Scholarships: Don’t turn down free money

Cost for education is horrendous and tuition fees are still climbing. Regardless of who you are, education is important and the desire to pay as little as possible if or maybe NOTHING for your degree is on the top of your list. Certainly, you can pick a less expensive college, but your education will most likely still cost you thousand of dollars unless you start looking for money. The only way to get scholarships is to apply for them. You may feel like scholarship awards are too competitive for you to be eligible for many, but someone has to win, so why shouldn’t it be you?

• Do you want to use your service members GI Bill?
• MyCAA is a very popular program for military spouses to use for their education, though it has limits in eligibility.
• The Fisher House Foundation has Scholarship opportunities
• Take a look at your local sources like post/base wives clubs
• Have you considered your branch emergency fund associations? They are NOT just there to support you in an emergency but also offer generous scholarships.
  • Army Emergency Relief (AER)   www.aerhq.org
  • Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA)   www.cgmahq.org
  • Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS)   www.nmcrs.org
  • Reserve Aid   www.reserveaid.org
  • Navy Marine Corps Relief Society – http://www.nmcrs.org/
• MOAA offers a scholarship finder search engine.
• ThanksUSA Scholarship Program webpage
• This site has an extensive list of military spouse financial aid resources to just start a short list:
  • Air Force Spouse Scholarship Program
    www.afa.org/aef/aid/spouse.asp
  • American Association of University Women
    www.aauw.org
  • American Patriot Freedom Scholarship
    www.homefrontamerica.org/oohrahhome.htm
  • Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association
    www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/
  • Army Scholarship Foundation
    www.armyscholarshipfoundation.org
  • Book Scholarship
    www.bookscholarship.com
  • Broke Scholar
    www.brokescholar.com
  • CinCHouse.com
    www.cinchouse.com
  • College Net www.collegenet.com/mach25
  • College Toolkit www.collegetoolkit.com
    
  • College Scholarships www.collegescholarships.org
  • Fast Web www.fastweb.com
  • Fin Aid www.finaid.org
  • Fleet Reserve Association www.fra.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=10057
  • Folds of Honor Scholarship www.foldsofhonor.com/scholarships.php
    
  • FreSch! www.freschinfo.com
  • Hispanic Scholarship Fund www.hsf.net
  • Hope for the Warriors www.hopeforthewarriors.org/spouse.html
  • Military.com www.military.com

and so many more…..

While it might take a little studying to work your way through the vast see of information, it is very much worth it as your proceed on your way to a higher education and a well paid job.

I have found great articles here to start planning and applying for scholarships:

• Create Success: Find Money for College
• Etiquette and the Scholarship Search
• Finding Scholarships; How & Where to Look
• High School Students: Investigate Scholarship Options Early
• Scholarship Application
• Scholarship Application Deadlines
• Scholarship Essays: Efficient Scholarship Essay Writing for the Uninitiated
• Scholarship Guidelines; Help Us Help You Find Scholarships
• Scholarship Strategy: Creating a Successful Approach
• Scholarship Strategy: The Scholarship Application Process
• Simplify Scholarship Essay Writing: Get Organized
• The Scholarship Letter of Recommendation
• Tips for Formatting Scholarship Application Essays
• Top 10 Tips for Directing a Scholarship-Worthy Video
• Top 10 Tips for Writing Effective Scholarship Essays
• Winning Scholarships; Attention to Detail Will Pay Off
• Write A Scholarship-Worthy Essay