TGIF, all you scholarship seekers out there. Hey, did you know that this month is National Scholarship Month? With just two weekends left in November, it’s time to get busy finding some scholarships. This week, I am going to make your search for scholarship money a little bit easier by telling you about three great opportunities with upcoming deadlines. I’ve got a $1,500 cycling scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship for moms, and a $5,000 scholarship for Hispanic Americans. 1. Joshua Kuck Collegiate Cycling Scholarship: $1,500 Application Deadline: December 1, 2009 The USA Cycling Development Foundation’s Joshua Kuck Collegiate Cycling Scholarship awards at least $1,500 to one female and one male student who has gone the extra mile to succeed in academics and collegiate team...

The House of Representatives approved a sweeping overhaul of the federal government’s student lending practices last Thursday. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, now being debated by the Senate, will cease subsidies to private banks providing federal student loans. Instead, the federal government will directly make loans to student, saving some $40 billion over 10 years. The Act will then redirect those savings to increase funding for the Pell Grant, expanding the number of eligible students and upping the maximum award to $5,550 per year. Additional changes in the bill include: Expanding the Perkins Loan Program for low-income students Allocating $10 billion to Obama’s community college initiative, which aims to produce 5 million more 2-year ...

Community College (or Two-year college) can be a great choice for education for students who want to stay close to home, who want to enter a specialized vocation program, or who aren’t quite sure that they are ready to commit to four (or more) years of school. While more community colleges cost much less than their four-year counterparts, finding the money to finance your community college education can still be a challenge. However, there are still community college scholarships to be had, if you know how and where to look. Start at the Financial Aid Office The first place to look (as with most scholarship searches) is to look within your college, through the financial aid office. There are fewer national and third party opportunities for community college funding ...

The road to becoming the next great American chef isn’t quite as straightforward as becoming and accountant, lawyer or doctor. Culinary school has a pretty diverse student population, since many people might work in the restaurant or food service industry for years before deciding to go back to school. There are also many people who decide to pursue their passion for food later in life, and enter a culinary academy after shifting gears from another industry altogether. No matter how students get to culinary school, all are looking for ways to pay for it. Since restaurant wages are notoriously low, most students entering culinary school from within the industry will have to take out loans to pay for school. That’s where scholarships come in! There are many scholarships for cul...

American Chemical Society Scholarship Name: American Chemical Society Scholars Program Description: The American Chemical Society established its ACS Scholars Program in 1994 to attract African American, Hispanic and American Indian students to pursue careers in the field of chemical sciences. The program provides awards of up to $5,000 for qualified applicants on the basis of their academic standing, financial need, career objective, leadership skills, and community service. To be eligible, you must be a high school senior or college freshmen, sophomore, or junior of African-American, Hispanic/Latino, or American Indian heritage. You must also be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. resident, enrolled (or planning to enroll) full-time at an accredited two- or four-year college or university...

Cherokee Nation Higher Education Office Scholarship Name: Cherokee Nation Higher Education Scholarship Description: The Cherokee Nation Higher Education Office offers scholarships to Cherokee high school students as a means of strengthening the tribe’s sovereignty, increasing the capacity of its citizens and promoting the Cherokee language and culture. Scholarship recipients must agree to volunteer for the Nation one hour for every $100 they receive in scholarship money. Recipients will be chosen on the basis of merit and financial need, which will be determined, in part, by their FAFSA form. Award: Varies Awards per Year: Varies Award is Open to: Cherokee High School Students Major/Field of Study: Open How to Apply/Contact: Download the application from Cherokee.org. ...

Golden Key Honor Society Scholarship Name: Golden Key International Honor Society General Electric Engineering Excellence Scholarship Description: Are you an engineering student? Are you a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society? If so, you may be eligible to win a $1,000 scholarship. To apply, start by registering your scholarship application, then polish up your best engineering related paper or report, not in excess of 10 pages of text. Next, write a 500-word essay describing the assignment for writing the paper, your greatest challenge in writing the paper, the lessons your learned from completing the assignment, and, if you could rewrite the report, what would have done differently. Your application will also need a letter of recommendation from a professor of engineeri...

The Race for Education Scholarship Name: The Thoroughbred Scholarship Description: The Thoroughbred Scholarship is a $6,000 annual scholarship sponsored by The Race For Education (RFE) to support young people of any background interested in pursuing a career in the equine or agriculture industry. Students may be studying disciplines such as Equine Science or Equine Business Management, or be enrolled in farrier school or other equine- and agricultural-related programs. Qualified applicants must be no older than 24 years, have a minimum GPA of 2.85 and have a family household income of no more than $50,000. Application materials include an essay, personal statement, letters of reference, transcript, and completed FAFSA and/or financial aid award letter from your college or university. ...

One of the advantages of choosing an online degree program is the flexibility, in terms of both time and cost. Online degrees offer lower rates per credit for tuition, as well as not having to worry about dorm costs and other fees. But that doesn’t mean that an online education is free, and it is still necessary to apply for scholarships for your online studies. As you’ve already read here on FinancialAidFinder, the rules for financial aid for online degrees have changed drastically. Where online studies were previously exclude from many of the major scholarship funding sources, now students can take advantage of both traditional and non-traditional financial aid sources for degrees online. The most notable change has been to federal money (which makes up the ma...

Earlier this week we talked about whether or not distance learning is a good fit for you. Even if you passed our five-question “quiz” with flying colors, there’s another factor that any would-be student needs to consider: Cost. The viability of financial aid is a major factor for many students in selecting a school, and online schools are no different. In fact, a new study recently revealed that at least one in five college students in America is facing a shortfall in parental support due to job loss. Until 2006, U.S. law denied federal financial aid to any student who attended a college that enrolled more than 50 percent of its students at a distance. Fortunately, Congress saw fit to change that law and now online students at accredited schools are eligible for all fo...