A Guide To Scholarship Search Services, Admissions And Financial Aid Information

There are literally thousands of scholarships that can be accessed through publications and the World Wide Web. Here, you will find several free scholarship search services, admissions and financial aid information, and publications/pamphlets you can access by mail or the World Wide Web.  The Springfield Foundation does not administer these sites and claims no liability for information obtained from them; they are simply listed for your information. For additional information pertaining to scholarships, grants and loans, contact your local library.

How Scholarship Searches Work

Your potential eligibility for an award is determined by a match between a profile you create and the criteria established by the sponsor of the award. A typical example of a profile includes: hobbies, major area of study, community activities, job duties, memberships, GPA, awards, etc. Scholarship searches calculate only your potential eligibility for an award. You will probably receive some type of a listing that will reflect scholarships that match your profile. Once you receive this information, it is up to you to write to the sponsor in order to apply for an award.  Persistence and follow-up are key ingredients of a successful search.

Free Scholarship Search Services, Admissions and Financial Aid Information

• About: College Admissions: U.S. offers a wide variety of links to help students locate scholarship opportunities for minorities. Visit www.collegeapps.about.com.
• ACT Test information, including test dates, test preparation and test registration, can be found at www.ACT.org.
• Back to School offers many links to scholarship help, including financial aid for adults returning to college. Visit their website at www.back2college.com.
• College Board can help you locate scholarships, loans and internships from non-college sources. They have a database of over 2,300 undergraduate scholarships. You can get additional information, including SAT test dates, from their website at www.collegeboard.org.
• College is Possible is a site that includes a section devoted to helping working adults who want to return to school; also has information on how to pay for college and tips on budgeting. Visit www.collegeispossible.org.
• CollegeNET MACH 25 is a free scholarship search on the Web. You can access specific scholarship information related to your field of study. Mach25 database contains over 600,000 awards totaling over $1.6 billion. For additional information, visit their website at www.collegenet.com.
• College Scholarships  In addition to a page with links to 10 different free scholarship search engines, this site offers an online directory of college admission and financial aid offices and links to college homepages. Visit their website at www.college-scholarships.com.
• College Tool Kit is a scholarship search site that helps students find scholarships and apply for them online. Visit their website at www.collegetoolkit.com.
• College View offers an overview of financial aid as well as several search options. Visit their website at www.collegeview.com.
• Common Application – or www.commonapp.org – will save you time by gaining access to one common application form that is accepted by many colleges or universities. Schools accepting the common application form are listed on the site.
• FAFSA Information is available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. To qualify for federal financial aid (Pell grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), loans, work study) you must file a “Free Application for Federal Student Aid.”  In addition, many college and independent scholarships require the “Student Aid Report,” or SAR, generated by this application as documentation of financial need.
• FastWEB (Financial Aid Search Through the WEB) is the Internet’s leading scholarship search service and helps students make the decisions that shape their lives. FastWEB allows you to create a personalized profile that can be matched against an expansive database of over 1.3 million scholarships worth over $3 billion. FastWEB also notifies students when new scholarships are added and application deadlines are approaching. Visit them at www.fastweb.com.
• FinAid  To help students avoid wasting money on scholarship search services, the Financial Aid Information Page provides a comprehensive and free resource for financial aid on the World Wide Web. This general financial aid page is a great starting point for your web search. It is well organized, with lots of good links. The address of this page is http://www.finaid.org/ and the e-mail address for inquiries is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
• GoCollege is now a complete free database featuring over 800,000 awards totaling over $2.8 billion in scholarship aid. Visit their website at www.gocollege.com.
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is at www.hsf.net. The website of the HSF, the nation’s leading organization supporting Hispanic higher education, includes information on many different scholarship opportunities.
• MI-SEARCH is an information service that guides students through the scholarship search process. These scholarships consist of privately sponsored scholarships and scholarships offered by various colleges. The specific listings can be found by using their website at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid. From this site, a link is provided to two national scholarship database services. By using either service, a Michigan student will receive information about specific scholarships and national scholarships listed in the database that match the student’s profile information.
• NextStudent is a valuable scholarship search tool that allows you to search more than 42,000 college funding sources comprised of more than 2.4 million individually awarded scholarships valued at over $3.4 billion. Visit their website at www.nextstudent.com.
• Peterson’s College Quest makes it quick and easy to find the right scholarships for you with a database of nearly $8 billion worth of scholarships. Visit their website at www.collegequest.com for more information.
• The Princeton Review has up-to-date, valid scholarships and they don’t sell their user’s names to anyone. A general overview of the college application process is included on this site. In addition, it provides a section devoted to graduate school admissions. Visit their website at www.princetonreview.com for additional information.
• Scholarship has a database of 3,000 sources worth up to $3 billion worth of scholarships. Their mission is to help parents and students become aware of available college scholarships and assist them in obtaining funds for college. Scholarships.com’s goal is to enhance the opportunity to obtain educational funds by providing practical tools, information, and resources. Visit their website at www.scholarships.com.
• Scholarship Resource Network Express (SRN) contains a database of over 8,000 programs with a distribution level of over 150,000 awards worth a total of more than $35 million. For more information, send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call them at 301.670.1260 or visit their website at www.srnexpress.com.
• Student Awards at www.studentawards.com is a service that will match students to a variety of available scholarships and other cash awards.
• Study Abroad at www.studyabroad.com is for high school, college, graduate school, and adult learning.
• United Negro College Fund at www.uncf.org provides information on assistance for African American students.
• Dept. of Education Office of Postsecondary Education at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/index.html will help you decide which school is right for you and what your best loan options are. A list of scholarships is also available, including free matching options. This site also provides a detailed overview of government student aid programs.
   

The Springfield Foundation hopes that you have found this Guide to be a useful tool as you begin your search for higher education.  We encourage you to seek the help of your high school guidance counselor(s) and college financial aid offices for other options that may not have been listed in this Guide.

We welcome any suggestions or comments you may have on this Guide. Feel free to call us at 937.324.8773 or e-mail your comments to Joan Elder, Program Officer, Springfield Foundation, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it