With thousands of scholarships available, the task of finding all of the scholarships that apply to you can be quite troublesome. Luckily, there are several ways you can go about efficiently finding all of the scholarships that apply to you. Remember that scholarships are basically free money and the more of them you get, the less funding you'll need to find.

1. Financial Aid Office

The most obvious first place to start looking is the financial aid office of the school you are interested in. This office usually contains useful texts as well as counselors that can help to start you on your quest for scholarships and financial aid. They are there specifically to help you, so it's important to take advantage of that. Tell them a bit about yourself, you might be surprised at the number of interesting and different scholarships there are out there that want someone with specific interests/talents/achievements.

2. Internet Scholarship Search Sites

There are numerous web sites out there that will let you, for a small price, apply to all of the scholarships that you qualify for. After filling out a few forms and answering some common questions a list will appear and you can check off the ones you would like to apply for electronically.

For example, CollegeNets Mach 25 Search is a free version of the WintergreenOrchard House Scholarship Finder database. Although they don't allow you to electronically file for applications it is still a great listing of over half a million unique scholarships and over $1 billion dollars is given to students annually.

3. Other Places You Can Try

- Bulletin board of the financial aid office

- Admission office booklets and pamphlets

- The athletic department and school team coaches

- The library

- High School Guidance Counselors

There are many people out there that would love to help you find financial aid, and it's important to do your research. It may seem overwhelming at first, but there are many many scholarships out there and the sooner you start to plan and apply for them, the greater chance you'll have of finding one that works for you. Don't be shy. Ask around, take other people's advice. If you find that you have too many scholarships to apply for, and it feels like you can't do them all, simply start with the ones that sounds more specifically like you. The competition out there for scholarships is huge, so if you have a particular interest that is mentioned in the scholarship, try that one first (even if it's not the biggest money amount). Also, try for small scholarships, you would be surprised how quickly they add up to a larger amount.