7 ways to get money for university

Money
7 ways to find free money for
college
(MoneyWatch) 'Tis the season when parents and high
school students who will be in college next year
should start looking for scholarships.
The good news is that scholarships are easier than
ever to find and apply for thanks to online tools that
can connect students to billions of dollars' worth of
funds. For instance, using a service offered by
SallieMae, students can find over 3 million
scholarships worth over $16 billion dollars. Some
other salient scholarship facts courtesy of the
education loan and services provide:
- Scholarships and grants paid for 30 percent of the
total college costs in 2013, up from 25 percent four
years ago.
- In 2013, scholarships covered 16 percent of costs,
and grants covered 14 percent.
- Most households who get scholarships receive them
from a college (61 percent), although families also
report getting scholarships from community and
nonprofit groups, as well as and state-based
scholarships.
- By school type, four-year private school students
were the most likely to use either grants or
scholarships to pay for school, which covered 37
percent of their college costs. Grants and scholarships
paid for 34 percent of costs for students attending
two-year public colleges and 22 percent of costs for
students attending four-year public colleges.
- By income, average scholarship usage is highest
among middle-income families (44 percent),
compared to high- (36 percent) and low- (35 percent)
income families.
- Nine in 10 families used some type of resource to
help them plan ahead to pay for college. The most
widely used resource, scholarship search websites,
was used by 60 percent of families.
How to win scholarships
But the larger question for families remains where to
find the money. Here is a seven-point plan for
students and parents to follow:
1). Never stop applying. There are scholarships open
to students as early as grade school. Also, you should
not stop applying for scholarships after you graduate
from high school. Keep applying throughout college.
2). Use online tools. Start with the Sallie Mae's
scholarship search tool, which is user-friendly and
free. Also check out tools
at Scholarships.com and FederalStudentAid .
3). Don't miss deadlines. Scholarships are very strict
when it comes to deadlines. You need to be organized
and make sure you know when everything is due.
4). Set aside time to search. Set aside time to follow
up on the latest matches from scholarship search
engines, fill out forms or work on essays.
5). Look for backyard scholarships. Check out
alumni clubs, community groups and religious
organizations, which are all potential sources for
what's known as backyard scholarships. While these
scholarships have smaller prizes, they are often the
easiest to win and add up quickly.
6). Check it twice. Review everything before you
send. Typos are a sure way not to be considered for a
scholarship.
7). Avoid scholarship or financial aid scams.
Anyone promising to guarantee you a scholarship for
a fee is pulling a fast one. Legitimate scholarship
databases are free. You shouldn't pay more than a
postage stamp since legitimate scholarship programs
do not require an upfront fee. The U.S. Department of
Education, U.S. Department of Justice and Federal
Trade Commission monitor and prosecute scholarship
and financial aid fraud.