Lauren Magrane wrote her first resume when she was thirteen. The daughter of a high-school guidance counselor, she knew that it was important to keep track of her accomplishments so she’d have a record when she started applying for schools—and scholarships. By the time she graduated from Chapel Hill High School in Douglasville last spring, Lauren had applied for two dozen private scholarships and earned sixteen of them.

 

Among her awards were scholarships from the Rotary Club, the United Way, her school, Kohl’s department store, and a Japanese summer exchange program. Then there was the $500 she received from the Atlanta Sky-Hi Club for penning an essay, “What Being Tall Means to Me.” Now a freshman at Providence College in Rhode Island, Lauren says, “Some of them were quirky scholarships. You have to just apply for everything. Just throw your information out there and hopefully something will catch.”

 

The thought of paying for college is initially daunting; there’s no denying that tuition and fees are rising—they went up more than 6 percent last year. According to the College Board, in 2007–2008, average annual tuition for four-year schools is $23,712 at private colleges and $6,185 at public. The good news, according to the College Board’s latest report, is that there is more than $130 billion in financial aid available, and the majority of students (53 percent) attend colleges that charge less than $9,000 a year in fees and tuition, while few (6 percent) attend schools with tuition of $33,000 or more.

 

The bottom line: There’s a lot of money out there—if you’re willing to do a little work to get it.

There are two main award sources: merit-based money from colleges and universities, and private funds from independent groups. While the largest pay-outs usually come from the schools directly, those awards are harder to come by. “The best and most dependable type of scholarship is the merit scholarship, but you can’t get them until the child’s been accepted and you see how much money the school will offer,” says Atlanta-based education consultant Lida Griest, who advocates pursuing these kinds of scholarships over the smaller, independent grants. “I don’t think the little scholarships are worth it,” Griest says. “Instead, I think it helps to focus your child toward the schools that have a lot of merit money.”

 

But other education pros think the smaller, private scholarships are certainly worth pursuing. “Every penny counts,” says education consultant Wendy Williams. “Even if it’s $500, that pays for maybe a year’s worth of books.”

 

Typically, as much as $100 million in private scholarship funds can go unclaimed each year, according to a report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Only approximately 7 percent of undergraduate students receive private scholarships (with an average of $1,982 per award).

 

The easiest place to start a search for independent scholarships is the Internet. There are dozens of sites—such as collegeboard.com and studentaid.ed.gov—that offer vast databases of available awards. Scholarshipexperts.com, for example, boasts of a scholarship database of 2.4 million awards worth more than $14 billion. 

 

“These sites are wonderful because they help match the hobbies, the interests, and the academic abilities of the student. But be aware that it’s just a database,” says Williams. “They’re not a one-stop shop. [The process is] more involved than going to a website, applying, and waiting for them to come to you. Don’t stop there.”

Beyond the web, there are plenty of commonsense resources that many students tend to overlook, says Roxie Garber, a college and career center coordinator at Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs. Parents should check with their human resources departments to see if their employers offer internal scholar ships for the children of employees. Locally, for example, both Coca-Cola and UPS offer scholarships to the children of employees, and these awards can be significant. The Johnston Legacy Scholars Program from Coca-Cola Enterprises, for instance, is worth up to $20,000 per student.

 

Students who are employed can find out if their employers offer scholarships to student staff members. For example, Chick-fil-A has a substantial Leadership Scholarship program for employees who are active in their schools and communities and who demonstrate leadership abilities. Similarly, Wal-Mart awards scholarships to employees based on academic record, job performance, and financial need.

 

Some religious organizations give scholarships to families. Various professional organizations do the same for the children of their members. Garber said she’s even found scholarship advertisements in magazines and newspapers and in radio commercials. “I think people would be surprised at how many scholarships are out there and how many go untapped,” says Garber, who suggests that students start researching scholarships at least by their junior years (even earlier if possible) so they get a feel for what’s out there when they’re ready to apply.

 

And the application process is key. Thanks to the Internet, thousands of other students now know about all the once-obscure scholarships that are out there, so competition is more fierce for those free dollars. It’s critical that applications are as good as possible, says Marie Mons, director of student financial planning and services at Georgia Tech. “The students I meet who are successful in securing scholarships from outside sources won them by clearly being able to state their achievements and accomplishments,” says Mons. “That’s what stands out.”

 

It also helps if the student already has a college major in mind because many independent scholarships come from professional organizations and clubs. Knowing a career path can help narrow the search when sifting through hundreds of thousands of potential awards in a database. “Focus in on your child and figure out where you can help package them, so to speak, in certain areas,” advises Jennifer Klein of Sandy Springs, who has two children attending the University of Georgia on merit-based scholarships. “Assess your child and discover that there’s going to be areas in which any child is going to be competitive and be willing to do the background work.” Her son received a Foundation Fellowship scholarship at UGA, which covers full cost of attendance (including room and board), and her daughter earned the HOPE and additional scholarships which go toward books, room and board, and other expenses.

 

Parents and students don’t need to go it alone. There are plenty of professionals out there who can help with the scholarship search, including high school counselors and college financial aid offices as well as other parents who have already been through the process. “Each of these players can play a significant role,” says Mons. “It really does take a village to put together a strategy, not only applying for and selecting a college but figuring out a financial plan.”