Local
scholarships It is typical for persons to find scholarships
in their home region. Information on these can be found by asking local
persons and organizations. Typically, these are more easy to gain as the
eligible population is smaller.
Guidance Counselors - When
starting to explore scholarship opportunities, high school
students should definitely check in with their guidance
counselors. They can be a great resource for local scholarships.
Non-profit Organizations
- Most non-profit organizations have at some point of their
history founded scholarships for prospective students:
Community Foundations - Many
counties / cities / regions have a local foundation dedicated to giving
money in the form of grants and scholarships to people and organizations
in the area.
Labor Unions - All the major labor unions offer scholarships for
members and their dependent children.
Church - The local parish may or may not have any
scholarships for their members, but the Diocese or headquarters may have
some available. Of course, the best-supported area is the study of
theology.
Chamber of Commerce - Many chambers of commerce offer
(usually small) grants to students in the community, especially those
planning on careers in Business and Public Service. Even if they do not
offer any themselves, you can usually get a listing of members, and many
of them may offer small scholarships to local students.
Other volunteer organizations - Many organizations offer
scholarships or award grants to students whose background or chosen
field overlaps the field of the organization. For example, local
chapters of professional societies may help the studies of exceptionally
distinguished students of the region. Similarly, charity organizations
may offer help, especially if the late parent of the student was a
member of the organization. (E.g. masonic lodge might help the orphan of
a lodge brother.) However, this kind of scholarship is mostly random.
School Old - well-known schools
have often been endowed with scholarship funds.
University Old - well-established universities may have funds,
used to finance the studies of extremely talented students of little
means. However, to be eligible for them, the student must usually belong
to some special category or be among the nation's best. However,
universities have information available on scholarships and grants,
possibly even internship opportunities.
PSAT/NMSQT - In the United States, students are offered the
opportunity to take the PSAT/NMSQT test, usually in their Junior year in
high school. Not only does it help them to prepare for the SAT later on,
but National Merit Scholarship programs are determined, in the first
step, by the scores received on the PSAT/NMSQT test. Some private
scholarship programs require the applicants to take the PSAT.
Other sources of information on scholarships are libraries, newspapers,
the yellow pages, and Internet search engines.
