There are more and more college scholarship funding opportunities available. A number of companies online are also creating scholarship funds to build mailing lists by having people enter their name and e-mail address. You can always unsubscribe from these lists, but it is another way to potentially get funds for college. Some of the online companies also have few restrictions for eligibility than the traditional sources.
Normally, people choose a college degree base on their talents. People who know how to act normally goes into theatre; those who can write go into journalism; those who are good in math go into accounting; and so on and so forth. This is one clue to find the right scholarship. Finding a related group to your major can be a good avenue. Organizations often offer scholarship money to those in their field. For example, there is the Deloras Hones Registered Nurse Scholarships which are from Kaiser Permanente and they include sections for underrepresented groups in nursing. If you are a male applying to nursing school this could be a good match.
Aside from areas of your major, look for social or political groups that you may be involved in that may sponsor scholarships. There are a number of funding sources for those that are involved in the going green movement. As a side note, even if you don’t apply for a scholarship with these organizations, be sure to include your involvements in your application for college. Leadership skills, participation in community affairs and non-academic pursuits are also very important to college admission staff.
Think out related groups to your ethnicity, family tree and unique interest you have. Are they offering scholarship funding for college students? If you have a chronic health problem the main organizations often have university grant programs. Were your parents in the military? This is another source for potential funding.
Your recommendation letters are another area that you need to focus on. Have at least five credible people who can give you credible and glowing recommendations that will make them sit and take notice. Hopefully you’ve had a few close teachers, mentors or community leaders that can discuss your qualities. Remember that people are busy so you can help them out by giving them a summary page discussing the work you’ve done, your goals and other factors to help them write their recommendation letter for you.