Six Foolproof Scholarship Search Tips

Written by Noor Kabbani

Edited by Christina Linsley & Kaylee Kim

Designed by Riley Turner

Planning for college is a lot of stress; after standardized tests, essays, AP exams, and carefully chosen extracurriculars, financials are the last thing you want to worry about. And the good news is that you may not have to—at least not as much as you may have expected.

There are countless scholarships and grants that can help you with the financial aspects of planning for college. But that doesn’t mean that you should click out of this article and immediately Google, “Scholarships.” Before you do that, let’s take a dive into how to strategically search for scholarships—and, you know, get them.

First, let’s go over the different types of scholarships you can earn.

1. Financial

These scholarships are based on your financial need, usually as determined by the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) set by FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). (Side note: Be on the lookout for an article about FAFSA coming soon!) These can include grants like the Gates Scholarship, which are not awarded solely based on financial need but do require a certain level of financial need.

2. Academic

These scholarships are awarded based on your academic achievement, which can include grades, test scores, and other such qualifiers. One well-known academic scholarship is the National Merit Scholarship, which is awarded based on PSAT scores. Many scholarships that fall under other categories may have a certain academic threshold you must pass prior to being considered for the scholarship (usually a certain GPA, or Grade Point Average), but those are not purely “academic,” as academics in those cases are simply prerequisites rather than a reason to win the scholarships.

3. Demographic

There are many scholarships that target people of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds, genders, or other demographic factors. There’s even a scholarship that awards money to redheads, and another to tall people! How’s that, Tall Girl?

4. Athletic

This one’s pretty self-explanatory! If you play sports, be sure to check out scholarships made for people like you!

5. Community Service

That’s right! There are lots of scholarships—like the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, for example—that award money for volunteering. Volunteering is also an amazing way to give back to your community; it’s a win-win!

6. Miscellaneous/Unique Hobbies

These can be some of the most difficult to find, but also some of the easiest to win. Searching for scholarships that award those with specific talents - creative writing, photography, painting—can really pay off in the long run.

7. College-Awarded

While these typically fall under either the “Financial” or “Academic” categories, what makes these scholarships unique is that they are awarded by colleges to students who are specifically attending their college—instead of third-party scholarships awarded to students who can use them towards college tuition anywhere. While the other types of scholarships mentioned above can usually be pursued at any stage in your high school career, college-awarded scholarships almost always accompany your actual college application process—so you’ll have to wait on those until senior year.

We’ve just gone over the various types of scholarships; part 2 with tips will be coming soon!

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Noor Kabbani is a rising junior in Illinois. She's passionate about helping students just like her, because, who wants to scour through pages of scholarships only to find out you don't qualify? No more Spreadsheets with hundreds due dates! When she's not streamlining this info, you'll find Noor reading, baking, or figuring out how to do winged eyeliner.