Scholarships
Scholarships can serve as a valuable means of assisting students in funding an education. Sources can take the form of public and private companies, philanthropic individuals and organizations, not-for-profit organizations, state and local governments.
Despite the connotation that scholarships are awarded solely on the basis of academic or athletic performance, a student can be awarded a scholarship based upon the following activities: community or civic service, extra-curricular achievements, career aspirations, the student's or parent's employer, and organizational memberships to name a few.
Scholarship eligibility- Academic performance
- Athletic achievement
- Financial need
- Religious affiliation
- Minority status
- Heritage
- Community affiliations
- A unique set of criteria that's important to the organization providing funds
401kid does not advise that families consider scholarships as part of their college funding plan, since less than 2% of college students receive any form of scholarship. Even those that do receive scholarships rarely receive “full rides” (meaning, coverage of full Cost of Attendance).
That being said, it cannot hurt to be knowledgeable on what types of scholarships exist and to apply. Almost all scholarship applications are free. Here is a list of resources, if you are ready to begin a scholarship search.
Free Scholarship Search
401kid has partnered with College Answer, who offers a free scholarship search that provides access to an award database containing over 2.4 million scholarships worth in excess of $15 billion. Every time you log on or update your scholarship profile, a new search matches you with the latest scholarship opportunities.
