[Cara Reynolds – SUM180 Community Manager]

Some scholarships are merit-based while others are designed for a specific group of people. Some are small while others can cover the entire cost of your tuition. In general, it’s worth applying for any and all scholarships for which you may qualify. This is money that never needs to be repaid and will lower the cost of your education!

However, there are literally thousands of scholarships available out there and finding the ones that apply to you may seem daunting. Fortunately, there are tools that can help. A good place to start is the U.S. Department of Labor’s free scholarship search tool.

The tool allows you to search over 7,000 scholarships either by category or keyword. For example, you can find scholarships based on the state where you live, or based on whether you come from a military family.

Good luck!

[Suzanne Oldham – Ambassador]

I am just starting to locate scholarships for my high school senior. I also use the above tool but have also found a site called fastweb. It was started by a group of educators. I receive e mails three times a week with new scholarships available. My experience so far is that it takes time to apply as most ask for essays. My goal is to put lots of “lines” in the water and hope that a few come through.