3 Types of Scholarships for College Students

By Kailey Walters on July 24, 2017

At least one thing all college students can agree on is that they would like to have more money to pay for college.

With rising tuition, fees for textbooks and room and board, and other expenses, the cost of attending college can add up to a daunting amount. When these expenses are not completely covered by federal financial aid, that can leave many students scrambling for alternative ways to cough up the money.

Luckily, there are a plethora of scholarships for which college students can apply to defray the costs of their education. Often it’s simply a matter of knowing where to look in order to take advantage of everything that’s out there.

Even if you’re hoping to score one or two big scholarships that will cover all of your expenses, don’t knock the smaller scholarships, either. By applying to many different small ones, and depending on which ones you win, the awards can add up and still make a significant difference in how much you’re shelling out.

With private, state, and individual university scholarships, there are so many options to choose from to make your education a little less pricey.

Private

As briefly mentioned earlier, there are many private scholarships out there to take advantage of. You can scour the Internet for them, as they’re bound to pop up with a simple search on various websites such as Unigo, College Scholarships.org, and Scholarships.com. This is just skimming the surface of the many resources you can utilize.

Many similar websites offer comprehensive lists of scholarships, which cover a vast range of topics from interests and hobbies you may have to your ethnicity. For example, Scholarships.com lists a variety of scholarships by type: anti-bullying, dance, and disability are just several among many topics that students can browse. With so many options, you’re bound to come across something for which you’re eligible.

What’s even better is that these various, specific scholarships often involve topics that address your interests or some aspect of your personality — which can make the application process … dare I say it … fun. And you can apply for as many as you want at the same time. A few thousand dollars here, $500 there, and you’ll be able to use that money to pay for textbooks and other miscellaneous expenses.

State

Of course, state scholarships vary by state. They are either merit- or need-based, and many are offered to graduating high school seniors heading to college for the first time. There are also a number of need-based scholarships that can be awarded to current college students.

For instance, New York’s new Excelsior Scholarship, which will first take effect this fall in 2017, offers free tuition to New York State residents who attend a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year degree program and whose annual income is $100,000 or less. Also, eligible students must take 30 credits each calendar year and plan to live and work in New York after graduation, for the same length of time they participated in the scholarship program.

For a list of other scholarships offered by state, you can visit Scholarships.com.

isorepublic.com

University

The university you attend most likely offers its own scholarships as well. Besides the need-based aid that many private colleges provide, quite a number of universities offer merit-based aid that reward you for academic, athletic, or any other kinds of achievements. These can be a great help, and sometimes you don’t have to go out of your way to apply for them.

If you are a graduating high school senior, the university may recognize your high school accomplishments and offer you the scholarship of their own accord.

With so many scholarship options available, paying for college can be made a bit easier. Many students end up paying with a combination of federal financial aid, family help, and loans. The additional help of scholarships that you can seek out on your own will help defray the cost further. Even just a little bit of money can be used to pay for small expenses, so in this case, a little goes a long way.

Don’t hesitate to take advantage of all the great resources out there. A less expensive, but still high quality, education is at your fingertips.

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