We all know that college is expensive and sometimes financial aid packages don't cover 100% of a student's costs. But fear not! We are here to give you a comprehensive overview of all of different avenues you should pursue to access grant and scholarship money for college, in addition to scholarship search & organization tips resources. But first, some definitions:

• Grants & Scholarships (also known as "Gift Aid"): Free money that does not need to be paid back. The terms are often used interchangeably for the sake of simplicity.
• Need-Based: Used to refer to financial aid that is awarded on the basis of financial need.
• Merit-Based: Used to refer to financial aid that is awarded on the basis of a student's academic achievements, personal characteristics, or other non-financial quality as specified by the scholarship benefactor.

Scholarship Application Organizer — If you're feeling overwhelmed by the whole scholarship search process, you're not alone. To help you keep track of all of your scholarship applications, use a spreadsheet to keep track of all of the deadlines and requirements like this Scholarship Application Organizer — just be sure to make a copy for yourself so that you can make it your own!

What are the different ways I can access scholarships?