Go on a Scholarship Hunt: Here's How

When you have time off, try sneaking in just a little bit of college scholarship research -- it can make a world of tuition dollar difference. "The summer is a great time to do research and legwork for hunting down college scholarships," says Ben Kaplan, publisher of ScholarshipCoach.com. "In general, many scholarship deadlines are right when the school year begins and people miss out because they're busy getting back into the flow of school. If you can budget just a couple hours of your week during the summer, you'll be in a great position come the fall."

Squeeze the most dollars out of your downtime. Here's how to conduct successful college scholarship research:

• Contact Relevant Organizations >> "I hear a lot of people say things like, 'I have asthma. Is there a college scholarship for people with asthma?'" says Kaplan. "Go to a public library and look for organizations relevant to you in the Encyclopedia of Associations. Even if they don't offer college scholarships, they will usually know where you can find one."



• Let the Search Begin >> "There are plenty of scholarship search databases that you can easily find online," he says. "Most people search one or two databases, but you need to search all of them. Each has access to different pockets of information."



• Learn from the Past >> "Request past winning essays and materials," suggests Kaplan. "You don't want to plagiarize past winners' essays, but you can learn from how they articulate themselves and get their messages across. Ninety-seven percent of students applying do not do this, but it's very helpful."



• Do It and Flaunt It >> "Leverage your summer experiences into projects or essays that make you stand out," he says. "You can turn a camping trip into a biology research project, or a trip abroad into a research paper on other cultures. Maybe you're stuck working at a supermarket, but you can suggest a new way to take inventory and write up your idea into a brief report. It's not a lot of extra work since you're already doing these activities."

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