Wish I Knew Wednesday

"I wish I'd known where to look for scholarships and other ways to access them."
Tyler P., Leonardsville, New York

Scholarships are so important, whether your parents are paying for your education or you are. For myself, scholarships were necessary for affording my education. I am grateful for the Academic Scholarship I received from my alma mater for all four years of my education, but I still needed other scholarships to help offset the cost of textbooks, on-campus living arrangements, and the meal plan. 

Below I am listing some great resources for you to search for different types of scholarships. 

• High School Guidance Office - This is rather obvious, but most schools offer scholarships for a variety of reasons; in memory of alums who have passed, from local businesses, and from the faculty association. In addition, local organizations will advertise their scholarships to that office, so feel free to check in every few weeks to see what scholarship opportunities are available to you!
  
• Fastweb.com - This website has a ton of listings for scholarships. All you do is fill out a profile with what you plan on studying, where you are from, and what extra-curricular activities you are involved in. Then, they match you to the scholarships which apply to you and your high school experiences. Check it out here: http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships
  
• Military Organizations - This is a huge area for scholarship opportunities. Some scholarships are eligible for students whose parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, brothers/sisters, or children are serving or have served in the United States Military. Specifically if you have a veteran in your family who is actively involved in an organization, like the American Legion, you can potentially apply to scholarships for the local organization, as well as, the national organization. (My grandfather is a retired member of the Special Forces and is actively involved in his local chapter, so I applied twice -- one for the local and one for the national. I was awarded two very high amount scholarships from the local and national organization, all thanks to my grandfather who read a Special Forces magazine which discussed the scholarship.)
  
• US Government Websites - The various departments and offices within the national and local government provide scholarships for a variety of students. These could be based on potential majors or based on your performance/interests in high school. My suggestion is to do a simple search on their website of "scholarship" and just see what comes up! One example, if you are a student with a disability, is the list of scholarships that the government consistently updates for students who are eligible, depending on the area of your disability.
  
• Community Organizations - See what your community area offers too! Most churches, if you or a family member is an active member, provide scholarships to students from the congregation. Also, if there is a Masonic Temple, a historical society, a sports organization, or an arts society, check with them to see if they have scholarships available, or if they know of other organizations who offer them. Talk with your coaches, your teachers, and your neighbors to see if they have other suggestions about scholarship opportunities in the community.
  
• Parent's Place of Work - Depending on where your parents or guardians work, they may offer scholarships to employee's children. Whether they are private companies or city/state positions, the Human Resources Office may have information on the scholarships they offer. This information may be available on the company's intranet or in their weekly/monthly reports. It doesn't hurt to simply ask the HR officers to get a definite answer of whether they offer scholarships to employee's children.

I hope my suggestions have provided some great ideas for looking into scholarship opportunities. Whether a scholarship is fifty dollars or five thousand, any little bit counts ... always remember that! You will continuously want to check these resources for new scholarships. Also, you should NEVER have to pay to get a scholarship, so if you have to pay to apply for something, then it is not worth your time or money and it is probably a scam. 

Cazenovia College, Upstate New York

Good Luck everyone on your scholarship search and on your scholarship applications!! Let me know if you find a good one!

enjoy the chase,

skylar