Grants and Scholarships

Grants and scholarships are free money you can use to pay for college. Unlike loans, you never have to pay back a grant or a scholarship. All you have to do is go to school. And you don’t have to be a straight-A student to get grants and scholarships. There is so much free money, in fact, that billions of dollars go unclaimed every year.^[1]

While some grants and scholarships are based on a student’s academic record, many are given to average students based on their major, ethnic background, gender, religion, or other factors. There are likely dozens or hundreds of scholarships and grants available to you personally if you look for them.

Federal Grants

Federal Pell Grants are awarded to students based on financial need, although there is no income or wealth limit on the grant program. The Pell Grant can give you more than $6,000 per year in free money toward tuition, fees, and living expenses.^[2] If you qualify for a Pell Grant based on your financial need, you will automatically get the money.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs) are additional free money available to students with financial need. Through the FSEOG program, you can receive up to an additional $4,000 in free money. These grants are distributed through your school’s financial aid department on a first-come, first-served basis, so pay close attention to deadlines.

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants are designed to help students who plan to go into the teaching profession. You can receive up to $4,000 per year through the TEACH Grant. To be eligible for a TEACH Grant, you must take specific classes and majors and must hold a qualifying teaching job for at least four years after graduation. If you do not fulfill these obligations, your TEACH Grant will be converted to a loan, which you will have to pay back with both interest and back interest.

There are numerous other grants available through individual states, employers, colleges, and private organizations.

State Grants

Most states also have grant programs for their residents, often based on financial need. Eleven states have even implemented free college tuition programs for residents who plan to continue to live in the state. ^[3] Even some medical schools are beginning to be tuition free. Check your school’s financial aid office and your state’s department of education for details.

College/University Grants and Scholarships

Most colleges and universities have their own scholarships and grants that are distributed through a wide variety of sources, including the school’s financial aid office, the school’s endowment fund, individual departments, and clubs on campus.

Private Organization Grants and Scholarships

A wide variety of grants and scholarships are awarded by foundations, civic groups, companies, religious groups, professional organizations, and charities. Most are small awards under $4,000, but multiple awards can add up to large amounts of money each year. Your financial aid office can help you find these opportunities.

Employer Grants and Scholarships

Many employers also offer free money to help employees go to school. A common work benefit is a tuition reimbursement program, where employers will pay students extra money to cover the cost of tuition once they’ve earned a passing grade in a college class. And some companies are going even further, offering to pay 100 percent of college costs for employees. Check to see whether your employer offers any kind of educational support.

Employers in certain fields, such as healthcare, may offer their own grants and scholarships. (Credit: Ano Lobb / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

Applying for Scholarships

Thinking about applying for scholarships can seem like an overwhelming prospect, and students have many excuses for not applying. There are so many scholarships available for college that knowing where to start is the first obstacle to the process. Remember, scholarships are a gift of money for college. A gift does not have to be paid back like a loan does.

Scholarships are offered to students who meet a specific requirement established by the sponsor, who may be an individual or an organization. Scholarships can be offered through local, state, or national sponsors. Each scholarship will have its own requirements based on the purpose of the scholarship. Scholarships are a good way to help pay for college without increasing student debt. Students may apply for multiple scholarships. Receiving a scholarship will affect the student’s overall financial aid award because all the student aid added together cannot be more than the cost of attending college. However, it is important to realize that scholarships are gifts and do not have to be repaid, so trying to include a scholarship in your overall financial aid package is a good idea.

Common Excuses for Not Applying for Scholarships

• Scholarships are only for people with good grades or athletic skills.
• There aren’t scholarships for someone like me.
• You have to be a good essay writer to win a scholarship.
• There is too much competition to even try.
• Finding scholarships to apply for is hard and takes too much time.
• Scholarship awards are for small amounts of money, so it’s not worth it.
• Scholarships are only for high school graduates.
• GED graduates can’t get scholarships.

Finding Scholarships for Free by Researching Online

Finding scholarships requires research and effort on the part of the student, but the effort can have a financially rewarding outcome. Searching for scholarships today is much easier than in the past. Students used to have to comb through books in counselors’ offices and photocopy applications to be put in the mail, snail mail!

The Internet has changed the search process. In today’s scholarship hunt, a student can use several websites to help find the treasure. Never pay for help to search for scholarships. Websites that charge fees to find scholarships may be scams. The Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act of 2000 was passed to help increase the penalties for people convicted of scholarship fraud. Before this act was passed, the Federal Trade Commission was limited to closing operations defrauding consumers. Now the government has the power to incarcerate or fine perpetrators of scholarship fraud.

Free help can be found through the college you have selected to attend as well as through several great websites. Check with student support services at your college to see what services are offered. Scholarship Junkies, Unigo, Fastweb, and Fin Aid are examples of online resources for finding scholarships to apply for. Unigo even has a section for scholarships that don’t require an essay.

Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Scholarships

Scholarship committees want to give their money away to deserving students. It’s your job to properly sell yourself so they know why you are the right choice. Build a profile that can’t be ignored, one that showcases your originality, your character and your drive to be successful. Avoid these common mistakes students make. Get your application done right!

• Missing the deadline: Deadlines matter and once they pass, the opportunity for that scholarship has ended for that year. It is important to pay attention to the time zone the deadline occurs in. The scholarship website may be located in a different time zone than you are. If the deadline says 11:30 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time), that is 8:30 p.m. PST (Pacific Standard Time). If the scholarship says it’s due by March 15th, it means it. On March 16th, you will not be able to submit the application. These strict deadlines are a harsh reality for some students who put off working on their scholarship applications.
• Filling out the application incorrectly: The directions on a scholarship application are not suggestions. They are the basic requirements that you need to fulfill in order to be considered for a scholarship. If you do something careless like emailing your application when you are supposed to mail it or not bothering to format your application correctly, you may not get the scholarship.
• Submitting an incomplete application: Scholarship committees request specific information because they need it. If the scholarship committee does not receive all of that information from you, the scholarship committee will likely look at your application, see that it is incomplete, and move it to the disqualified pile. If your application is submitted online and the information is incomplete, the application will not make it past the computer screening.
• Applying to scholarships you’re ineligible for: Read the requirements of the scholarship carefully. If there is a specific aspect of the scholarship that you do not meet, find a different scholarship to apply for.
• Being unfamiliar with the sponsor of the scholarship: Use the Internet to find out as much as possible about the sponsor of the scholarship. If it is a company or organization, find out what their mission is and what they care about. If the sponsor is a person or in memory of a person, what was the person’s passion?
• Failing to proofread your application: Always have someone proofread your application before you send it in. This proofing will help reduce any spelling or grammar errors or other mistakes that may be in your application before you send it. If you want to earn some money, you’ll want your application to be as polished as possible!
• Not adhering to the word count limit: Word count is probably the most common scholarship essay mistake. If the application asks for a word range, hit the range. If it asks for a specific word count, hit the word count as closely as possible. This adherence shows you’re capable of paying attention and satisfying specific requirements.
• Using an unprofessional email address: While a cute or risqué email address can seem clever among your group of friends, it can send the wrong message to a scholarship committee, or to the professors at your college. When applying for scholarships, avoid email addresses that use nicknames, profanity, that are offensive, or that have sexual connotations. Instead, create a professional email address to use for scholarship applications and professional correspondence. Keep it simple and straight forward by using variations of your first, middle, and last name.

Additional Federal Support

The federal government offers a handful of additional options for college students to find financial support.

Education Tax Credits

The IRS gives out free money to students and their parents through two tax credits, although you will have to choose between them. The American opportunity tax credit (AOTC) will refund up to $2,500 of qualifying education expenses per eligible student, while the lifetime learning credit (LLC) refunds up to $2,000 per year regardless of the number of qualifying students.

While the AOTC may be a better tax credit to choose for some, it can only be claimed for four years for each student, and it has other limitations. The LLC has fewer limitations, and there is no limit on the number of years you can claim it. Lifetime learners and nontraditional students may consider the LLC a better choice. Calculate the benefits for your situation.

The IRS warns taxpayers to be careful when claiming the credits. There are potential penalties for incorrectly claiming the credits, and you or your family should consult a tax professional or financial adviser when claiming these credits.

Federal Work-Study Program

The Federal Work-Study Program provides part-time jobs through colleges and universities to students who are enrolled in the school. The program offers students the opportunity to work in their field, for their school, or for a nonprofit or civic organization to help pay for the cost of college. If your school participates in the program, it will be offered through your school’s financial aid office.

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