moms and single parents can take advantage of other grants, but there does not appear to be many grants devoted to the specific eligibility requirement of "single mom" or "single parent." Please click on the following links for lists of college grants and scholarships for specific groups:

Single Moms / Mothers | Diabetes Scholarships | Cosmetology Grants and Scholarships | Hispanic/Latino Scholarships

Nursing Scholarships: provides a list of nursing grants and scholarships with the LEAST amount of eligibility requirements so that just about any nursing student can apply for these college grants and scholarships.

Scholarships and Grants for just about ANY U.S. Citizen and some Scholarships for Non-U.S. Citizens: provides a list of grants and scholarships with the LEAST amount of eligibility requirements. Almost everyone can apply for a majority of these grants and scholarships.

How to Apply for College Grants and Scholarships gives advice on the application process once you found the college grant and scholarship that meets your needs.

BOOKS listing Grants, Loans, and Scholarships

This may come as a shock to some people, but before there was the World Wide Web, there were books that contained information. Still, there are EXCELLENT books that will list grants, loans, and scholarships according to different criteria such as field of study, ethnicity, gender, financial status, and more.

Some of these books are expensive. We advise and strongly recommend that you look for these books in your local LIBRARY. If your local library does not have them, then ask the library staff if they can try to interlibrary loan the books from another library. Usually, this is a FREE service.

Although the following books are great resources listing thousands of grants and scholarships, you have to keep in mind that it is likely that only a relatively few grants will apply to you. As we stated above, and on the Financial Aid Basics Web Page, there are a lot of grants out there, but the eligibility requirements for most grants / scholarships are very, very specific. However, there are so many grants listed, that hopefully, you meet the specific requirements of some of the grants. Depending on your financial situation, just one, two, or a few grants can go A LONG WAY to pay for your education.

The links go to Amazon.com (U.S.) where you can read a review of the book. Some people have voiced their concerns that they could not obtain the books from a local library, so they preferred to purchase the book. The links will help you do that, but if you choose to purchase the book, we advise you to look for the best price available.

College Grants and Scholarships with the Minimum Amount of Eligibility Requirements is a Kindle ebook that lists approximately 70 college scholarships that have the least amount of eligibility requirements, so just about anyone can apply for these scholarships. Some of these scholarships require writing an essay while others require filling out just an application. There are NOT many scholarships available without specific, limiting criteria. However, this Kindle ebook lists scholarships that most people within the U.S. can apply for. If you do not have a Kindle, you can download the free Kindle Previewer in order to view Kindle books on your PC at http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000765261 OR https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3IWA2TQYMZ5J6

Chronicle Financial Aid Guide provides different indexes so that you can search by private organizations, federal financial aid programs, state and regional programs, and by subject area of study. Overall, this is an excellent book. Along with a listing of grants, the book gives some basic information about financial aid in the front of the book that can be helpful.

The College Blue Book: Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Loans. MacMillan Reference USA has been publishing this five-volume set for decades, which they call the College Blue Book . Usually, this source is found in the Reference section of the library. Each volume covers something different about colleges. For example, one volume will list colleges by degree and subject. Another volume is devoted to giving detailed narrative descriptions of colleges. However, one volume covers "Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Loans." This volume has a few indexes that will help find the money.

College Board 2012 Scholarship Handbook gives information at the front of the book about understanding financial aid, finding and applying for scholarships, and sources of information about state grant programs. Most of the book is devoted to listing thousands of grants by using different eligibility indexes such as: corporate/employer, disabilities, field of study, gender, international student, military participation, minority status, ethnic background, organization/civic affiliation, religious affiliation, returning adult, state of residence, study abroad. This book covers grants, scholarships, internships, and loans. There is a sponsor and program index.

Peterson's Scholarships, Grants, & Prizes. As mentioned above, Peterson is a well-respected company in the field of education. They have an online searchable scholarship database at their site. They continue to publish this very useful book allowing people to search by using a variety of indexes.

Scholarships: Billions of Dollars in Free Money for College. This book starts out by giving advice on searching for scholarships, with a special note for international students. Scholarships are listed according to several indexes such as: unrestricted by subject area, humanities, sciences, social sciences, subject, residency, tenability, sponsoring organization, and calendar.

Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans is a two-volume set that "lists more than 6,000 major awards to U.S. and Canadian students for study throughout the world." Volume one lists sponsors and their scholarships in alphabetical order. Half-way through volume two will be other indexes to help you find scholarships. Other indexes include: field of study, legal residence, place of study, ethnic groups, associations, employers, disabled, female, military, and more.

The Ultimate Scholarship Book lists scholarships based on: field of study, career, interests/hobbies, special circumstances, state of residence, military-related, ethnicity/race, religion, disability, membership, sponsor, and scholarship name.

Reference Service Press "began in 1977 with a single financial aid publication Directory of Financial Aids for Women, and now specializes in the development of financial aid resources in multiple formats." Following will be a list of the financial aid resources that this company publishes in book format. Although the subject of each book is different, the indexes in each book are very similar.

• College Student's Guide to Merit and Other No-Need Funding. This source will list "merit scholarships and other no-need funding programs open specifically to students currently in or returning to college." "If a program (grant) requires applicants to demonstrate financial need as part of the primary selection process, it is NOT listed here." The grants listed in this book are grant money awarded on "merit" which means that the funding is based on things such as academic record, writing or artistic ability, speech-making skills, athletic success, evidence of leadership, contributions to the community, or other "merit" conditions.
  
  
• Directory of Financial Aids for Women.
  
  
• Financial Aid for African-Americans.
  
  
• Financial Aid for Asian-Americans. The grants listed here are for "Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, or other Asian origin."
  
  
• Financial Aid for Hispanic Americans. The grants listed here are for "Americans of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Central American, or other Latin American heritage."
  
  
• Financial Aid for Native Americans. The grants listed here are for "American Indians, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians."
  
  
• Financial Aid for Research and Creative Activities Abroad. This resource features funding programs to support "research, professional, or creative activities abroad."
  
  
• Financial Aid for Study and Training Abroad covers "financial aid opportunities available to support structured or independent study abroad."
  
  
• Financial Aid for the Disabled and their Families. There are plenty of indexes with this book. Some of the indexes are divided into categories such as: Visual Disabilities, Hearing Disabilities, Orthopedic and Developmental Disabilities, Communication/Other Disabilities, Disabilities in General, Families of the Disabled. There are more indexes to help find financial aid listed in this book.
  
  
• Financial Aid for Veterans, Military Personnel, and their Dependents.
  
  
• High School Senior's Guide to Merit and Other No-Need Funding. "If a program required applicants to demonstrate need as part of the primary selection process, it is NOT listed here." For the most part, the scholarships are aimed at high school seniors or recent high school graduates. Indexes include: sciences, social sciences, humanities, and subject area, program title, sponsoring organization, residency, tenability, subject, calendar.
  
  
• How to Pay for your Degree in Business & Related Fields. The list of scholarships, fellowships, grants, and awards may not be quite as long as in some of the other books published by Reference Service Press, but there are hundreds of opportunities covered.
  
  
• How to Pay for your Degree in Education & Related Fields.
  
  
• How to Pay for your Degree in Engineering.
  
  
• How to Pay for your Law Degree.
  
  
• Money for Christian College Students.
  
  
• Money for Graduate Students in the Arts & Humanities. The funding is available "to support GRADUATE study, training, research, and creative studies in the humanities." This book is NOT for undergraduates.
  
  
• Money for Graduate Students in the Biological Sciences. This book is NOT for undergraduates.
  
  
• Money for Graduate Students in the Health Sciences covers "fellowships, grants, awards, and traineeships set aside just for students interested in working on a graduate degree in dentistry, genetics, medicine, nutrition, pharmacology, etc." This book is NOT for undergraduates.
  
  
• Money for Graduate Students in the Physical & Earth Sciences. This book is NOT for undergraduates.
  
  
• Money for Graduate Students in the Social & Behavioral Sciences. This book is NOT for undergraduates.
  
  
• RSP Funding for Nursing Students. This book will list hundreds of "scholarships, fellowships, and loans that support study or research for nurses or nursing students (both undergraduate and graduate)."