January 8, 2025

When it comes to searching for scholarships, you could be asking yourself: Where do I start? How do I find scholarships for someone like me? Where do I find help?

Using a scholarship aggregator — like Scholarships.com, TFS Scholarships, or Scholarships360 — is easy and helps you narrow down a list of scholarships you’re eligible for. These databases are free resources with more than 10 million scholarships to search and apply for, totaling over $60 billion in funds to award.

Follow these five steps to create a profile and get started with your search.

Step 1: Register your account

Registration is quick, so you’re able to start searching in moments. Get started by filling out the indicated fields, such as your name, email address, and home address.

Step 2: Fill out your scholarship profile

While you’re able to start searching after you finish step 1, ensure that you complete your personal scholarship profile to find scholarships more easily.

Each question is tailored to better enhance your scholarship search. Everything about you — your nationality/heritage, any disabilities you have, your home life, career goals, and more — helps find scholarships that are well suited to you.

Step 3: Provide your academic history

Your GPA and test scores could greatly increase your ability to find scholarships, so be sure to list accurate information. Your current or intended major could also qualify you for specific scholarships.

During this step, you’ll also be prompted to list colleges you’re interested in attending, as you could find scholarships specific to the colleges themselves.

Step 4: Share your community involvement

Listing your activities in the community — including any family military affiliation, membership in any organizations, and participation in extracurricular activities — could help further refine your search. Be sure to include community organizations that your parents participate in, as you could find scholarships for members’ relatives.

Step 5: Explore your scholarship results

Now you’re able to find scholarships tailored to you. Look through all the available scholarships and select individual results for more information. Your results will include a description of the scholarship, eligibility requirements, award amount, number of awards available to students, and a scholarship application deadline. You could even bookmark scholarships of interest to save for future reference.

To create a personalized scholarship list, repeat your search process and select the different schools and majors you’re considering. You’ll be directed to each scholarship’s website outside of the database when you’re ready to apply. For more helpful tips, check out this video from actual scholarship recipients.

Finally, remember to apply early and often. Happy hunting with your tuition funding search!