This post will serve as a one-stop shop for scholarship brainstorming. This is the complete and exhaustive guide you will need to find scholarships to pay for schooling. Disclaimer: There is no guarantee of any scholarships, and work will need to be completed on your end. But sometimes, getting started is the hardest part. I hope you find this helpful, and I’m here to help if you have any questions. I present to you – the scholarship guide from TheCollegeDude.

Merit-Based Scholarships

1. Offered through the Financial Aid Office of the college you’ll be attending. Don’t be afraid to try to negotiate for more.
2. The National Merit Scholarship (must take the PSAT).

High School Guidance Counselor’s Office

1. Physical paper applications (some still exist).
2. Navience (if your school uses this site).
3. Online Blackboard
4. Looking up the websites of other schools (if your school is lacking).

Social Media

Look up keywords using #scholarship or #scholarships

1. Twitter
2. Pinterest
3. Instagram
4. Facebook
5. LinkedIn

Veteran Organizations

1. American Legion
2. Paralyzed Vets of America
3. Veterans of Foreign Wars
4. American Legion Auxiliary

Google

The expression “just google it” can work well with scholarships. Some things to help get you started:

1. Disability-related
2. Musical or art-related
3. Future career or profession
4. College Major
5. Hobbies
6. Demographics
7. Heritage
8. Professions/Social Clubs in your family

Local Ideas

Sometimes, it’s best to shop local. See if your local town offers scholarships. Some places to start:

1. Community foundations (search by zip code)
2. Local Banks & Credit Unions
3. Religious Groups/Churches
4. Your employer
5. Your parent’s employer
6. Local Law office
7. Local Dentist office
8. Local Small Businesses
9. Elks Club
10. Rotary Vlub
11. Local Newspaper that will list scholarships of recent graduates
12. Sports clubs

Books to order

1. The Ultimate Scholarship Book
2. The Foundation List of Grants
3. Foundation List Website

Online Search Engines

1. Big Future (College Board)
2. Broke Scholar
3. Cappex
4. Career One Stop
5. Chegg
6. College Toolkit
7. Collegeanswer.com
8. CollegeData
9. CollegeXpress
10. Discover’s Scholarship List
11. Fastweb
12. JLV Counseling
13. Niche
14. Peterson’s
15. ScholarshipPortal
16. Scholarships.com
17. Scholarships360.org
18. Student Scholarship
19. Studentscholarships.org
20. StudentScholarshipsearch.com
21. Tuition Funding Sources
22. Unigo

I do hope you enjoy the scholarship guide. Let me know what you think!