The federal government awards $120 billion dollars in student financial aid each year to 13 million students in the form of grants, loans and federal work-study funds.
But many times, that still isn't enough.
During the 2017 academic year, the average family said their student received $8,390 in financial aid, which accounted for about 35 percent of their total college costs, while contributions from parents averaged only 23 percent, according to a report by Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab.
Pointing to the need for families to find college funding beyond financial aid, the same report found that one in 10 community college students have had to go a whole day without eating in the past month.
Another source of income for many students is scholarship programs. Nearly half of all students received some type of scholarship, according to recent report from Sallie Mae.
Fortunately for families, however, there are ways to be proactive about finding scholarships for college-bound children, according to a recent report by Kiplinger.
The consumer finance website suggested the following ways in which clients can seek out scholarship funding:
Online Scholarship Finders
Students looking to secure funds online through online scholarship finders should make sure to fill out all questions, including the optional ones when creating their profile, according to a recent report on scholarship searches from CNBC.
Colleges and Universities
Students should include their college or university’s financial aid office in their search for scholarship funding. However, regardless of the scholarship’s source, students should be sure the scholarship information is legitimate and free to apply for, according to the Federal Office of Student Aid.
Employers
Working students can search for scholarships via their employer or the employers of their parents. For example, the Burger King Scholars program has awarded more than $32 million in scholarship awards to high school students who were employees or the children of employees.
Spiritual Organizations
Places of worship are a frequent source of scholarship programs. For example, the American Baptist Home Mission Society offers a scholarship for active American Baptist students. Kiplinger noted there are also options for those who are not religious: American Atheists, for example, has its own scholarship program.
The Community
Many community organizations, from local to national, offer scholarship funding to resident students. The California State PTA offers an annual scholarship for graduating seniors in the state, while the New Jersey Rotary Club provides financial assistance each year to local students, according to Kiplinger.
High Schools and Elementary Schools
Occasionally, schools with funding from their parent- association award scholarships to their alumni, says Kiplinger.
Hobby Groups
If there's a hobby, there's also a chance there's a group associated with it that has a scholarship program, according to Kiplinger. The National Asparagus Club, for example, is awarding an $8,000 scholarship to a student earning a degree in food management.
Companies and Philanthropic Foundations
The Coca Cola Scholars Foundation offers overs financial support to 1,400 to college students who have demonstrated leadership and service in their communities each year, according to Kiplinger.
Contests and Sweepstakes
The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest, for example, is awarding $19,500 to the winner of the organization’s speech contest. These options are quicker than traditional application processes, but can be more difficult to land because of some of the random selection processes, according to Scholarships.com, which added that applicants should never have to pay a processing fee to win scholarship money.
The full Kiplinger report can be viewed here.
