Over one billion dollars is given out in the form of scholarships each year to undergraduate students. As a parent, you should encourage your college-bound kids to apply for as many scholarships as humanly possible to limit the amount of loans that you and they will have to take out. Scholarships are the best kind of financial aid you can get because you don't need to pay them back.

One of the best places online to search for scholarships is FastWeb (www.fastweb.com). It's a free service and students can search based on their background and profile and find scholarships best suited for them. You should encourage them to go after any scholarship that they even remotely qualify for, regardless of how small the amount. Every little bit helps, and often, there's less competition for smaller scholarships.

Many companies offer to find scholarships for you and your children for a fee and you have to be very careful with these. Some of these are not legitimate, and many of them will take your money with little in return-if you're not careful. You can ask your child's guidance counselor for suggestions, but if you want to go looking on your own, here a few warning signs that a scholarship or a scholarship search service may not be completely legitimate:

You have to give credit card or bank account information.
The application costs money.
The mailing address is a residential address, rather than a place of business.
The service guarantees results-no one can guarantee that your kids will receive a particular scholarship.
In general, there's no need to pay anyone to find scholarships for your kids. There are no "secret scholarships" that you and your children can't find using simple resources like the Internet, and with increasingly sophisticated searching techniques you'll be able to narrow down your search to scholarships that best fit your children's profile.

Before your kids apply for any scholarship you haven't heard of:

If the scholarship comes from a national foundation, make sure the foundation exists.
Check with your child's school and guidance counselor to see if anyone has heard of this scholarship or organization.

It's best for college-bound students to start working on their scholarship applications and essays during the summer after their junior year. That way they'll have enough time to devote to this important task without the heavy load of school work, practicing for the SATs, and working on college applications.

Check out these listings for scholarship money! We’ve done our best to provide you with the most accurate info for each scholarship, but be sure to contact each organization for a complete application. Good luck!

Scholarship Title: Think for Yourself Essay Contests
Contact: Wendy Purnell
Address: George Mason University
3301 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 440
Arlington, VA 22201-4432
Phone: 703-993-4880
Fax: 703-993-4890
Email Address: essay@TheIHS.org
Application Deadline: May 31, 2007
Number of Awards: See Description
Maximum Amount: $2,500
Website Address: http://www.ThinkforYourself.org

Scholarship Description: ThinkforYourself.org, a recent project of the Institute for Humane Studies, is proud to announce the launch of three Essay Contests this spring, with $5,000 in prizes for each contest for a total of $15,000 overall awarded this spring.

The mission of the ThinkforYourself project and its related issue-driven websites is to support students who think critically, care passionately about effecting change, and want to explore alternative solutions for the key challenges in the world. Our essay contests and free summer conferences are two ways we hope to accomplish that.

Free summer conferences on globalization, the environment, and civil liberties.
Deadline: April 10th
http://www.ThinkforYourself.org

Globalization Essay Contest on Entrepreneurship & Education
Deadline: May 11th
http://www.aWorldConnected.org/essay

Environmental Essay Contest on Current & Future Global Environmental Challenges
Deadline: May 15th
http://www.aBetterEarth.org/essay

Scholarship Title: The Sallie Mae Fund
Contact: Scholarship Coordinator
Application Deadline: Varies
Number of Awards: 600
Maximum Amount: See Description
Website Address: http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/projectaccess/need.html

Scholarship Description: The Sallie Mae Fund offers a variety of opportunities with a diverse range of qualifications. To get more information, please visit their website at:
http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/projectaccess/need.html

Community College Transfer Scholarships
Offered in collaboration with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, this program provides last dollar scholarships to Latino students transferring from a community college to an approved, accredited higher education institution.
Deadline: February 1.

"Writers of Passage" Scholarship
In partnership with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, this program involves an essay competition that awards winning students from a Historically Black College or University, or a predominantly black college, with a $5,000 college scholarship. Universities of scholarship winners will receive a $20,000 grant from The Sallie Mae Fund. Go to the Sallie Mae Fund URL above to download the application.
Deadline: March 3rd.

American Dream Scholarship
Established in partnership with the United Negro College Fund, the American Dream Scholarship Program is open to African-Americans with financial need. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with a minimum 2.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), who meet Pell Grant eligibility criteria, and are enrolled full-time at approved, accredited, undergraduate institutions. *Scholarships range from $500 to $5,000. Apply online at United Negro College Fund. Deadline: April 15th.

First in My Family® Scholarship
The First in My Family Scholarship Program, developed in partnership with the Hispanic College Fund, offers scholarships to Hispanic-American students who are the first in their family to attend college, and have financial need. The program is open to Hispanic-Americans who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at approved, accredited institutions. *Students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Scholarships range from $500 to $5,000. Apply online at Hispanic College Fund. Deadline: April 15th.

Unmet Need Scholarship
Open to families with a combined income of $30,000 or less, this program is intended to supplement financial aid packages that fall more than $1,000 short of students' financial need. This scholarship is not designed as a substitute for aid provided by an institution. The program is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are accepted or enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at approved, accredited institutions. *Students must have a minimum 2.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) to be eligible to apply. Recipients will be selected based on financial need. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,800. Download an application. Deadline: May 31st.

The Sallie Mae 911 Education Fund
The Sallie Mae 911 Education Fund was created in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The scholarship program is open to children of those who were killed or permanently disabled as a result of the terrorist attacks, and who are enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at approved, accredited institutions.* Scholarship awards of up to $2,500 per applicant, per school year, are available and may be renewed on an annual basis, subject to satisfactory academic progress. Download an application. Deadline: Open.

In addition, The Sallie Mae Fund awards $500 to $1,000 scholarships to future college students at each of its free, nationwide "Paying for College" workshops.

Please visit http://www.thesalliemaefund.org/projectaccess/need.html for more information.

Scholarship Title: The Frank M. Doyle Foundation Scholarship
Contact: Kathleen MacKinnon
Address: 3732 Lakeside Drive
Suite 202A
Reno, NV 89509-4589
Phone: 775-329-1972
Fax: 775-329-8917
Email Address: FMDFoundation@aol.com
Application Deadline: March 1, 2007
Number of Awards: See Description
Maximum Amount: See Description
Website Address: http://www.frankmdoyle.org/

Scholarship Description: The Frank M. Doyle Foundation Scholarship can be applied to any post secondary institution.

Eligibility is not based on grades, financial position, race or creed. It is open to any person who has/will graduate from any of the seven Huntington Beach Union High School District High Schools, (GED included)or anyone who has taken at least one class at Golden West Community College, Coastline Community College or Orange Coast Community College in southern California. Applications are on line at http://www.frankmdoyle.org/

All applications must be submitted by March 1. Scholarships are for one year. Reapplications are also available on line.

Scholarship Title: The "Dream Deferred" Essay Contest
Contact: Emmanuel Benhamou
Address: 1770 Massachusetts Avenue #623
Cambridge, MA 02140
Phone: 617-661-0053
Email Address: eb@hamsaweb.org
Application Deadline: March 31, 2007
Number of Awards: 5
Maximum Amount: $2,000
Website Address: http://www.hamsaweb.com/essay-contest.php

Scholarship Description: This essay contest takes its title from a 1951 poem by Langston Hughes: What Happens to a Dream Deferred? The poem helped propel the civil rights movement in the United States. Today, it will hopefully inspire you to describe your dream deferred for the Middle East, which the United Nations calls the world's least free region.

The Dream Deferred essay contest has two parts: one for Middle Eastern youth (25 and younger) and one for American youth (25 and younger). To participate, all you have to do is write a brief essay (600-2,000 words) addressing one of the questions below. Winners - selected by a panel of celebrity judges - will receive a $2,000 prize, with other prizes for top essays (details below).

Answer one of the following questions:

1. Why should Americans help civil rights reformers in the Middle East? Consider the role outsiders played in the South during the American civil rights movement. Reflect on the challenges faced by today's Middle East reformers, as expressed by a blogger from Bahrain: "We continuously live in abject fear of the rulers and their instruments... If you dissent - and there are many who do - then the wrath of terror is visited upon you and your family. That means no income, no business, no education, no job, and no life. It is a very brave man or woman indeed who bucks the trend." Explore moral and strategic imperatives - as well as the consequences of inaction.

2. How can you as an individual support the struggle for civil rights in the Middle East? Without waiting for the government to act, consider how you can leverage your freedom to challenge repression by dictators. Reflect on recent technological advances that empower individuals, as well as recent grassroots organizing by people your age across the Middle East. Consider the tools you have access to that American civil rights activists in the 1960's did not. Propose a specific campaign young Americans could lead to help defend civil rights in the Middle East.

3. What might the future look like if Americans partner effectively with Middle Eastern reformers? Envision a focused movement and describe it in action: What are its slogan, symbols, and campaigns? What individual rights has it secured? Consider the obstacles surmounted and the factors behind the movement's success. If you like, write a newspaper article from the year 2010 reporting on the accomplishments of this new civil rights alliance. Don't be afraid to dream, but make sure to ground your vision with substance.

Submissions must be done online. No application is required.
http://www.hamsaweb.com/essay-contest.php

Scholarship Title: Sibling Award
Contact: Heidelberg College
Address: Admission Office
310 E Market St
Tiffin, OH 44883
Phone: 800-434-3352
Email Address: adminfo@heidelberg.edu
Application Deadline: Varies
Number of Awards: See Description
Maximum Amount: $1,000
Website Address: www.heidelberg.edu

Scholarship Description: Students must be full time undergraduate students at Heidelberg College and reside in the same household. Awarded to incoming students, renewable for four years.

For further information, please visit http://www.heidelberg.edu

Scholarship Title: Red Vines Drawing Contest
Contact: Anna Robbins
Address: 2796 NW Clearwater Dr.
Bend, OR 97701
Phone: 541-617-0800
Fax: 541-617-1170
Email Address: anna.robbins@amerlic.com
Application Deadline: August 31, 2006
Number of Awards: 3
Maximum Amount: $5,000
Website Address: www.redvines.com/drawingcontest.htm

Scholarship Description: Contestants can enter one of the following categories: teens ages 13-18, or adults age 18 years or older. In honor of its age, Red Vines will select 93 winning drawings to be printed on their iconic Red Vines trays beginning in January.

Other prizes include:

One grand-prize winner in each category will receive their choice of a $5,000 educational scholarship or a trip for four anywhere in the 50 United States, including airfare, four-night accommodations at a deluxe hotel, ground transportation/airport transfers and $1,000 in spending money.

Five first-place winners in each category will each receive $500.

Five second-place winners in each category will each receive $100.

Twenty third-place winners in each category will receive a Red Vines Gift Pack (valued at $20).

The contest deadline is August 31st.

"Each year, we receive hundreds of letters of praise for our products and thanks for the memories from Red Vines lovers coast to coast," said Kimberly Jose, Red Vines brand spokesperson. "This contest gives fans an opportunity to win great prizes through exploring their creative side as they express their love of Red Vines in a fun, artistic way."

Entering is Easy!
Entrants must submit an original drawing, using any single-color medium, and must feature the Red Vines logo as well as the Red Vines packaging or Red Vines candy product. All drawings must be submitted on an Official Entry Form, which can be downloaded from http://www.redvines.com. All entries must be mailed to:

Red Vines Drawing Contest
American Licorice Company
P.O. Box 826
Union City, California 94587

For Official Contest Rules and complete art guidelines and criteria, please visit:
http://www.redvines.com

Scholarship Title: L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of The Future Contest
Contact: Rachel Deuk, Contest Administrator
Address: PO Box 3190
Los Angeles, CA 90078
Phone: 323-466-3310
Fax: 323-466-6474
Email Address: contests@authorservicesinc.com
Application Deadline: Varies
Number of Awards: 13
Maximum Amount: $4,000
Website Address: http://www.writersofthefuture.com/index1.htm

Scholarship Description: Established in 1988, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of The Future Contest is an ongoing merit competition for new and amateur artists. Run on a quarterly basis, an eligible entry is comprised of three science fiction/fantasy illustrations done in a black & white medium rendered from the artist's imagination. Should the artist win with this entry, he is then sent a story from the companion L. Ron Hubbard Writers of The Future Contest for which to render an illustration.

This illustration then becomes his or her entry in the yearly Grand Prize competition. Three winners are selected each quarter and are awarded $500 each; the yearly Grand Prize winner is awarded $4000. There is a limit of one entry per entrant per quarter, entrants retain all rights in their artwork, no entry fee is required, and judging is by professional artists only. Hard copy guidelines are strongly recommended and are obtainable by sending an SASE to the Contest address or submitting full name and mailing address via email.

AWARDED QUARTERLY - There are four deadlines throughout the year.
Sep 30, Dec 31, Mar 31, Jun 30