Ok, this subject, ive seen beaten around the forums in bits and pieces.
Can someone point me in a right direction on the LEGITIMATE way to go about tracking down some scholarships? I mean, there seams to be a bunch of info on the Internet, but I'm worried about giving too much information to an unreliable source. Has anyone ever been awarded a scholarship or grant theyve had to track down themselves? maybe give me a little insight into the process here.
At least maybe someone can give me a link to one of these scholorship search engines that has a little credibility.

You know, I think you can try local town halls, they can point you in the right direction, they often have lists of who to contact, for what and where. That should keep you off the net and if they send you to the net, one would THINK they'd send you to a reliable source at least?

Local town halls? really? Why would they have information? Ill try.

Resources... think resources for the community, assistance, etc.

The scholarship I fund is through a town's city hall. It only goes to women entering tech fields, however, so you're not qualified for it

Most of the scholarships that I got were through my schools. If you go to the financial aid office, and the office for your department, they should know what scholarships are available.

Yea they do have a list of certain scholarships that apparantly everyone who applies for financial aid automatically applies for these sholarships. I just thought that maybe there were some out there buried under rocks or something/somewhere you had to really search for..

Hmmm...a rule of thumb that I'm gonna make up, is the more work you have to do to apply for the scholarship, the more likely it is you'll win it. Really, I don't think that I ever got a scholarship that I didn't require me to write an essay. I'd look further than the scholarships that don't require anything in addition to the FAFSA info.

Hah...those essays can be fun if you like to write. You have to write about some *dull* topics, but the duller it is the fewer people that will apply for them...and jeez...can you think of anything else you could do tomorrow that could pay $1000 for a few hours of work? Heh...although in reality you only get a few of the ones you apply for...

I think that is a good rule of thumb. Most people want the easy ones and bypass the ones with work involved! I like it, let's put that rule in permanent marker, on the thumb, your thumb Bobby (mine are kind of dry and sore)

Okay here are some links for scholarship websites:

www.fastweb.com

www.fastap.org

www.scholarship.com

I paid my way through college with academic scholarships, work-study programs and working 2 jobs during the summer but then that was back in 1978. I'm sure the playing field has changed dramatically since then.

Check out the Financial Aid Office at your college and see if they have work-study programs available. It's work but it does help pay for tuition and books. Also, I was able to get work-study positions in the chemistry department and was able to work in the chemistry stockroom.

This is also another way to increase your exposure to scientists and to be able to ask for free advice and help.

Hope those URLs help you out a little. Good luck finding scholarship money.

I was having the same problem with finding scholarships and didn't have much luck looking through books. I tried looking online and came across this article on the top places to find scholarships online that was a big help. I signed up for one of the recommended accounts and have found a few scholarships I am going to apply for.

Wish me luck,

Jamie

Kind of late, but I have to put a plug in for Fastweb. Back in my married days... my ex filled out the ridiculously long form on Fastweb, and new scholarship notices appeared almost every day in his inbox. He found a scholarship for non-traditional students that paid 90% of costs (tuition AND living expenses) for the rest of his undergrad work. It was still pretty tight for us, since we had kids and our actual "living expenses" were more than the school recorded on their financial aid packets. But because of the scholarship, he only took out about $1000 for his entire undergrad degree. Now law school was another issue....

I, thus far, have not had as much success in finding scholarships for grad school, but I'm still looking.

I have gotten single parent scholarships from my school, but to apply I had to look under the returning adult students category because the aid section didn't list them. I ended up transfering to a big state university because the smaller schools didn't have ANYTHING for single parents, or parents at all. I think my school gives out 20-30 a year to undergrads and grad students. They even pay day care.