How to Get Great Scholarships for Current College Students

Reyna Gobel

Updated on February 3, 2020

February 3, 2020February 3, 2020Paying for CollegeFeatured, Student Loans1347Reyna GobelJennifer CoatesSEO

Editorial Note: This content is not provided or commissioned by any financial institution. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the financial institution.

scholarships for current college students

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It is possible to go to school completely for free with the right combination of grants and scholarships for college students. By applying quickly and doing good research and networking, you can better position yourself to secure these opportunities.

Here’s what you need to do get the most aid, whether it’s need-based, merit-based, demographic-based, talent-based or a combination of those.

How to find scholarships for current college students
Where to look for more scholarships and grants
When scholarships aren’t enough

How to find scholarships for current college students

There are thousands of scholarships for college students available online via a variety of scholarship search tools, such as the CollegeBoard’s Big Future and Fastweb. Schools also continue to give out financial aid to students beyond their first year. You’re bound to find a few awards that may be right for you by contacting your school’s financial aid office, looking on websites or searching local newspapers and human resources posts about community and employer-based scholarships.

One thing to keep in mind as you look through opportunities is scholarship scams. If you are asked for your Social Security number, a fee or bank account account information, show the scholarship information to your college counselor before proceeding.

Fill out the FAFSA

Be sure to fill out the Free Application for Financial Aid (FAFSA) to get financial assistance in the form of state and federal financial aid. The FAFSA is often misunderstood as just the pathway to student loans, but it’s also the starting point for letting the federal government, state government and colleges know you want financial aid.

Filling out the FAFSA directly impacts your eligibility for Pell Grants, the main federal grant awarded. Depending on a variety of factors, such as your family’s expected contribution, the cost of attendance and your enrollment status, students could receive up to $6,195 per year in Pell Grant funding alone.

States also may use information from the FAFSA to award grants and scholarships. Every grant or scholarship may have different rules, such as age, income, a specific GPA requirement or a specific career field, said Robert Falcon, founder of College Funding Solutions.

Additionally, schools may consider the FAFSA for your financial aid request. Most of the financial aid you receive from the school after your first year is likely to be need-based as opposed to merit-based aid based, Falcon said. Thus, filling out the FAFSA is an extra-important step in your process.

Because some grants, such as university grants, are first-come, first-served, it’s important to fill out the FAFSA as close to when it becomes available on Oct. 1 as possible. If your finances have declined since what was reported on your FAFSA, make sure you fill out a special circumstances form with the school to explain why. You can report costs like emergency medical expenses that may indicate greater financial need.

Fill out a CSS

The CSS Profile is a form required by about 400 colleges in addition to the FAFSA. If you go to one of these schools, you may not receive financial aid from your school without filling out this form, said Falcon. The money that you could miss out on includes university grants and scholarships based on need, merit and/or talent, he said.

The CSS Profile requires quite a bit more financial information than the FAFSA as well as a small fee. However, CSS Profile schools often have much more financial aid to give, Falcon said. Just like the FAFSA, you should call your financial aid office to see if there are any extra forms you could fill out, or additional scholarships that aren’t automatically considered.

Use scholarship search tools

Scholarship search tools can help you find the scholarships that best match your talents, community service contributions and academic skills. Be strategic when searching sites and pick the 10 or so scholarships you’d most likely win.

Before submitting your application, study essay and scholarship rules and guidelines carefully to make sure you adapt your writing and application answers to have the best chance possible.

Search tool	What it offers	Where to find it
Fastweb	Lists over 1.5 million awards; vets all scholarships to make sure they are legit	fastweb.com
Scholarships360	Free online search of thousands of scholarships; daily scholarship emails	scholarships360.org
CollegeBoard’s Big Future	Large directory of scholarships based on hobbies, interests, etc.	bigfuture.collegeboard.org
Scholarship America	Smaller database with scholarships from non-profits and companies	scholarshipamerica.org

Where to look for more scholarships and grants

Once you’ve exhausted your search through major websites, it’s time to look more deeply into what scholarships for college students are available through your school, community organizations and your family’s employers. As you review the information below, make a list of everyone you’d like to contact and how.

State grants and scholarships

To identify opportunities, you can check out your state’s education department website, as well as Student Loan Hero’s guide on state grants and scholarships.

The FAFSA form must be filled out first to be considered for state grants. Each grant or scholarship may have different requirements, such as enrollment status, financial need or minimum GPA, Falcon said.

School scholarships

School scholarships and grants are a tremendous resource for students, and there are tons of scholarships for college sophomores and beyond. In fact, major scholarships are often awarded to third- and fourth-year students. Independent returning students may also receive financial aid.

The financial aid office at your school is a good resource for identifying these opportunities, as is the office for returning or non-traditional students. Just keep in mind that if you get more college scholarship money, it may affect your other financial aid.

Local service groups

To learn about scholarships from local service groups, contact your former high school guidance counselor, your current financial aid office and conduct a well-defined online search.

Let your former high school counselor know your interests and talents and ask if you can remain on the list for their scholarship newsletter while you are in college. Also ask if they can send you an email when a new scholarship that could work for you shows up.

The good news is that since you’re now in college, you have a college financial aid office in addition to your high school counselor. Go to your college financial aid office as well and ask where to find scholarship postings. They be may posted online and on bulletin boards around campus.

Another potential spot to find community-based scholarships is through community foundations, said Pam Andrews, a college admissions coach and scholarship strategist at The Scholarship Shark. You can search online for community organizations in your city, county and state.

Corporate scholarships

Your parents also should check with their employer’s human resources department for company scholarships, Andrews said. Additionally, you may qualify for a scholarship from your own employer, whether you work full-time or part-time.

In addition to scholarships, your employer may offer tuition reimbursement for courses you take that are relevant to their business. For instance, if you are a teller at a bank, you may get reimbursed for finance classes. Tuition reimbursement is very common in grad school. The work co-op office on campus is a great resource for finding employers that are willing to chip in for the cost of attending college.

As an additional resource for finding these opportunities, Student Loan Hero always tries to report on them in its regular news wrap.

When scholarships aren’t enough

It’s difficult — but not impossible — to pay for your education with grants and scholarships for college students. For any shortfall, there are always student loans.

You should always consider federal student loans before resorting to private student loans. Compare rates on private loans with your federal options just to make sure you’re getting your best rate, though. And before you decide to go with a private loan, always consider whether you may need federal student loan protections, such as income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness.

Miranda Marquit contributed to this report.

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Lender	Variable APR	Degrees That Qualify	More Info
	2.75% – 10.65%¹	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit SallieMae
	2.69% – 10.97%²	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit College Ave
	2.80% – 11.37%³	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit Discover
	3.52% – 9.50%⁴	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit CommonBond
	5.20% – 14.18%⁵	Undergraduate Graduate	Visit Ascent
	2.72% – 10.98%⁶	Undergraduate Graduate	VISIT CITIZENS
Learn more about private student loan lenders. Learn more about private student loan lenders.

Ascent Student Loans Disclosures

Before taking out private student loans, you should explore and compare all financial aid alternatives, including grants, scholarships, and federal student loans and consider your future monthly payments and income. Applying with a cosigner may improve your chance of getting approved and could help you qualify for a lower interest rate. Ascent Student Loans may be funded by Richland State Bank (RSB). Ascent Student Loan products are subject to credit qualification, completion of a loan application, verification of application information and certification of loan amount by a participating school. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions, and certain restrictions, limitations; and terms and conditions may apply. Ascent is a federally registered trademark of Turnstile Capital Management (TCM) and may be used by RSB under limited license. Richland State Bank is a federally registered service mark of Richland State Bank.

Variable rate loans are based on a margin between 1.90% and 13.50% plus the 1-Month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rounded to the nearest 1/100th of a percent. The current LIBOR is 1.629%, which may adjust monthly. Your interest rate may increase or decrease, based on LIBOR monthly changes, resulting in an Annual Percentage (APR) range between 3.14% and 11.88%. Fixed rate loans have an APR range between 4.09% and 13.03% based on your credit worthiness and your selected program. Competitive variable rates calculated monthly at the time of loan approval. Rates are effective as of 03/01/2020 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25% on the lowest offered rate and a 2.00% discount on the highest offered rate. Automatic Payment Discount is available if the borrower is enrolled in automatic payments from their personal checking account and the amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. (See Automatic Payment Discount Terms & Conditions.)
Payments may be deferred. Subject to lender discretion, forbearance and/or deferment options may be available for borrowers who are encountering financial distress.
Making interest only or partial interest payments while in school will not reduce the principal balance of the loan. There are three (3) flexible in-school repayment options that include fully deferred, interest only and $25 minimum repayment.
Flexible repayment plans may be offered up to a fifteen (15) year repayment term for a variable rate loan and ten (10) year repayment term for a fixed rate loan. Students must be enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school. Minimum loan amount is $2,000.
Interest rate reduction of 0.25% for enrollment in automatic debit applies only when the borrower and/or cosigner signs up for automatic payments and the regularly scheduled, current amount due (including full, flat, or interest only payments, as applicable) is successfully deducted from the designated bank account each month. Interest rate reduction(s) will not apply during periods when no payment is due, including periods of In-School, Deferment, Grace or Forbearance. If you have two (2) returned payments for Nonsufficient Funds, we may cancel your automatic debit enrollment and you will lose the 0.25% interest rate reduction. You will then need to re-qualify and re-enroll in automatic debit payments to receive the 0.25% interest rate reduction.
All applicants (individual and cosigner) are required to complete a brief online financial literacy course as part of the application process to be eligible for funding.
Eligibility, loan amount and other loan terms are dependent on several factors, which may include: loan product, other financial aid, creditworthiness, school, program, graduation date, major, cost of attendance and other factors. Aggregate loan limits may apply. The cost of attendance is determined and certified by the educational institution.
The legal age for entering into contracts is eighteen (18) years of age in every state except Alabama where it is nineteen (19) years old, Nebraska where it is nineteen (19) years old (only for wards of the state), and Mississippi and Puerto Rico where it is twenty-one (21) years old.
1% Cash Back Graduation Reward subject to terms and conditions. Click here for details. In order to be eligible for the 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward, borrower must meet the following criteria after graduation:
- The student borrower has graduated from the degree program that the loan was used to fund.
- The student borrower may change majors and/or transfer to a different school, but must obtain the same level of degree (e.g. – undergraduate or graduate)
- The graduation date is more than 90 days and less than five (5) years after the date of the loan’s first disbursement.
- Any loan that the student has borrowed under the Ascent loan is not more than 30-days delinquent or in a default status as of the graduation date and until any Graduation Reward is paid.
Students can apply to release their cosigner and continue with the loan in only their name after making the first 24 consecutive regularly scheduled full principal and interest payments on-time and meeting the other eligibility criteria to qualify for the loan without a cosigner.

* Application times vary depending on the applicant’s ability to supply the necessary information for submission.

⁶

Citizens Bank Disclosures

Undergraduate Rate Disclosure: Variable rate, based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As March 1, 2020, the one-month LIBOR rate is 1.62%. Variable interest rates range from 2.72% – 10.98% (2.72% – 10.83% APR) and will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a co-signer. Fixed interest rates range from 4.72% – 12.19% (4.72% – 12.04% APR) based on applicable terms, level of degree earned and presence of a co-signer. Lowest rates shown requires application with a co-signer, are for eligible applicants, require a 5-year repayment term, borrower making scheduled payments while in school and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Please note: Due to federal regulations, Citizens One is required to provide every potential borrower with disclosure information before they apply for a private student loan. The borrower will be presented with an Application Disclosure and an Approval Disclosure within the application process before they accept the terms and conditions of the loan.

Federal Loan vs. Private Loan Benefits: Some federal student loans include unique benefits that the borrower may not receive with a private student loan, some of which we do not offer with the Education Refinance Loan. Borrowers should carefully review their current benefits, especially if they work in public service, are in the military, are currently on or considering income based repayment options or are concerned about a steady source of future income and would want to lower their payments at some time in the future. When the borrower refinances, they waive any current and potential future benefits of their federal loans and replace those with the benefits of the Education Refinance Loan. For more information about federal student loan benefits and federal loan consolidation, visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/. We also have several resources available to help the borrower make a decision at http://www.citizensone.com/EdRefinance, including Should I Refinance My Student Loans? and our FAQs. Should I Refinance My Student Loans? includes a comparison of federal and private student loan benefits that we encourage the borrower to review.

Citizens One Student Loan Eligibility: Borrowers must be enrolled at least half-time in a degree-granting program at an eligible institution. Borrowers must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or an international borrower/eligible non-citizen with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident co-signer. For borrowers who have not attained the age of majority in their state of residence, a co-signer is required. Citizens One reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at anytime. Interest rate ranges subject to change. Citizens One Student Loans private student loans are subject to credit qualification, completion of a loan application/consumer credit agreement, verification of application information, and if applicable, self-certification form, school certification of the loan amount, and student’s enrollment at a Citizens One Student Loans-participating school.

Please Note: International Students are not eligible for the multi-year approval feature.

Loyalty Discount Disclosure: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower or their co-signer (if applicable) has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower and their co-signer (if applicable) have submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: any checking account, savings account, money market account, certificate of deposit, automobile loan, home equity loan, home equity line of credit, mortgage, credit card account, or other student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DE, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, and VT and some products may have an associated cost. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate disclosed in the Loan Approval Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan.

Automatic Payment Discount Disclosure: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. Discount is not available when payments are not due, such as during forbearance. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account three or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount.