Scholarship Information

Important Tips

• It is most effective to apply for scholarships with specific criteria you meet. The more focused your search and the more specific the scholarship, the greater your chance of success.
• Do not use any scholarship service that charges a fee. Not all of these organizations are legitimate, and those that are legitimate provide a service that you could do yourself for free.
• It is up to you to be assertive in searching for, applying for, and following up with scholarship programs. Be persistent. Most students will find their efforts are well worth it.
• Apply for as many scholarships as you feel you are qualified for, even those that do not have a huge monetary value. Small scholarships save you big money in the long run.
• Start as early as possible. Create a separate email account just for your scholarship search.
• Focus on local and regional scholarships before you apply to national scholarships. You are more likely to be successful in securing a scholarship that is closer to where you reside.
• Do not use search terms like "college scholarships" when using internet search engines. The result will be scams. Instead, use terms like "Michigan Association of XXX" or Michigan "Chemistry Scholarships".
• Keep your resources on hand so you can apply for the programs in your second year of study.

Where to Look for Scholarships

• Businesses: Some businesses offer scholarships to employees and children of employees.
• Charitable groups: Several charitable groups are looking for qualified medical and health science students to offer grants and scholarships. Easter Seals, March of Dimes, and the National Epilepsy Foundation are good places to start if you feel you may be interested in a charitable group scholarship.
• Community organizations: If you or a parent belong to a community organization, you may qualify for a scholarship. Some community organizations also offer scholarships to students who do not belong to the organization but meet specific requirements. Look for groups such as a Rotary Club, Lions Club, Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, and VFW.
• Ethnic and cultural organization: There may be an organization related to your ethnic and cultural heritage interested in encouraging higher education or developing leaders. Examples are the Organization of Chinese Americans and the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation.
• Employers: Check with the human resources staff where your parents work. If you work part-time, check with your employer to see if they offer scholarships for student workers. National employers like McDonald's, Burger King, and Subway do this.
• Honors societies: Are you a member of an honor society? There is an excellent chance that they offer scholarships to their qualified members if you are. Call your local chapter for more information.
• Private foundations and charities: Each year, Community Foundations throughout the state and across the U.S. award thousands of dollars in scholarships to their residents. Sometimes, select scholarships are also available for residents of other counties, U.S. citizens, or certified permanent residents in Michigan.
  
  
  • Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan: https://cfsem.org/scholarships/
  • For Good For Ever: www.forgoodforever.org (Michigan),
  • Network for Good: http://www1.networkforgood.org/
  • Volunteer Match: http://www.volunteermatch.org/
• Local Community Foundations include:

• Professional organizations: Various professional organizations offer money to qualified applicants. Some examples are the Michigan Bankers Association, Michigan Education Association, and Michigan Association of Realtors.
• Professional or trade associations: Look at associations related to your career interests and any that your parents belong to since they may award scholarships to dependents of members. The following website offers a search for local and national trade union scholarships. www.unionplus.org/college-education-financing/union-plus-scholarship
• Military: If you are interested in participating in the military/ROTC,
• Religious organizations: Contact both local and national headquarters.
• Sports/professional sports teams: Many local booster clubs and recreation sporting groups offer college scholarships. Also, professional sports teams often sponsor students in local areas. Some even have community foundations.

Online Search Engines to explore

1. Naviance - Login, click the Colleges tab, Click Scholarships and Money, click Scholarship list
2. www.Cappex.com   Formerly Merit Aid.com.  This is a meta scholarship search engine where students must create an account and can search for scholarships according to the profile they have created.
3. www.fastweb.org  - Another meta scholarship search engine but also great for parents looking for information to understand how to fund post-secondary education
4. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search This is the College Board’s site to search for scholarships as part of the bigger picture of college research and funding college.
5. https://smscholarships.com/naviance/nwidget.cfm?page=2&fvisit=true The Sallie Mae National Scholarship search integrated into Naviance - subscription required. 
6. https://www.collegexpress.com/scholarships/search - College Express scholarship search.  Narrow by category.  Create an account.  Save to your account.
7. https://www.scholarships.com/scholarship-search - Create a profile, get matched for scholarships, and apply.
8. https://www.goingmerry.com/ free scholarship search and application platform. Personalized matching. Thousands of scholarships and grants.
9. https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
10. https://www.chegg.com/scholarships - It is a textbook seller website that morphed into college exploration, scholarship searching, and tutoring.  
11. https://cfsem.org/scholarships/scholarship-opportunities/ Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan.  Local awards from family foundations often address specific needs.  
12. https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarships/ Niche, which we see for school searches, and rankings offer scholarship searches where you can create an account, but you don’t have to in order to see matches
13. https://www.raise.me/ Raise Me is a site where students can create a profile as early as 9th grade and start applying for micro-scholarships.  The proceeds from scholarships awarded stay put until the student graduates and reports where they will attend college.  Then it is dispersed throughout the site. 
14. http://www.finaid.org/ An excellent go-to guide for college financial aid 
15. https://www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid
16. Unusual Scholarships
17. http://studentaid.ed.gov/
18. https://myscholly.com/
19.  Free-4U.com - The National Data Base of Scholarships