Online-Degree-Scholarships Blog

Students often have questions like whether there are any scholarships available for average candidates. It is widely believed that educational aid is available only to students with an impressive academic background. It is, however, not only a high GPA that makes you a deserving candidate to receive a scholarship. Financial support is provided even for those students who do not have an A average. The selection criteria vary from one scholarship to another. If you are an average student, you do need to prove and show your excellence in a non-academic area.

Besides academic criteria, there several other selection criteria to focus on students who are average in their academic capabilities but excel in other non-educational fields like athletic skills, community service, artistic merit and extracurricular activities among others. Besides having academic excellence, there are a number of other fields where students can prove their extraordinary and amazing capabilities.

Given below is a list of some of the most popular scholarships awarded to average candidates under different categories. Have a look.

Creative Skills

David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarships
Instituted by David Letterman in the year 1985, the scholarship program targets candidates who are average in education but they are gifted with creativity. If you have a creative mind and can prove it through your work, you can be eligible to receive this education aid. Under this program, the winner receives $10,000 while the first and second runner up receives $5,000 and $3,333 respectively.

Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest
You are eligible to apply for this scholarship if you are aged 14 years or above. The eligibility criteria for this scholarship includes US citizenship, entering as a couple (two students) and attending a high school prom attired in duct tape made accessories. The scholarship program rewards both the contending couple and the school hosting the prom an amount of $2,500 each. For further details, you can log on to StuckatProm website.

Overcoming Adversity
There are several scholarships that are awarded to students who have shown their mettle and overcome obstacles under adverse circumstances. The program appreciates the average student's integrity and perseverance that they have shown in times of adversity. Popular scholarship awards include the following.

Horatio Alger Association Scholarships
Patricia M. McNamara Memorial Scholarship

Community Service
You may be average in terms of academic potential. However, you can win financial aid if you have been actively involved in serving a community. By doing community service, students display their leadership skills, dedication and the noble thought of helping people improve their lifestyle. Some of the most popular community grants are as follows.

The Do Something Awards
Discover Card Tribute Award
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
Tyenol Scholarship

Act of Kindness
Your kind deeds done to the community should not go unrewarded. So, even if you are an average student, you can win education grants by doing some acts of kindness and volunteering in the community. You can apply for scholarships like AngelSoft Angels in Action and Hiram College Hal Reichle Memorial Scholarship.

Essay Contests
Several scholarships are available where you can win free money by winning essay contests. These essay contests are held both locally and at state level. Whether you are a high school student, a graduate student or an undergraduate, you can participate in these contests and win free education grants, awarded every year to students who may otherwise be average in educational talent. Before participating in these contests, it is advisable to go through the eligibility criteria for participation.

Popular scholarships awarded by way of essay contests include the following.

AFSA National Scholarship Essay Contest
AIDS Orphans in Africa Essay Contest
Akademos / TextbookX.com Scholarship Contest
Americanism Essay Contest
Calgon Take Me Away to College Contest
Environmental Essay Contest
Holocaust Remembrance Project Essay Contest
Maryknoll Student Essay Contest
MoneyMatters101.com Scholarships
OP Loftbed Scholarship
School Band and Orchestra Magazine Scholarship
Teenage Vision for America Essay Contest
Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Voice of Democracy Essay Contest

Besides all these, there are several other scholarship programs that focus on average candidates and reward them for their amazing talents and excellence in non-academic areas. So, if you thought education aid was only meant for meritorious students, you need to change your perception. With sincere effort and research, you can find many more scholarships like these. There are photography contests, video contests, dance scholarships and art contests among others, good opportunities for students of average academic potential.

There is no dearth of need based financial aid. To become eligible for the education aid, both parents and students need to be well informed. By knowing the strategies, candidates can maximize their aid eligibility manifolds. There are multiple common mistakes that parents and students can make during the process. However, if you adopt proper strategies, you can really avoid making these common mistakes and become a deserving candidate for need-based financial aid. Much of these strategies is simple financial planning. Strategies given below are those that financial aid advisors will tell you. Even when you get in touch with financial aid consultants, you should be capable of completing financial aid applications yourself.

If you want to take help from books, there are many of them to help you maximize your aid eligibility. Some of the most popular books you can read include the following.

Kalman A. Chany and Geoff Martz, The Princeton Review: Paying for College Without Going Broke, 2005. ISBN 0-37576-421-6 ($20.00). [Contains 352 pages.]

Anna Leider and Robert Leider, Don't Miss Out: The Ambitious Student's Guide to Financial Aid, 21st edition, Octameron Associates, Alexandria, Virginia, October 2004. ISBN 1-57509-096-1 ($12.00). [Contains 207 pages.]

Pat Ordovensky, USA Today - Financial Aid for College: A Quick Guide to Everything You Need to Know, With the New 1996 Forms, Peterson's Guides, Princeton, New Jersey, 1995. ISBN 1-56079-377-5 ($8.95). [Contains 154 pages.]

Only demonstrating your financial need will not get you education scholarships and grants. Given below are some important points you need to keep in mind while applying for need based financial aid programs.

Honesty is the Best Policy
Whatever strategies you develop must be based on truth. In desperation, parents and students should not indulge in unethical and illegal practices. Speaking out the truth on financial aid application may hurt a little, lying on the application may result into getting severe penalties. Whenever there is a case of fraud, the financial aid administrators send notifications to the US Department of Education.

Strategies to Follow
There are multiple strategies that you can adopt to increase your chances of receiving need based scholarships. Some of the most important ones include -

Remember to save money in parent's name rather than in the child's name. There are many saving options where your saving can be treated as a parent asset. The 529 college savings plan is a good example of that. Prepaid tuition plan and Coverdell Education Savings Account are the other saving option you can use.

Another important strategy to follow is parents can go back to advance their educational qualification along with the children. Or else, you can also have multiple children attending college at one time. The greater the number of family members in college at one time is, the bigger the chances are of receiving more education financial aid.

You may have several necessary expenses. Fulfill those necessities to reduce the amount of money available in cash. Therefore, if there is an urgent need to buy a car or a computer, buy them before you actually file the FAFSA.

Try to minimize capital gains and maximize your contributions towards the retirement fund. If you plan to pay some college education expenses, remember not to pay the amount from your retirement fund. Instead, you should use the cash money present in your bank accounts. Also reduce your educational debt. You should be well informed that a 529 college savings plan has the least possible impact on the student financial aid.

If you have credit card debts and loan balances to repay, pay them off first. Pay off your mortgage as well. Even when you file the FAFSA, you need to select the date wisely. The assets you possess and the marital status of the student will be taken into consideration as per the date of the application.

Both parents and students need to adopt these strategies so as to maximize their chances of receiving the free college money. By following these strategies and keeping these points in mind, you will be able to make well informed decision and become a deserving candidate for scholarship provided on the ground of your financial need.

Candidates who are looking for international fellowship programs have several scholarship opportunities to benefit from. Receiving a Fulbright Scholarship or being a Rhodes Scholar does prove your academic excellence. However, these are just two opportunities of the multiple scholarship programs available for international and after-graduate students. If you are recent college graduate and wish to pursue advanced study abroad, you can find a number of educational aid programs to help you support your education expenses.

Candidates who are looking for fellowship programs really need to put in some effort while applying for these scholarships. The best part of these programs is that they give you the opportunity to enter an area of study you are passionate about. Being one of the most prestigious awards, there is stiff competition to apply and win these fellowship programs. If you are really interested in applying, it is advisable to start as early as possible. You can start to plan for such programs as early as your freshman year. Early planning is the key to applying and winning these prestigious scholarship awards.

There are multiple resources students can avail themselves of. You can get in touch with the financial aid officers and counselors at your college. If you are pursuing a specific field, you should also start networking with professors and professionals in that field. The most important part of it all is to be prepared with the reasons behind pursuing a specific area of study and the explanation behind your wanting the award.

Some of the most popular awards you can benefit from to pursue an advanced degree internationally are listed below.

Rhodes Scholarship
If you are a resident of the United States and plan to pursue an advanced degree abroad, Rhodes Scholarhip provides you a right opportunity to fund your education. Under this prestigious educational aid scheme, 32 students are funded for studying at the Oxford University in England. American president Clinton and poet Robert Penn Warren are two famous alums. Rhodes Scholarship has the privilege of being the oldest international fellowship program.

Fulbright Programs
Whether you are a college graduate, a doctoral student, an artist, a recent college graduate or a young professional, Fulbright Scholarship awards are offered to fund your college education. These prestigious scholarships are awarded year-long projects, research projects, independent projects and teaching English among others. The United States Department of State sponsors this scholarship award.

Marshall Scholarship
The scholarship provides you a wonderful funding opportunity, if you are U.S. resident and wish to pursue an advanced degree in the United Kingdom. Under this education funding scheme, around 40 U.S. students are offered scholarships to study in the U.K. for two years.

Watson Fellowship
The fellowship program provides $25,000 to international students studying abroad. To become eligible to receive the award, you must be a senior earning your graduate from a participating college in the United States. These awards are provided to students on the ground of their genuine interests. Another criteria to benefit from the program is that the fellow can not come back to U.S. for their complete fellowship year.

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Scholarship
Under this education funding scheme, around 50,000 students and researchers receive scholarships every year. If you are an undergraduate student or a graduate student and planning to study in Germany, you are eligible to apply for this prestigious award.

Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Set up by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the year 2000, Gates Cambridge Scholarship has become one of the most popular international grants for students. The award is offered to students outside the U.K. planning to study at the Cambridge University. Full tuition expense is covered under this international funding scheme.