Scholarships can be used to meet student unmet need without reducing their aid package.

A scholarship will not change the student's EFC, but it usually will reduce the amount of money that the student will need to borrow to go to college.

Approximately $49.49 billion goes into the US educational system, making the private sector the leader in funding at 55% of the available scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans domestically. According to the Association of Fund Raising Counsel, 3.5% or almost 1 billion dollars of private sector monies went undistributed. The average undergraduate scholarship is $5000 per year, ranging from a low of $100 to a high of $25,000.

80% of the private sector does not require a financial statement or proof of need. Private sector deadlines are passing daily because they are often set to coincide with the tax year or organizational meeting dates. Many application questions deal with personal, occupational, and educational background; organizational affiliation; talent, or ethnic origins. 90% are not concerned with grades. (Cassidy, 2001).

Don't forget about scholarships: Scholarship applications often consist of little more than some basic personal information and a brief essay.

Many community organizations offer scholarships for outstanding students and students going into particular fields of study. Also, some businesses offer scholarships to the children of their employees. Students should contact the various civic, fraternal, religious, ethnic, social, and professional organizations in their community.

There are many scholarship books available for free by going to a college or public library and checking in the reference section. There are also free scholarship search services on the web.

There are many FREE sources of information available to students:

• The Internet
• PACT counselors
• High school counselors
• High school college and career centers
• College and University financial aid offices
• Local public libraries

Beware of companies that solicit you through the mail to pay for their services to "find" scholarships for you. You should never pay a fee for scholarship searches. These companies have stationery that looks and sounds very official, but they are just trying to make you pay for information that you can get for free.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns students to beware if the scholarship service:

• Guarantees that a student has won a scholarship

• Says that this scholarship information is not available anywhere else

• Requests a credit card or bank account number so that they can hold the scholarship for the student

• Promises that the service will do all the application work

• Requests payment before they give the scholarship

• Claims a "national foundation has selected you to receive a scholarship" or "you are a finalist" in a contest the student never entered

• Offers membership in a club that guarantees funds for college.