Best websites to find and apply for scholarships?

I live in a small town, and even though my school counselors try to help, they haven’t given me any clear guidance on where to find scholarships. They always just say, ‘There are scholarships out there, you just have to look.’ But where? My parents aren’t much help—my dad doesn’t know much about the college process, and my mom isn’t interested in helping right now.

Any recommendations for good scholarship websites? I’m a female high school senior in Texas, first-generation college student, mixed Mexican and white. My family makes too much to qualify for need-based scholarships, so I’m focusing on merit-based ones. I do well academically and my main extracurriculars are band, FCCLA, and community service. Any advice is appreciated!

Try searching for merit-based scholarships online! A lot of sites like Unigo, Bold.org, and Scholarships360 have listings.

Not sure, sorry.

Hart said:
Not sure, sorry.

Thanks anyway!

Kirby said:

Hart said:
Not sure, sorry.

Thanks anyway!

The internet is your best friend for this stuff.

Check out equipmentleases.com—they offer scholarships every year.

Ira said:
Check out equipmentleases.com—they offer scholarships every year.

Do these scholarships get sent directly to students?

@Dalen
What happens if I’m finishing my associate’s degree and transferring to a university next year? I applied for scholarships, but I don’t know where I’ll end up yet.

@Dalen
That makes sense. Thanks for the advice!

@Ren
According to their site, the funds go directly to your school’s financial aid office, not to you personally.

Chan said:
@Ren
According to their site, the funds go directly to your school’s financial aid office, not to you personally.

Are these better than the ones my school filters for us?

Chan said:
@Ren
According to their site, the funds go directly to your school’s financial aid office, not to you personally.

That’s disappointing, but good to know.

Ren said:

Chan said:
@Ren
According to their site, the funds go directly to your school’s financial aid office, not to you personally.

That’s disappointing, but good to know.

If you already took out loans, a scholarship like this could reduce what you owe. Some schools will issue a refund check if there’s money left over after tuition is paid.

Is Unigo legit?

CampusReel offers a $2,000 scholarship, and when you apply, they send you other scholarships you qualify for.

CampusReel scholarship might be worth checking out!

I mainly use Scholarships360.org and GoingMerry.

Reilly said:
I mainly use Scholarships360.org and GoingMerry.

Have you actually won any scholarships from those sites, or just applied?

Kirby said:

Reilly said:
I mainly use Scholarships360.org and GoingMerry.

Have you actually won any scholarships from those sites, or just applied?

Still waiting on a response, lol.

@Nova
Yeah, not a surprise.

Bold.org, Scholarships360, and the scholarship page on CollegeBoard are good places to start. I keep track of all my applications in a Google Doc so I don’t lose track of deadlines.