I think I’m a lot like you.

I graduated college a little over a year ago, NOT a straight A student, do some extra carricular activities… but not a ton,… and my parents don’t make a million bucks a year.

And guess what…

I was able to get $45,421 in free college scholarships which completely paid for every single dime of my college expenses. Nope, I’m not some smart dude that won a ton of academic scholarships (I did get a few though)… most of my scholarships came from other places and a little bit of hard work finding and applying for scholarships.

Anyhow, I want to “pay it forward” and tell you how I went about getting over $45,000 in scholarships… and how you can get free college scholarships too.

How (and where) I Found, Free College Scholarships To Apply For

Online:

One of the first places I went to find scholarships was the internet. There are a ton of free scholarships online… and after way too many hours of pounding away at the keyboard… I found some great places online to find scholarships.

You’ll even see one of the sites that I actually got a pretty darn big scholarship from… all for free.

Here are the places that I found the best list of free college scholarships… and these are the ones that aren’t all scammy (there are some scams out there… but the ones that are legit are written below).

Fastweb.com -

*(my favorite scholarship search site)

Fastweb is my favorite place to search for scholarships. It takes about 10 minutes to set up a free account (here’s a video of me showing how to set up an account at fastweb).I actually ended up getting a multi-thousand dollar scholarship from Fastweb… pretty cool stuff.

Why I like Fastweb

Fastweb is a cool site because it’s completely free and it has the largest database of scholarships that I was able to find. In the video I made of me creating a free account and doing a search… it came up with something like 35 scholarships that fit my criteria.

Also, Fastweb actually emails you every time a new scholarship comes up that fits your criteria (based on some questions they ask while setting up your free account). This is cool because you don’t have to log in all of the time to see if there are new scholarships for you… they tell you automatically.

Another reason is that in Fastweb they make it easy to see the deadlines for the scholarships and show you how to apply. When a scholarship deadline is a week or two away, they shoot you an email reminding you.

How I rate Fastweb Overall

Overall, I really love Fastweb. Like I said, I ended up getting a several thousand dollar scholarship from it… and it only takes like 10 minutes to set up a free account. Well worth it if you ask me.

If I had to rate Fastweb on a scale…

Ease of Use:
Number of Scholarships:
Best Chance of Finding Scholarships For You:
Overall:

So, overall… for me, Fastweb is something that EVERYONE looking for college scholarships should sign up for (once again it’s free!).

Check out Fastweb and watch the video of me setting up a free account over there.

————————–

Free College Scholarships.net -

This website is a lot like Fastweb, but has some different scholarships. Overall, I liked Fastweb better, but this one is definitely worth using because I found that it had scholarships Fastweb didn’t have… and Fastweb had scholarships that Free College Scholarships didn’t have.Head over to Free College Scholarships <<

Why I Like This Site…

Like I said, this site isn’t as good (in my opinion) as Fastweb… but it is a great source to find some scholarships that Fastweb doesn’t have. They have a $10,000 scholarship giveaway themselves every few months… so that’s a bonus just for setting up a free scholarship search account.

As with Fastweb, this site has millions of dollars of free scholarships in their database… and make it pretty darn easy to search for ones that match your criteria. Just like Fastweb, they have to make their money somehow… so there are some ads during the process… but you can easily click “no” if you’re not interested. To me, this is a pain… but well worth it in the end because they come up with some great scholarships that I wasn’t able to find anywhere else.

How I Rate FreeCollegeScholarships.net Overall…

Overall this site is cool… but I would put more time into Fastweb if I were you. I actually signed up for free college scholarship search accounts on both sites (and a few others that ended up being scammy and crappy) and found it way easier to find scholarships on these sites than by doing my own searches on Google.

Ease of Use:
Number of Scholarships:
Best Chance of Finding Scholarships For You:
Overall:

There are other scholarship search sites out there… but they really aren’t worth linking to because they seemed to me to be a bit too scammy that I don’t feel comfortable sending you there (do searches for free scholarships… you’ll find the one’s I’m talking about).

So, head over to:

• Fastweb - Sign up for a free scholarship search account at Fastweb
• Free College Scholarships - Get a free account over there

Finding Scholarships Other Ways…

There are a ton of other ways that I went out and found college scholarships (online was the easiest)… and actually the most effective ways I found are:

• School Senior Counselor - Probably about 1/3 of my scholarships came from my high school senior counselors office. Just go in there and ask them for applications to scholarships… they usually have a ton of them that you can look through to see if they fit you.
• The Colleges You Apply For - About 1/2 of the scholarships I got ended up coming from the colleges I applied for. Every college has academic related scholarships that are mainly based off of your GPA and SAT scores… but, what most people forget is that most colleges have scholarship foundations. The whole purpose of these foundations is to give out scholarship money to incoming students. Find the scholarship foundations at the colleges you are applying to (through the financial aid office) and ask them for a list of scholarships.

There are a billion places to find people and organizations that want to give away money in the form of scholarships.

Here Are Some Other Articles That You Should Read To Improve Your Chances Of Getting Scholarships

• Resources for Free Scholarships
• Weird Scholarships - Scholarships most people don’t know about… but that a ton of people qualify for.
• How I Didn’t Pay A Dime for College - Gives you some tips on what to do to increase your chances of getting scholarships. Great read.

College Spring Break!

I’ve been busy as heck in my new job since I got out of college… but I clearly remember my spring break trips (at least most of them )… and college wouldn’t have been the same without them.

So, a reader shot me over an email last week asking the best places to book a spring break trip.  He wasn’t getting a whole lot of college scholarships… so he said it would have to be “on the cheap”

Well…

I’m not a travel expert… but I did find some pretty smokin’ deals on spring break trip packages to places like Mexico, Florida, and S. Texas… (those are the places I went, so I don’t know much about other destinations).

So, I thought I’d throw together a quick run down of choosing a spring break trip and some great places to go online to find smokin’ deals for spring break trips.

Here we go…

How To Choose a Spring Break Trip Destination

Okay, this one really isn’t a canned approach. You choose the place you want to go for spring break based on the things you like, your budget, and your comfort w/ being in other countries.This is how I always went about choosing the best spring break destination when I was in college.

There are a few questions you should ask to determine where the hell you want to go. Here are the one’s I always asked myself.

1. Do you like hot weather and sandy beaches… or something away from the coast and a little less crazy?
2. Do I want to stay in the U.S. or am I comfortable w/ heading to other countries like Mexico, France, S. America, etc. (I know, S. America isn’t a country… I’m not stupid)
3. What kind of coin do I have to spend?
4. What’s my main goal of the trip? (i.e. - drink and hook up, relax and unwind, see new things, etc.)

Those are just the questions I asked myself… you probably should find your own set of questions to ask yourself before deciding on the right place for spring break.

Here’s my run down of how your answers will affect the places you go

1. Do you like hot weather and sandy beaches… or something away from the coast and a little less crazy?
   1. Of course, if you’re a beach kinda person… places like Cabo, Cancun, Daytona Beach, South Padre Island, etc. are awesome (but crazy) places to go. On the other hand, these won’t be the best choice if you hate hot weather and really could give a rats @ss about the beach.
2. Do I want to stay in the U.S. or am I comfortable w/ heading to other countries like Mexico, France, S. America, etc. (I know, S. America isn’t a country… I’m not stupid)
   1. Pretty self-explanatory… if you’re freaked out about going to Mexico without holding your parents hand… you should probably stay in the U.S. To tell you the truth, places like Mexico and Brazil can be pretty sketchy places to go sometimes… so, if you are heading to Mexico, make sure you are going with a group and don’t venture away from the group too often.
3. What kind of coin do I have to spend?
   1. This is always a huge factor for college students. While Mexico is usually pretty cheap (once you get there), getting there and booking a hotel can be pretty spendy for Spring Break. Either make up your mind and book early… or go in on a trip w/ several of your buds and split the hotel room between all of you. There are some pretty smokin’ deals you can get out there… but you really have to search to find the best deals. I’ll give you my tips below.
4. What’s my main goal of the trip?
   1. This is a huge one too for college students. A lot of students are looking to let go of their inhibitions and go crazy (i.e. - all of the chicks on Girls Gone Wild)… but some would rather just have fun w/ a few friends and have a tame time on the beach. Typical places to go crazy are Cabo, Cancun (really crazy), Lake Havasu (pretty damn crazy too), and Daytona Beach.

Really, there isn’t a science… just figure out what the hell you want to get out of the trip and how much you have to spend… and find the best deal at the coolest place for your goal.

13 Steps to Getting The Absolute Best Deals on Your College Spring Break Trip (2008, 2009, 2010 and beyond!)

Okay, I first started out checking out the normal places like Travelocity, Orbitz, Priceline, STAtravel, etc.

All in all… these sites cover everything pretty damn well and have some of the better prices out there.

Here is my process of what I did to find the best prices on Spring Break Trips:

1. Choose my destination, length of stay, date of stay, budget, and # of people going (the essentials)
2. Go to the major travel sites online and check out their air/hotel packages. (booking both air and hotel at these together isn’t always the best price… look around)
   1. Travelocity.com
   2. orbitz.com
   3. priceline.com
3. Print out the best packages at each site and compare them.
4. Go to http://www.farecast.com/ and see if you can find a better flight and price.
5. Once you narrow down the best flight for you from these sites… head over directly to the airlines website to see if you can get a better deal (most of the time you can!)
6. If you have AAA, head over to the Triple A site (www.aaa.com) and see if you can get a better deal for the flight and/or hotel.
7. Now, head over to www.tripadvisor.com and type in the city you are looking to stay at. This is the best site I’ve found to get real reviews of hotels, resorts, activities, etc. I used this site before a trip to Jamaica and found a little known resort that was rated #1 in Negril, Jamaica (Couples Swept Away Negril) over the Sandals resorts there… and it was about $1k cheaper and I got a beach veranda suite for the price of a crappy room at Sandals… pays off to do your research… don’t trust the marketing all of the time.
8. Narrow down the hotels to 2 or 3
9. Call the hotels directly and ask for their “best possible rate“… and don’t tell them that 14 people will be staying in a room w/ just a couple Queen beds… You know that’s what you’re gonna do… isn’t it??
10. Go back to the major online travel sites to see if there are better deals.
11. Then, hit up your local travel agent and show them your print offs of the flight and hotel that you want… w/ the best prices from online.
12. Ask your travel agent to beat it for the SAME EXACT trip… most of the time they will
13. BOOK IT AND HAVE FUN!

Personally, I like to go through my local travel agent because they are someone that I can call directly if there are problems and it is a real person… not a person sitting in a call center who has never gone to that place ever before.

But, the online travel sites are excellent… and a lot of the time have the best prices.

So, follow that 13 step process and you’ll be sure to snag the best prices around… and can have more moolah to spend on beverages like lemonade, Pepsi, and… ya right! Drinks like tequila sunrises, hurricane’s, frosty cold ones, slippery nipples (I’m talking about the drink here .

Have fun, be safe, and save some money!

P.S. - Here are a few cool websites for spring break that I thought you’d enjoy…

• http://www.campusgrotto.com/best-spring-break-travel-destinations.html
• www.springbreak.com
• www.daytonabreak.com
• http://www.studentcity.com
• http://www.springbreaktravel.com

So, failing to take active measures to improve your ailing credit score can
cost you hundreds or even thousands of extra bucks on a home mortgage, auto loan, student loan, credit card interest, or an insurance bill.

Creditors and lending institutions look at your credit report to determine your score.

The score is the single largest factor that banks and other lending institutions look at when extending credit.

So, if you have a not so perfect credit score then you can bet that you’ll be charged higher fees and terrible interest rates.

Heck, even insurers use your score as a factor to determine your credit rating as an insurance risk because they too see a correlation between financial responsibility and insurance losses.

This might come to you as a surprise that credit check is not restricted to banks, lenders or insurers, employers too go for credit check before hiring an employee. It is even noticed that credit score is one of the factors that sometimes play a role in promotions as well.

Most apartment complexes run both credit as well as employment background checks before approving an application to rent an apartment. A poor score can have your application denied or you may have to pay a ridiculous amount of rent. 

So, I hope this quick little post shows you just how important it is to keep that credit score on the up and up… it means a heck of a lot more than just a cool number between 500 and 850.

In the next few weeks I’ll write a post or two on building your credit while in college… the safe way.

whole FAFSA thing.

For a refresher on FAFSA, check out the article I wrote called, “What is FAFSA ?”.  It just gives you the rundown on stuff you need to know about the FAFSA… worth a quick read.

Anyhow, the thing I was confused about the most with the whole FAFSA thing was… how does FAFSA turn into financial aid?

After 4 years of learning the ropes, I’ve learned a ton about FAFSA that I wish I would have known before I went off to college. 

So, I created a little “Top 5″ list of the Top 10 Ways to NOT Get FAFSA aid.  On one of these, I learned the hard way and actually lost out on over $1,000 in my Sophomore year for scholarships.

Here we go:

The Top 5 Ways to NOT Get FAFSA Aid -

1. Don’t fill out the FAFSA application at all:  This one sounds stupid, but one of my friends (Jake… you know who you are, lol) for some reason thought that he only had to fill out the FAFSA once… for ALL 4 YEARS OF COLLEGE.As you can imagine… come his sophomore year when he was looking at the Financial Aid that the college offered him… he about swallowed his tounge.  Long story short, Jake didn’t get his FAFSA in in time that year… and missed out a some great work study and student loan programs.  So, FILL OUT THE FAFSA EVERY YEAR!




2. Fill out the FAFSA application TOO LATE for your school:  Every college has their own deadlines for when the FAFSA application needs to be in… in order to be considered for certain financial aid (scholarships, student loans, work study, etc.).  Some colleges need everything in by January each year… while others stretch it all the way back to March or April.  Check with your financial aid office to make sure… and get it in BEFORE the deadline.In fact, it’s always best to do the FAFSA application as soon as you can in January each year because some of the work study and scholarships/grants are gone once enough qualified people are accepted.  For instance, every year I had a foundation scholarship that I won for 4 years… but they had a deadline for something like March 20th (I may be making that date up for the FAFSA application to be in.  If I didn’t get it in by then… tough luck for me.  So, write in your calendar to get the FAFSA in early every year to give yourself the best chance for getting great FAFSA financial aid.




3. Being TOO GENEROUS on the income and assets portion:  This one is a bit of a gray area.  You want to be sure to be honest on your application… you are telling the government that everything in it is true “to your knowledge”.  However, the FAFSA isn’t the place to go bragging about how rich you or your parents are.  Don’t inflate numbers to sound cool to the FAFSA people. Remember, the FAFSA helps determine your financial need for college.  If you inflate numbers for some reason… it’ll show that you have less of a financial need… and result in less grants, scholarships, student loans, work study… you get the idea.So, when doing your FAFSA, be honest… but be humble at the same time.  Do you think the FAFSA god’s will get all CSI on you to find every last bit of income or assets?  The odds are slim… but don’t tread into shark infested waters and completely lie on your application.  All I can say is… be honest and humble with your income and asset reporting… take that for what it’s worth.




4. Sending the FAFSA to the wrong colleges:  This one is kind of a no brainer too.  But, I’ve seen it done.  I had a buddy on the baseball team with me (not the brightest fish in the pond) who didn’t think he’d end up at our college… so he didn’t have the FAFSA sent to our college. Anyhow, long story short… there was a big fiasco of having to redo some FAFSA stuff… get it sent to the college… get them to bend a few rules… etc.  So, moral here is to make sure that every college you apply to is on your list to have the FAFSA sent there.  This is done over at the FAFSA website in your account area… so check it out.




5. Have a huge investment account in your name:  This is one that my fiance knows well.  Her parents did the right thing and saved up a bunch of money over the years for her in an investment account.  When we were freshmen, I think the account had something like $25,000 (give or take) in it.  Of course, FAFSA asks for these types of accounts… so you have to tell the “truth” and include them in the application. As you can imagine, this account really reduced the amount of financial aid available to her.  In reality, that account was set up to be available for her as starting money after college… she had great grades and actually had 100% of her school paid for with college scholarships also.  But, if she didn’t have great grades… FAFSA would look at this as money available to her to spend on college… which wasn’t what the account was initially set up for.So, I know of people who are clever in the way these types of accounts are set up.  It’s nothing illegal or shady… just smart asset protection.  One friend’s parents actually have the account in his grandma’s name… which she of course agreed to and has agreed to distribute it when he turns 25.  So, the parents add money to the fund over the years… it stays out of the students name and the parents name… and he doesn’t get the whack from FAFSA saying that the money is available for college.  Pretty smart. Of course, there are some tax issues involved here to work out between my buddy and his grandma… but in some cases it’s well worth it. 

I know, these “Top 5″ tips aren’t rocket science… but I can guarantee you that there are thousands of college students every year that fall prey to one or more of these rules.  So, the main thing to remember about the FAFSA to ensure that you get great FAFSA financial aid is to apply early every year… and to be honest… but keep your assets and income as low as legally possible… this isn’t the place to brag about the $500 in under the table income you earned from mowing your grandma’s lawn.

Good luck and I’ll chat with you later!

For one, your FAFSA results can be a real pain the ass if it puts your parents contribution up
too high… but, if you get great results from your FAFSA application, it could mean that you will qualify for more scholarships from your college.

So, what is the FAFSA?

FAFSA stands for: (the definition of FAFSA)

Free Application for Federal Student Aid    (US Department of Education)

As it sounds, the FAFSA process helps determine how much federal financial aid you will be eligible for.  This could be in the form of loans, scholarships from the college, etc.

How does the FAFSA process work?

Well, the whole FAFSA process is pretty simple.

1. The application basically gathers financial information about you and your parents 
2. Each school year you fill out or renew your application and update any changes to the financial situation (usually with the tax returns each year)
3. The application produces results that say how much the expected contribution should be from you/your parents based on your income and assets
4. You indicate which schools you want the FAFSA results sent to, and they are automatically sent after you complete the application each year
5. The financial aid offices at the colleges you are looking at receive the FAFSA results and the EFC (estimated financial contribution), and use that to determine your financial need for college

Really, it’s that simple.  The government needs a way to find out who the people with the most financial need are so they can provide those in more need… with more financial aid.

Are there deadlines for FAFSA?

There sure are.  This is where it got confusing for me sometimes.  Here’s the page directly on the FAFSA website to see their deadlines.

==> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/before003a.htm

A good rule of thumb is to do the FAFSA each year at the start of January to ensure that your application is in to the college in enough time to enable you to qualify for certain scholarships and financial aid.

So, write on your calendar for the next 4 years to do the FAFSA each January. 

Do I need to fill out the FAFSA?

Unless you don’t plan on applying for any financial aid at all… you should complete the FAFSA. 

Once again, the FAFSA is for federal student financial aid.  If you don’t intend to use an federal financial aid, don’t do the FAFSA.  This includes:

• Scholarships
• Student Loans
• College Work-Study
• Pell Grants
• Other Government Grants

If you have any intentions or desires at all to get any government grants, scholarships, etc. DO THE FAFSA.  

How long does the FAFSA take?

The FAFSA is really pretty simple after you do it for the first time.  I would say that the first time I did the FAFSA it took a good 30 - 60 minutes to complete it. 

The FAFSA website does allow you to save your application so you can come back to it, so don’t pull your hair out thinking you have to get it done in one sitting.  Your first time will be more to get the feel for the type of information they are asking for.  Then, you’ll save your application, gather the information, and come back later to finish it.

After the first year, all you have to do is renew your FAFSA application.  The first time you submit your FAFSA, you are given a PIN code (write this down and don’t lose it… you’ll need it every year!).  With this pin code and your password, you just log in to renew, update any information that has changed, and submit it. 

Easy as that.

What documents do you need for the FAFSA application?

There is a whole list of documents needed for the FAFSA.  Here they are:

• Social security number
• Drivers license
• W-2 forms for you and your parents (or other guardian)
• Federal income tax returns for the year before for you and your parents
• Your untaxed income records
  • Social Security
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
  • Welfare
  • Veterans benefits records
• Your current bank statements
• Investment records, mortgage information, etc.

… and that’s about it.

Just gather up these documents and have them with you at the computer when you are filling out the FAFSA.

Where do I get FAFSA financial aid?

A lot of new students think FAFSA is the actual entity that sends you the money.  This is wrong.

FAFSA is just the application to determine your financial aid.  This application and the results are sent out to the colleges you apply to… the financial aid ends up coming through the college financial aid office. 

How do I get started with the FAFSA and the FAFSA forms?

Head on over to the FAFSA website at:

• www.fafsa.ed.gov

There are pretty darn good directions there to follow.  If you have any questions shoot them my way!

Also, be sure to search for scholarships online too.  My favorites are:

• Fastweb   (this is my favorite.  I got the $4,000 scholarship from this site)
• FreeCollegeScholarships.net   (great site too… have some scholarships Fastweb doesn’t have.

me!”  Well… I’m here to tell you that if you are alive and breathing, there are scholarships out there for you. 

You need to go beyond the normal everyday scholarships like the ones you apply for at the college itself (do apply to those ones too… but in this article I’ll tell you of some more to look at).

If you aren’t that 4.0 Valedictorian, you need to get a bit creative and look for some of the more weird scholarships out there.  Yep, there are some pretty weird ass scholarships out there that give money away based on some pretty strange criteria.

So, in this article I’ll let you know about some of the more weird college scholarships out there so you can tap into that money pool that most college bound students don’t even know about.  There are a ton of places to get these scholarships… so I’ll try to point you toward websites for the scholarships if I can… but use this article more as a way to get ideas on things to Google to find the scholarship yourself (hey, I’m a busy guy… I’d be spending hours trying to find all of these sites

Also, I found many of these unique scholarships on a great scholarship search site called Fastweb.  Fastweb is free, and when I went to college, I actually got 1 scholarship that I found on that site.  Create a quick account and find some scholarships.

Here we go. 

• Are you the decendant of a confederate soldier of the Civil War?  If so, this could earn you a cool $1000 or more in scholarships.  You can find these scholarships from organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy among others.  So, trace your family back to a confederate soldier, write the essay, and give yourself a chance for a quick grand.
• Are you an amateur radio (ham radio) lover?  You can cash in big time here.  There are a ton of organizations giving out some pretty darn good scholarships to those who fit the bill.  The ARRL Foundation (don’t ask me what ARRL stands for) has a scholarship program that hands out $500 to $5,000 to amateur radio lovers… and their application isn’t all that tough. 
• Left handed are you?  Well, you’ve probably heard of this one… but there are a ton of scholarships for left handed people.  Why?  I guess they feel you left handers a unique enough to give you money… but, if I were left handed I wouldn’t complain one bit.  The best place I could find to search for left-handed scholarships was Fastweb and the College Board website.  Both are free.  I like Fastweb a bit better (that’s what I used)… so check it out.
• Make a prom dress out of duct tape… and win $3,000?  Yep, Duck Tape brand duct tape maker started a scholarship contest they call the “Stuck at Prom” Scholarship Contest.  To enter into this scholarship contest all you have to do is create a creative and awesome prom dress or suit out of Duck Tape brand duct tape, take some pictures… and send them in.  They pick the best few entries each year, and actually end up awarding more than $18,000 in scholarships each year.  This is one you can really have some fun with. 
• If you don’t like duct tape, make it out of wool instead and win cash!  Here’s another crazy weird scholarship that I came across.  It’s kind of the same thing as the Duck Tape contest, but this one is brought to you by Sheep USA… and you have to make an outfit out of wool.  You can earn a $1,000 scholarship for this win. 
• Star Trek fans out there, practice up on your Klingon and win a cool $500.  This one is on the geeky side… but hey, if you can speak Klingon… there’s nothing un-cool about winning $500.  Check that one out here.
• Consider yourself a tall person?  If so, yep, there’s a weird ass scholarship for you too.  If you are over 6′ 2″ as a man, and 5′ 10″ as a girl, you are eligible for the Tall Clubs International scholarship of $1,000. 
• Play the bagpipes?  There is a Carnegie Mellon University Bagpipe Scholarship is out there for any bagpipe majors out there.  This probably only applies to 4 or 5 people in the whole U.S., but if it’s you… try to find the scholarship page (I couldn’t).
• Speak more than one language? There are a ton of scholarships out there for bi-lingual students.  Some of the scholarships are school specific, but there are some national ones that anyone who is bi-lingual should qualify for.  So, be sure to ask your college about any scholarships for bi-lingual students that may be out there… and do a good search online. 
• Not the brightest tool in the shed when it comes to achademics?  Most of us aren’t.  But, there’s hope for us with the AXA Foundation Scholarship for people that excel in areas other than scholastics.  They say if you have ambition, the desire to achieve, respect, and have the ability to succeed in college… they hand out scholarships ranging from $2,000 to $25,000 each year.  All in all, they hand out over $1.3 million in college scholarships each year.  Get yourself in the running… and do it fast before the cash is all handed out.
• Here’s one for you skateboarders out there.  If you skateboard and have over a 2.5 GPA, you are eligible for a few scholarships at the Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship.  Each year they give out four scholarships to skateboarders heading to college.  The top prize is $5,000 and the other three are $1,000 each.  So, now your parents can’t tell you that skateboarding gets you nowhere!
• Arabian horses anyone?  Have an interest in Arabian horses?  That qualifies you for a $2,500 scholarship through the William Zekan Memorial foundation.  I had a tough time finding the foundation website… but check out Fastweb… I’m sure they’ll have it in there.
• Write an essay about a fire sprinkler, win a $3,000 scholarship.  Wow, these keep getting more and more out there.  The American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship gives out a total of $20,000 in scholarships each year for high school seniors who write the best essays on successful fire sprinkler activations in your area or town.  This is one that truly anyone qualifies for… just do a bit of research, write the essay, and you’re good to go.  Check it out here.
• Members of the National Rifle Association.  If you are a member of the national rifle association and have gone through certain marksmanship programs, you qualify.  Just submit an essay on “Why I Became Involved in the Shooting Sports” and you are in the running for a $5,000 scholarship from the NRA.
• Bowlers… here’s your scholarship.  A scholarship called the Columbia 300 John Jowdy Scholarship is open to high school seniors who are active in bowling.  This scholarship is just $500, but they all add up… I can tell you from experience.
• A tad bit overweight in the New England area?  I hate to say it, but this qualifies you for a $500 scholarship.  I wouldn’t use this scholarship as a reason to stay overweight though… get the scholarship then get healthy in college. 

That’s about it for now.  This gives you an idea how crazy some of these scholarships are… but they give away real cash just like any other scholarship.

From my personal experience, most of my scholarship money came directly from the college from academic and atheletic related scholarships.

But, probably 25% came from weird and random scholarships kind of like the ones on this page.   I had a few $500 scholarships from organizations like the Rotary Club, the booster club for my high school, a local brewery (yep), etc.

Just shake the scholarship money tree and see what happens.

One scholarship that I almost didn’t apply for was an industry related scholarship in the industry my father works in.  The industry is construction equipment rental… and the scholarship was $1,000.  I won that one and it lasted for 4 years… so I raked in $4,000 just by getting over my lack of confidence and sending in the application.

So, use this little list as a jumping off point.  Sit down and write down anything and everything you can think of that may remotely turn into a scholarship. 

Any hobbies?  Write them down. 

Any talents?  Write them down.

Any health defects?  Write them down.

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the best places to start is online scholarship search engines like Fastweb.  You can make a free account, put in your demographic info so they can find scholarships that fit you, and start applying.  I did it and got at least one scholarship just from about 2 hours worth of searching on Fastweb.

Good luck.  If you know of any other weird scholarships, shoot me an email through the contact page and I’ll post it up.

“How do I get scholarships?”

Well Anne… this answer isn’t exactly simple… but it isn’t very complicated either.  I’ll give you a brief outline of what colleges look for, and point you toward other resources to help you get college scholarships.

First off,

Read my article that I wrote called, “Free Scholarships - How I didn’t Pay a Dime for College”. 

That article is a work in progress and I continually add new information and resources onto that page. 

Second,

Realize that getting scholarships is a NUMBERS GAME as much as it skill

Yep, it’s a numbers game.  Just like if you are a salesman, the more potential customers you visit… the more sales you’ll generate (unless you’re the worst salesman in the world).

So, don’t be too picky when deciding on which scholarships to apply for.  Apply for as many as you humanly can while still keeping each application a high quality. 

I’m not saying to just mass produce your scholarship applications… the scholarship committee will probably see right through it…

… what I am saying is to apply for as many good scholarships as you can to increase your odds of winning some of them.

If you only apply for 2 or 3… odds are that you will only win one (OR NONE).

Third,

Start as early as you can strengthening your resume

By your resume I mean everything that the college scholarship committee’s look at, including:

• Your grades - Work hard to get your GPA at least over 3.5 for the best chances of getting scholarships
• The SAT and ACT tests - Take the SAT seriously.  Many scholarship applications require a minimum SAT score to qualify.  Usually it’s something like a 1000 -1200… sometimes higher… sometimes lower.
• Extracurricular activities- Go out an volunteer for a few things.  Join a club or two related to your career goals.  Do something to show the scholarship committee’s that you are a well rounded student… and person.
• Reference letters - Start in your junior year or early in your senior year getting a feel for who you can get great reference letters from.  I happen to know very well the registrar at a college I applied to… so I had her write me a great reference letter.  Ask a teacher who knows you well that can give a great reference for your ability as a student and a person.

Get those elements above rolling as soon as you can and you’ll be way ahead of the students who put it off until later in their senior year in high school.

Fourth,

Look at local, national, and college specific scholarships

Don’t count yourself out on any scholarships.  I applied for probably 5 - 8 national scholarships (I got one that paid me $4,000), about 10-15 local scholarships, and probably another 10-15 college specific scholarship. 

So, apply for all of those little $500 local scholarships (they really add up), those big $5, 10, 20,000 national scholarships, and all of the college specific ones you can find.

I actually used a website called Fastweb to look for the national scholarships… it is free… really easy, and has a ton of scholarships right here online.  Check it out and set up a free account to get going on that.

All in all, successfully getting college scholarships is both a process and making sure you work hard your junior and senior years in high school to meet the scholarship GPA and SAT requirements.

That is a quick and dirty overview of what it takes to get scholarships.  I’ll go in more depth and give you step-by-step instructions on how to get that scholarship you want.  Until then, browse the rest of the site, set up an account at Fastweb to start searching for scholarships, and get your butt in gear making sure your grades, SAT, and reference letters are in-line. 

Anyhow, yes, the title of the article is true.

Here’s the story of how I did it… and how you can find scholarships to help pay for college too.

Okay, I’m not going to tell you that I was a C student… screwed around in class… had no business going to college… etc.  If that was you, I’m going to be straight with you and let you know that it’s going to be a bit more difficult.

But, almost anyone who can get into a college is probably eligible for some scholarships out there.

Anyhow, here’s the process that I took that got me enough scholarships to pay for 100% of my college.

Setting the Foundation -

Ideally, you want to start in your freshman year of high school (I actually didn’t figure it out until my junior year) and make sure that you are laying the right path toward getting scholarships.

I know, your freshman and sophomore years are the years that you are at the bottom of the barrel and are trying to climb up in the social world of high school.  But, I’m going to tell you right now… getting good (or at least decent grades) grades does not mean you are a nerd.  That’s weak thinking if you ask me.

What is more cool? 

• Acting “cool” by not doing your home work, not trying your hardest, and looking like a “bad ass” to impress a few people.  And watching your friends go to college… while you sit at home because you either couldn’t get into a college… or you can’t afford it.

or

• Actually giving a damn about your future, doing your best, attracting attention for being known as a go getter, and actually getting into school… and maybe even not paying for college at all.

Hmmmm…

That’s a tough one. 

I was kind of more in the first group in my freshman and sophomore years.  I thought it wasn’t all that important that I get my GPA up over 3.5. 

But, I was lucky enough to have an older brother who was a senior when I was a freshman… and he was the guy in the first group all of the way through high school.  I love the guy… but guess what happened to him?

He couldn’t get into a 4 year school, got no scholarships, and ended up not finishing college while his friends (even the one that everyone coined as the screw off) made it through college to graduate.

That really lit a fire under my ass and made me realize that I could still have fun, be “cool”, and get my work done in high school all at the same time.

So, what did I do to set my foundation for getting scholarships and getting into pretty much any school I wanted?

1. I started to actually care and apply myself.  School is a heck of a lot more interesting when you actually try something and conquer it.  My grades have always been decent, but in my first two years of high school I let them slip a bit so I was around a 3.2.  At the end of my junior year I sat down and calculated what grades I needed to get in my senior year to meet the scholarship qualifications for the colleges I wanted to go to.  My main college choices all required at least a 3.75 GPA to qualify for their scholarships. My calculations showed me that I had to get straight A’s my entire senior year in order to get that 3.75.  The only problem is that I had never gotten straight A’s in high school up to that point.  For most people… that’s a problem.  But, for those who are determined to get what they want… it’s just a challenge.
2. I took the hardest classes I could find… not the easy ways out.  Colleges look at more than just your grades.  My best friend that I have known since I was 1 year old… well, his mom is the Registrar at a top college here in Oregon.  So, I talked to her about what colleges look for when giving out scholarships. One of her biggest answers was that they like to see that you didn’t loaf your senior year.  Most kids use their senior year to relax and take only the classes they needed to take to graduate.  Those are the people that usually don’t get too far in life.  So, I made sure that I still took as many classes as I could… and that the classes were the honors classes (or at least the highest level class I could possibly take).  Hey, I’d rather get a B in an honors class any day of the week than get an A in the low level class.So, don’t loaf.  Take the honors and AP classes.  Colleges like to see that on the resume and application.
3. Volunteering isn’t as bad as it seems… it actually is pretty fun.  Another thing that my buddies mom (the college Registrar) taught me was that you need to be (or at least look like) a well-rounded person. Ya, grades are fine and dandy… but when I later applied for Law School… I learned that grades really are like #2 or #3 on the list of importance.So, I went out and volunteered for stuff.  Don’t just go out and volunteer for any ol’ thing.  Do something that you’ll actually enjoy so you will stick with it a little longer. A few things I volunteered for were:
   
   1. Spent time w/ elderly at a nursing home once a week.  These people are lonely and just like to talk to people.  It really made me feel great every time I went too. 
   2. Volunteered as a baseball coach for little leaguers (this was hilarious!)
   3. Helped at the March of Dimes walk a few years in a row
   4. Helped run a canned food drive for Thanksgiving dinner baskets
   5. Did a toy drive for needy children
4. I joined a school club or two that interested me.  Extra curricular activities are pretty important to college admissions and scholarship comittees.  Baseball was always my thing, so I at least could put that I was on the varsity baseball team for 3 years (we won the state championship my junior year too!).  But, I also joined a club called FBLA. FBLA is a business club that helps you hone your business skills.  I joined it my senior year just to get another thing on my college resume… but I actually enjoyed it.  So, look at your interests… and see if there is a school club that you can join.  And… NO, it isn’t nerdy to join these clubs.  Once again, what is nerdy is sitting on your ass at home when you are 20 because you couldn’t get into college… or racking up $50,000 in student loans because you couldn’t get any scholarships. 
5. Almost there… I didn’t say it would be extremely easy to get ALL of your school paid for… did I?  Then, I went out and searched for scholarships that I even remotely qualified for.Believe it or not, there are some weird ass scholarships out there… scholarships for pretty much anything.  I found one for left-handed veterans in my search… but I didn’t apply for that one, DARN!  But, I did find a ton that I did qualify for.  
   Look Locally:  There are a ton of local and school centered scholarships out there for the taking.  I didn’t know about any of these before I went to my senior class counselor and asked her.  She happily handed me a whole stack of local scholarships that I could apply for.  Most of these ones aren’t huge… but they sure did add up for me.

   Look at the College:  Almost every college has some type of scholarship foundation that you can apply to.  I ended up getting about $1,500 a term from one foundation scholarship just by filling out the application and sending it in.  If you don’t send in the application, you are guaranteeing to NOT get the scholarship.Search Online:  This was one way that I found a ton of cool scholarships to apply for, and actually won a scholarship that paid me $1,000 a year for 4 years.  There are a ton of free scholarship search databases out there. 

   The one that I liked the best was Fastweb.  Here’s a link to search for scholarships for free.  Just fill in the questionnaire form so they can set up your free account and find scholarships that match you… and you’re on your way.

   FastWeb Free Scholarship Search <<

   Find as many scholarships as you can that you qualify for and apply to as many as you can without going crazy.  I think I qualified for something like 20-30 scholarships and ended up getting enough to pay for all 4 years of undergraduate, plus I usually actually got money back every term… so I made money going to college!But, I wouldn’t have gotten any of them… and I’d still be forking over cash to the student loan sharks if I didn’t have the confidence to apply myself and give myself a chance.

So, that’s my quick and dirty story of how I built my foundation for getting college scholarships.  No, it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world… but neither is paying student loans for 10 years or working at McDonalds because you couldn’t get into college.

The most important thing about setting your foundation for getting scholarships is to know that you don’t get anything you want unless you try.  So, if you truly want to go to college… and you really don’t feel like paying back $50-$75,000 in student loans… apply yourself now and set your foundation for successfully getting scholarships.

In other articles I describe how to go about finding scholarships, applying, writing your essay, and a ton more.

So, if you are in high school or are a bit older but are heading back to college… I’d suggest bookmarking our site.  Not only do we give you useful and actionable information… but we provide you with discounts and tools that will help make college life a whole lot easier for you.