Finding Scholarships to Fund Your Education

By Brandy Olson


Affording the tuition of the university of your dreams doesn’t have to mean pulling out thousands of dollars in student loans. While student loans have traditionally been a popular financing option for students who would otherwise be unable to afford tuition, the slow job market has many wondering whether or not the debt obtained during the college years is worth the education. The answer is still yes, a college education is worth the investment. However, for those not comfortable with having $35,000 in debt upon graduation, there are scholarships and other avenues available to help you avoid pulling out student loans. 

Scholarships have long been a popular avenue for obtaining free money for college. Unfortunately, most prospective college students believe that you have to have a perfect grade point average and a lengthy list of extracurricular activities or be a star athlete to receive one. There are, however, many scholarships open to regular students that simply require essays to compete for scholarships ranging in amounts from $500 to $10,000.  

Many scholarships can be found through online scholarship search engines such as FastWeb.com or Scholarships.com. By entering in your information, including year in school, state of residence, and the college you plan on attending, these online programs can link you to dozens of scholarships that you are eligible to apply for. 

Other great ways to find scholarships, is to ask around the local businesses and see if they offer any. Many companies are eager to give back to the communities that support them, and large big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Target both offer scholarships, as well as many small local companies. While most large companies offer scholarships only to employees or to the family members of employees, others such as StorageMart, offer scholarships to whomever wishes to apply. 

The StorageMart ScholarSmarts Scholarship Program offers five $1,000 scholarships to the five individuals with the best essays. Those who apply for the contest don’t have to be renting a storage unit and don’t have to be related to anyone working for StorageMart in order to apply. As long as you are a going to be enrolled in a undergraduate or graduate degree program part or full time, you are eligible for application. 

In addition to scholarships, future college students have several other avenues available to them to pay for college. The FAFSA, state funded programs, and dual credit high school classes all allow students to either reduce or completely diminish the cost of a college education. No one is going to simply hand you money. You are going to have to work for it, or at least apply for it, so take the time needed so that you are able to walk out of school debt free.