How can I get a Scholarship?
There are multiple types of scholarships and each one needs different abilities or circumstances to get awarded. The following table gives an overview of the different types of scholarships, but for most of them you will need to take an ACT test at www.actstudent.org.
| Merit-based | These awards are based on a student's academic, artistic, athletic or other abilities, and often factor in an applicant's extracurricular activities and community service record. |
| Need-based | Need-based scholarships are only for students who can't affort this type of education. They require the results of the FAFSA. |
| Student-specific | These are scholarships for which applicants must initially qualify based upon gender, race, religion, family and medical history, or many other student-specific factors. |
| Career-specific | These are scholarships a college or university awards to students who plan to pursue a specific field of study. |
| College-specific | College-specific scholarships are offered by individual colleges and universities to highly qualified applicants. These scholarships are given on the basis of academic and personal achievement. Some scholarships have a "bond" requirement. Recipients may be required to work for a particular employer for a specified period of time or to work in rural or remote areas; otherwise they may be required to repay the value of the support they received from the scholarship. |
| Athletic | Awarded to students with exceptional skill in a sport. Often this is so that the student will be available to attend the school or college and play the sport on their team, although in some countries government funded sports scholarships are available, allowing scholarship holders to train for international representation.[6][7] School-based athletics scholarships can be controversial, as some believe that awarding scholarship money for athletic rather than academic or intellectual purposes is not in the institution's best interest. |
| Brand Scholarships | These scholarships are sponsored by a brand that is trying to gain attention to their brand, or a cause. Sometimes these scholarships are referred to as branded scholarships. |
| Creative Contest Scholarships | These scholarships are awarded to students based on a creative submission. |