Free College Scholarship Listings

Free College Scholarship Listings Online

Most online scholarship sites make use of searchable databases to help students find the best scholarships for their needs. A few compile lists of scholarships, usually based on a particular major or student profile, like scholarships for non-traditional students.

Scholarship Databases and Lists

To get started on your search for college scholarships, check out the following databases and lists:

• Scholarships.com
• FastAID.com
• FastWeb
• Mach 25 from CollegeNet
• CollegeBoard.com
• BrokeScholar
• 200 Free Scholarships for Minorities from Black Excel

College Sites

Some colleges also provide large lists of scholarship opportunities. While they're created as resources for students at their school, since they put them online, they're accessible to anyone.

William Patterson University provides a scholarship list with general awards and funds set aside for students pursuing specific fields. Students in the College of Arts and Letters can take advantage of a scholarship from the American Copyeditors Association, while students in any major can participate in the American Civil Liberties Union Stand Up For Freedom Contest.

UCLA has compiled a directory of scholarship search sites along with a few links to organizations providing multiple scholarships. Some of the offerings are quite specific, like the NCAA scholarships for student athletes and the American Chemical Society's programs for minority students pursuing chemistry-related degrees. Others are quite broad, including NextStudent, a site claiming to offer information on over 800,000 scholarships worth over $2.8 billion.

Check your own college's financial aid website. Even if they don't offer comprehensive free college scholarship listings, they can direct you to additional scholarships only available to students at your school.

Which Site Is Best?

With so many scholarship listings available online, the best site varies from person to person. A site created for high school seniors might not be the best place for graduate school opportunities, and a list of scholarships for minorities will only help students who fit a particular profile. You shouldn't discount a site just because it's tailored to a certain demographic, though. Many scholarships are available to students of all ages, and some organizations offer different awards for students of various ages and education levels.

If you're evaluating a scholarship search site, perform a few searches to get a feel for the ease of navigation and the quality of the listings. How many scholarships does the site find when you enter your personal details? When deciding whether to make use of a site with lists of scholarships, you'll have to consider other areas. How well is the list organized? Is the site updated frequently? Jumbled lists of scholarships with long-past deadlines don’t inspire much confidence in the overall quality of a site. While it's helpful to narrow down your choices, you may also want to use several sites during your search to get the greatest selection of available scholarships.

Avoid Scams and Spam

The college scholarship search should always be free. Some companies may try to convince you to pay them a "finder's fee" for scholarship information, but they will direct you to the exact same scholarships you can find from free college scholarship listings. You should also be wary of any services guaranteeing you a scholarship. While being informed of a greater number of scholarships tailored to your interests and abilities will certainly increase your chances at winning one, there are no guarantees.

Most searchable sites will require you to register to access their full scholarship database. Read the site's privacy policy if you're concerned about your email address or personal information being shared with others. You can also create a new email address at a free site like Yahoo if you don't want to give out your real email address.

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