Paying for College

FAFSA & Scholarship Resources

Local Scholarships

The Orono Local and District Scholarship Application is available in March and we hope that all seniors will apply! It takes five minutes to complete the application. We have scholarships for all academic levels, fields of study, ability level, and for students attending either a 2-yr or 4-yr college. Don't assume that you will not meet scholarship criteria. All applications need to be in prior to the deadline in order to be considered for a scholarship.

We will award over $60,000 in scholarships this year. Scholarships will be awarded to recipients at the Scholarship Awards Night and you will receive a letter of invitation to the award celebration if you are selected as a scholarship recipient.

We strongly recommend that seniors consult the list of scholarships in MaiaLearning. Many of the scholarships located on this page are specific to the area, businesses, or colleges in Minnesota. Please check out this page soon as some of the scholarships have early deadlines.

8 Steps to Winning a Scholarship

Families often hear about the millions of scholarship dollars that go unused each year, an anecdote that has been repeated so many times that it is accepted as fact. Unfortunately, this pot of scholarships at the end of the rainbow is a myth: While some scholarships go unused, much of the money included in that figure comes from employers' tuition remission programs. There are scholarships out there, however, and you can increase your odds of winning one by following these eight steps:

Consult the financial aid office: The largest amount of financial aid comes from federal, state, and institutional grants and tuition discounts. Your financial aid office can help you find information on available scholarships, grants, and loans according to your needs and background.
Contact your academic department: If you have already decided on a major, your academic department may be aware of awards designated for students in your area of study. The student aid office does not always have information on these highly specific programs, so be sure to check both.
Use a free scholarship search engine: Ask the student aid office to recommend free scholarship search sites other students have found useful. Online searches let you focus on scholarships that fit your personal characteristics, helping you target your search to only those scholarships for which you are most likely to qualify. Some sites bombard users with promotional scholarships that may turn out to be advertisements in disguise, however, so make sure you know what you are signing up for when and if you give out your personal information.
Never assume: Don't believe that because you don't have straight A's and can't shoot a 3 pointer, there's nothing available to you. There are scholarships available based on hobbies, interests, background, financial need, etc. According to FinAid.com, there's even a $1,000 scholarship for a left-handed student. Seek out local and national organizations and associations in your areas of interest to see whether any scholarship opportunities exist.
Write the essay: No one likes to write essays, so use that fact to your advantage. Scholarships that require essays receive fewer applicants, giving you a better chance of qualifying. Keep copies of all the application materials you submit; often essays and other application materials can be tweaked and used again for future applications. Be sure to thoroughly proofread before submitting each application.
Stack up the small scholarships: Studies show that families often overlook scholarships that are less than $500. You may be thinking that these awards won't even make a dent in your college costs, but adding up multiple small awards can prove to be a benefit in your scholarship quest.
Apply early: The best time to apply is NOW! Waiting too long will result in missed deadlines. Seniors should start filling out applications to meet the early or mid-fall application deadlines. Don't wait to be accepted to a college to research and apply for private scholarships. If you don't receive a scholarship the first time around, don't get discouraged. Most scholarships are not limited to freshmen; you may have better luck the following year.
Don't get scammed: The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers about scholarship scams, which promise that, for a fee, they can help the family access more student aid. Similar scams charge students high scholarship search or application fees. According to the FTC, "[M]ost scholarship sponsors do not charge up-front fees to apply for funding, and no legitimate scholarship sponsor can guarantee that you will win an award." The financial aid office at your school can help you apply for student aid, and free scholarship searches are available online.

Even without scholarships, families can still find ways to afford college. Start by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and contact your school's financial aid office to find out what federal, state, and institutional aid you might qualify for. Finding money for college is a lot like taking classes: The way to succeed is to do your homework.

More information on scholarships is available at www.nasfaa.org

Beware of Scholarship Scams

Almost 95% of all student aid comes directly from the federal and state governments or the school itself using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Be wary of any financial aid search company that charges a fee to match students with sources of financial aid. There are no guarantees that the company will find any aid that you can't find yourself.

Proceed with caution if a company:

Lists a mail drop as a return address or operating out of a residential address.
Uses excessive hype and claims of high success rates.
Requires up-front money for application fees.
Has typing and spelling errors on application materials.
Lists no telephone number for the business.
Suggests its influence with scholarship sponsors.
Pressures you to respond quickly.
Requests personal information (bank account, credit card, or social security numbers).

The following questions can help determine whether a company is legitimate:

If the company suggests that large amounts of aid currently are not being used, how does it document the statement?
How many financial aid sources exist in the company's computer file? Does the company maintain its own file of sources? Or does it use the file of some other company or service?
Is there a minimum number of sources provided by the company? Are the listings in the form of scholarships, work, loans or contests? Do they include federal and state programs for which the student will be considered through the regular financial aid application process? Do the sources include institutional scholarships about which the student would be notified once accepted?
How often does the company update its list of aid sources? Does the company check to confirm that the source still exists?
Can the student apply directly to the aid sources provided by the company, or must the student be recommended by a person or group? Are the application fees for the sources provided?
How long will the student have to wait for the information? Will the list of aid sources be received before the application deadlines?
What characteristics are used to match students with aid sources?
How successful have previous participants been in obtaining funds from aid sources identified by the company? Is there a list of references that can be contacted for verification? Will the company refund the program fee if aid sources are incorrectly matched with the student's qualifications, if aid sources no longer exist or fail to reply to the student, or if application deadlines for aid sources already have passed when the information is received?

For more information on scholarship scams, visit http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams.

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