There are scholarships aimed at cultural or ethnic groups; within the bounds of civil rights laws, private groups can offer grants to minority groups or immigrant students who come from a particular part of the world.
Many unions and professional associations offer scholarships to the
children of their members. Some companies help pay the college costs of
the children of employees. (Don’t overlook one of the greatest benefits of
working for a college: most offer free tuition to children of employees, and
there is a growing trend toward interchangeability of that benefit among
groups of schools.)
Finally, don’t overlook your own backyard. Your student’s high school
academic adviser should be able to provide a list of scholarships and workstudy
programs sponsored by area businesses, service groups, and individuals.
As an example, my hometown has a large pool of money—a combination
of private bequests and contributions by taxpayers who send an additional
check along with the annual property tax payment (they really do)—that is
offered through the high school and distributed at graduation.
Where to Find Private Scholarships
Let me start by saying that any book you might purchase that claims to
list thousands of private scholarship programs you can apply to right now and
go to college for free! is probably not worth the paper it is printed on. First of all,
there is a nearly continuous stream of changes in these programs from month
to month and year to year. Second, even if you expect that 50 percent of the
scholarships listed in a book are no longer offered or have changed substantially,
the publication is probably missing hundreds or thousands of new programs.
The best way to find private scholarships is to beat the bushes yourself:
contact your student’s guidance counselor, ask any association or group to
which you belong, consult area service groups, and do a search on the Internet.
Beware of scholarship Web sites or consultants that offer to match you with a grant
program after you pay a fee. In most cases, you can find the same scholarships
by searching on your own.
The best time to start looking for a local or association scholarship
is a year or two before your student will actually be making application to
college. Once you find a scholarship your student is eligible for, spend the
time to carefully read all of the fine print. See if there is something in your
child’s background that can be highlighted to bring the application to the
top of the pile. Find out whether your child would be a strong candidate
for a particular scholarship if he or she were to perform a particular type of
community service or commit to a highly specific major in high school or
college. By checking early, you’ll have a year or more to prepare.
Work your way down this list (adding any other sources that you
know about) and make contact a year or more before you begin the college
application process:
• Unions. Funds may be available to help young members, or the
children of members.
• Professional associations. Special-interest groups may offer
funds to the children of members, sometimes aimed at
encouraging more graduates in a particular field.
• Service clubs. For example: Elks, Jaycees, Kiwanis, Lions, Rotary
International, Sertoma, and Zonta, among others.
• Employer programs. Some companies offer financial aid to the
children of their employees, or may offer to assist with nightschool
or part-time tuition for workers of any age.
• Local governments. Some towns, villages, and cities collect
contributions from residents and use them to award scholarships
to local students.
• Local school districts. In some areas, the schools themselves
oversee endowments or one-time contributions from area
businesses and groups aimed at assisting students in need or
those who have demonstrated exceptional civic involvement.
• Corporate scholarship programs. Some of the country’s
best-known companies as well as hundreds of other lesserknown
businesses disburse scholarships each year. Look for
advertisements and promotions in stores and on the products
you purchase.
• Private foundations. There are thousands of privately
administered scholarships, worth millions of dollars. Many
of these grants are aimed at special interests of the donors:
minorities, persons with special needs, and immigrants, for
example. Other programs may be aimed at encouraging students
who promise to deliver needed services to remote areas; an
example is medical scholarships that are based on the student’s
promise to work as a doctor or nurse in underserved areas.
Read More: PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIPS
