Big Scholarships vs Small Scholarships

When searching for scholarship money, you will discover that there are many sources for scholarships. The local scholarships that we found were generally smaller amounts of money (anywhere from $250 to $1,000) and were only good for one year. We thought this was very helpful in getting into a college, but then what to do for the other years of required education?

Small scholarships are relatively plentiful, but in working a strategy for college funding, it is best to search out some on-going scholarships. These are also available from many sources but are generally a little more difficult to find. Be sure to stay in touch with scholarship search engines like fastweb.com and check out any of the larger scholarships they link for you. One great place to find on-going scholarship money is from your college financial aid office. Be sure to ask them about academic scholarships that will continue throughout college (generally a specific grade point must be maintained). We found these to be the best scholarships overall! The school may also have other significant scholarships, so be sure to ask.

Whatever scholarships you find, be sure to think ahead to the following college years. Don't choose a college based on what you may receive your freshman year---you may not be able to afford the following years! Whatever you do, PLAN AHEAD!