The best way to search for scholarships and fellowships is to use a personalized search, like the, that compares your background with a database of awards. Only those awards that fit your profile are identified as matches.There are several free scholarship databases available online. With more than 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion, the  is the largest, most accurate and most frequently updated scholarship database. If you supply an email address, they will notify you when new awards that match your profile are added to the database. You can even submit an electronic application to some of the scholarships listed in the FastWeb scholarship database, saving you time and money. FastWeb also includes a college search and numerous other student resources.

In addition to the FastWeb scholarship search, you may want to search one of the. It doesn't take much time to search and it's free. To find small local awards that aren't listed in any book or database, look for notices posted on bulletin boards at your school's guidance office, the public library and outside the financial aid office at nearby colleges and universities.

You can also search for scholarships using your favorite by including the word "scholarships" with your search keywords.College alumni and other private scholarship sponsors occasionally establish scholarships with esoteric eligibility requirements, such as a scholarship for left-handed students. Although there aren't many of these, they often attract a lot of attention because of their slightly offbeat nature.The most  also attract a lot of attention because they are among the most lucrative and competitive awards. Many colleges also offer

Average students often ask whether there are any scholarships available to students who don't have a 4.0 GPA. There are many  that focus on qualities besides academic merit, as well as a variety of . There are also many and .Most scholarship search sites do not allow children under age 13 to register because of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Unfortunately, this prevents parents from finding out about scholarships for students under age 13. FinAid has compiled a comprehensive list ofcDon't waste your money on fee-based scholarship matching services. You won't get any better information than you can get from the free services available on the Web.Once you've identified the scholarships for which you are eligible, FinAid has many good suggestions on how to maximize your chances of. Scholarships that sound too good to be true usually are. Learn how to recognize and protect yourself from the most. The number one tip: If you have to pay money to get money, it's probably a scam.It is important to ask the school's financial aid office about its, since this can affect how much you benefit from winning a scholarship if you are receiving need-based student aid.A portion of your scholarship might be. Usually mounts used for tuition and required fees are tax-free, but you should review the rules to ensure that you report the scholarship correctly.The Maine legislature passed a law in June 2009 that bans collecting personal information from Maine residents under age 18. This has the unintended consequence of preventing many Maine high school students (and some college freshmen) from registering on free scholarship matching web sites. The Maine legislature will be nsidering the legislation in early 2010. In the meantime, a list of selected is available on the FastWeb web site. (Registration is not required to look at this list of scholarships.)The most reliable information about the number and amount of scholarships can be found in the, a statistically representative survey of ndergraduate and graduate students conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the US Department of Education. FinAid also presents an analysis of the in the major scholarship databases, reporting the precision and recall of each database. Students who are awarded scholarships often need additional financial assistance. See the section for information on student and parent loans. To find out about contest, grants and other aid options, visit the section discussing . The Other Types of Aid section also provides information about scholarships for students with specific interests or abilities.Businesses and philanthropists who are thinking about sponsoring a new scholarship may find the  section helpful.