College Scholarship Tips

May is coming soon. Some schools are very good at helping kids look for scholarships; others are not. Often times home schoolers and adults need guidance for scholarships as well. So, here are a few that I have picked up throughout the years.

• Check with your school and school district. Even if you home school, the school district you pay taxes to and live in is to provide you with scholarship information.

• Check with your utility companies. Each year, our water company, electric company, and telephone company give out scholarships to customers and children of customers. When I went off to college, I had a $500 scholarship from my parents electric coop. All I had to do was apply and write an essay as to what my college plans were. Call your utility companies and see what they offer.

• Check with other companies in your area. Our newspaper has a writing contest for a $100 scholarship - not much, but it buys a textbook. Our grocery store has one for $500. The feed store offers one to kids entering vet school or an ag related degree. Kohl's and Walmart even offer them.
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• Check with associations that service the area you want to study. The hospital women's auxiliary club offers one to people entering nursing.

• If you are a non-traditional student, search the web - there are some odd ones out there, designed for a specific target area, such as for widowed women with minor children, or those for orphaned children, or children of a fallen police officer.

• Many banks and credit unions offer them.

• Check with your employer. When I worked for the telephone company they offered them to children of employees who had been employed for over 5 years.

• Check with the university, college, junior college or trade school you plan to attend.

• Interested in studying politics? Check with your state representative to see what he may be aware of.
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• If the senior has been in 4H, Scouts, or other clubs, check them. They offer scholarships as well.

• Child of a veteran? Again, they are offered.

• Apply for all that you can. You may not think small scholarships are much help, especially those of only $100 or $200. But if you get several of them, they add up!

By mom-from-missouri from NW MO