Locating Scholarship Information

Research Strategies
Application Process
Searching by Profile

General Scholarship Listings
Scholarships for Women and Ethnic Minorities

This guide will help you identify Internet and print resources that can be used to find scholarships that fit your needs. Use the Application Process portion for tips on applying for scholarships, then use the Internet sites or books to identify scholarships that you wish to apply for. Keep the following lines in mind to avoid scams:

"The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back."
"You can't get this information anywhere else."
"I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship."
"We'll do all the work."
"The scholarship will cost some money."
"You've been selected by a 'national foundation' to receive a scholarship" or "You're a finalist" in a contest you never entered."

Research Strategies

Identifying Resources

Begin your scholarship search by gathering ideas from friends, family, and both academic and financial advisers. Investigate all prospective aid resources or sponsors of aid as soon as you identify them. The scholarship search is virtually a continual process. There are some useful books in the library that can help with this process:

This guide takes you through the process of deciding how much money is needed for college and then introduces you to available sources of funding.
Financing College. 2001. (LB2337.4 D394): This book gives information about how to and how much money to save for college. It also gives information on different sources of funding.
How to Find Out About Financial Aid and Funding. 1999. (Ref. 2338 S353 1999): Use this guide to identify electronic and print resources for a particular type of financial assistance, subject area, minority group, and/or geographic area.

Other Available Sources:

Contact business and industry groups that provide services or products in your major or career field to determine if they sponsor students who are entering their profession or industry.
Check with your church, synagogue, or other religious affiliation for possible financial resources.
· http://ChristianUSA.net/index.htm
Visit your local public library and ask to review resources on financial aid.
· http://www.wfrl.lib.fl.us
Check with your personnel office if employed, or your parent's or spouse's employer to inquire about possible scholarships.
Contact your local community leaders or chamber of commerce to determine if the community is sponsoring students in specific professions (medical students, engineers, teachers, etc.).
· http://www.chamber.pensacola.fl.us
Contact national organizations which may offer scholarships to individuals with your cultural background, personal circumstances, interests, and skills.
· http://www.opm.gov/cfc/f99-list/toc.htm
· Also use Associations Unlimited available through GaleNet
Read newspapers, school papers, and bulletin boards for local scholarship opportunities.
· http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com
· "The Voyager", University of West Florida Student Newspaper, 474-2191

Contact professional organizations related to your expected college major.

Accounting	http://www.aicpa.org
Economics	http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA
Engineering	http://www.ieee.org
Marine Advanced Technology	http://www.marinetech.org/related/societies.html
Medicine	http://www.ama-assn.org
Paralegal	http://www.paralegals.org
Software	http://www.acm.org

Discuss your scholarship search with faculty members and University staff.
Meet with guidance counselors, academic advisors, alumni, or fraternity/sorority members to evaluate other scholarships sources.
· http://www.cbred.uwf.edu/alumni
· http://uwf.edu/~finaid
Write for information on federally funded programs:

Department of Education
Publications Division
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20202

Or visit their website at: http://www.ed.gov/studentaid/

Application Process

First, send a letter of interest requesting an application form and information concerning its program. Your initial letter should be short with your specific request. When requesting scholarship/aid information, persist and follow up:

Send a second request if you don't hear from the sponsor regarding application information.
If the deadline has passed, call or write to determine if there has been an extension, or keep the results for continuing your search next year.

The links below will help with how to interview, write an essay, and will give tips on what judges are looking for.

Scholarships that Win!: Seven tips on how to make your scholarship stand out, including how to brainstorm, select an essay topic, and write an essay.
SuperCollege.com: Go to the section "Scholarship Strategies"
Writing Tips: The Hispanic Scholarships page has tips for cover letters, essays, and resumes.

Searching by Profile

There are several Internet sites that will ask you to fill out a questionnaire that will be used to create a personal profile. This profile will then be matched against thousands of scholarships, with the results shown online and/or sent to your e-mail address. This can be a useful way of finding scholarships, but some may be off target.

FastAID.: Dan Cassidy's FastAID, another comprehensive scholarship resource, advertises the site as "[t]he World's largest and oldest private sector scholarship database. 20 years of Scholarship Research, Constantly updated."

FastWEB.: A free searchable database which contains more than 600,000 private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans that total over $1 billion. Plan to spend at least 30 minutes the first time you use FastWEB to create your personal profile.

Scholarships.com.: Enter your personalized profile to match your specific skills, talents, interests, and abilities to Scholarships.com's database of over 600,000 college scholarship awards.
Supercollege.com: Provides college and scholarship information for both students and parents.

General Scholarship Listings

These sources list scholarships by categories, i.e. discipline, geographic region, career objective, religion, race or ethnic origin, etc. Since each uses a unique classification system, take time to investigate several of the resources below.

The A's & B's of Academic Scholarship. 1992/1993. (Ref. LB2338 A924): Lists scholarships in a table format by state and then by college or university.
ACS: "The American Chemical Society sponsors scholarship programs for qualified applicants who want to enter the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, or chemical engineering, and students seeking a two-year degree in chemical technology. The programs are designed to encourage African-American, Hispanic, and American Indian students to pursue undergraduate college degrees in the chemical sciences and chemical technology."
Aris.: This information is provided free of charge to students by the Academic Research Information System (ARIS) and the organizations' subscribers. The site organizes scholarships by disciplines and then chronologically by deadline date.
Art Deadlines List: A monthly newsletter (via email or paper) with 600-900 announcements listing art scholarships & grants for artists, art educators, and art students of all ages.
College Student's Guide to Merit and Other No-need Funding. 1998/2000. (Ref. LB2337.2 C656): This directory is divided into four sections: a detailed list of merit and other no-need funding programs for college students; a list of state sources of educational benefits; recommended resources for your financial library; and a set of indexes to help you pinpoint appropriate funding programs.
The Complete Guide to Florida Foundations. 2002. (Ref. HV98 F5 C55): Profiles over 2,300 grants-making Florida foundations. Includes an index of foundations that offer educational scholarships.
Financial Aid for Research and Creative Activities Abroad. 1999/2000. (Ref. LB2337.2 F574): Provides information for those seeking funding to conduct research and creative activities abroad. It is divided into sections for high school/undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctorates, and professional/other individuals. It also indexes by geographic region, subject area and deadlines.
Financial Aid for Study and Training Abroad. 1999/2000. (Ref. LB2337.2 F576): Provides information for those seeking funding to study abroad. It is divided into sections for high school/undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctorates and professional/other individuals. It also indexes by geographic region, subject area and deadlines.
Florida Scholarships. 2002. (Ref. LB2338 Y6): A guide to private foundation support, federal scholarships, loans, grants and other assistance programs for Florida students. Includes sample letters and applications.
Florida State Grant Programs. 2001-2002. (Ref. HJ375 F618): Profiles over 29,000 grant-making Florida foundations.
Foundation Grants to Individuals. 1997. (Ref. LB2336 F598): A comprehensive listing of private U.S. foundations that provide financial assistance to individuals. It includes a large section for educational support, which includes scholarships, fellowships, loans and internships.
Free 4-U.com.: This site is frequently updated, and allows users to browse listings by specific criteria, search databases, or browse the most currently available scholarship listings.
Free Money for College: A Guide to More Than 1,000 Grants and Scholarships for Undergraduate Study. 1999. (Ref. LB2337.2 B57): Listings are organized by: state, discipline, miscellaneous, grants for women, grants for ethnic students, and grants for disabled students.
Free Money for Graduate School: A Guide to More Than 1,000 Grants and Scholarships for Graduate Study. 2000. (Ref. LB2337.2 B58): Sources of funding for graduate students grouped by discipline, minorities, study/research abroad, and all areas of study.
The Graduate Student's Complete Scholarship Book. 1998. (Ref. LB2338 G6 1998): This book lists over 1,100 different sources of financial aid from private organizations for graduate, professional, and post-graduate studies. The indexes at the end of the book identify awards available by major or career objective, ethnic background, gender, religion, marital status, military background of you or your parents, disability, and intercollegiate athletics.
National Guide to Funding for Higher Education. 1996. (Ref. LB2336 N37): Contains 4,579 sources of financial aid. Entries are arranged alphabetically by state, and within states, by foundation name. There are six indexes for easy access to information.
NCAA: The The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) site lists several scholarships resources for student athletes.
The Scholarship Book: The Complete Guide to Private-Sector Scholarships, Grants, and Loans for Undergraduates. 1996. (Ref. LB2337.2 C37): This book gives tips for applying for scholarships and grants. It has a quick find index and an alphabetical index. It lists scholarships by discipline and then by state.
Scholarsite Search.: Scholarsite offers users a database search in both English and Spanish, but does not require a profile to browse the database of 600,000 listings. The search engine contains both undergraduate and graduate opportunities.
U.S. News & World Report: The U.S. New & World Report site organizes scholarships into many categories, such as ethnicity and national origin, athletics, corporate, organizational, and military.

Scholarships for Women and Ethnic Minorities

America's Black Collegians: America’s Black Collegians, a project of America’s Black Colleges Fund, Inc., has launched the EDUCATE BLACK AMERICA initiative and created a $100 Million scholarship fund in partnership with some of America’s leading companies, the country’s educational system, and the armed forces.

Back2College: Resources for returning students, including grants and scholarships information.

Coalition to Increase Minority Degrees (CIMD): Hyperaid: "College-bound students who plan to major in science, math, and engineering fields will benefit from this database that provides information on academic programs, financial aid, internships, and fellowships available at colleges and universities across the country. For each financial aid program, the contact address, phone number, conditions, deadline, time period, ethnicity, citizenship requirements, and amounts are displayed."
Directory of Financial Aids for Women. 1999-2001. (Ref. LB2338 D564): The first section of the book alphabetically lists scholarship available to women for undergraduate study.
Financial Aid for African Americans. 1999-2001. (Ref. LB2338 F5643): Scholarships are listed at the front with title, organization, geographic, subject and deadline indexes in the back.
Financial Aid for Asian Americans. 1999-2001. (Ref. LB2338 S35): Scholarships are listed at the front with title, organization, geographic, subject and deadline indexes in the back.
Hispanic Scholarships.com: Lists hundreds of scholarships, grants and other financial aid sources targeting Latino students.
The Minority & Women's Complete Scholarship Book. 1998. (Ref. LB2338 M56 1998): This book lists over 1,200 different sources of financial aid from private organizations. The indexes at the end of the book identify awards available by major or career objective, ethnic background, gender, religion, marital status, military background of you or your parents, disability, and intercollegiate athletics.
MOLIS: "The Minority On-Line Information System (MOLIS) comprises an online database of over 260 minority institutions used by the U.S. government, private sector, and other organizations to develop partnerships with minority institutions."

UNCF: A listing of scholarships available for African-American students who attend United Negro College Fund (UNCF) member institutions.

Created by Michelle White, Adjunct Librarian,
and Terri Jesmonth, Adjunct Librarian
University of West Florida Library
Date created: June 2002