Searching for Scholarships

There are many places to search for scholarships. The following sections highlight specific websites and places that you can search for scholarship opportunities. 

Review the slide deck below to learn about some of the scholarship opportunities at North Carolina Colleges and Universities.

Colleges and universities often offer scholarships directly through the college for students who are applying to their schools. Generally, you need to apply for these scholarships in the fall of your senior year. 

The process for applying for scholarships will vary by college. There are some colleges that consider every student for scholarships based on the application that the student submits for admission, so outside of applying, there are no additional steps that need to be taken . Other colleges have portals or specific scholarship applications that students have to submit separately from the application for admission.

To see how the colleges you are applying to award scholarships, you should look on their individual websites. If you need to submit an application separately from the application for admission, make sure you follow the directions on their website. 

There are some colleges that offer scholarships that require a nomination from Hough. Please visit the Nomination Based Scholarships page for more information about how to apply for those scholarships at this link or by clicking the button below. 

There are several national scholarships that are worth a large amount of money. This list of scholarships is not exhaustive, however, it does include several very large scholarships. The majority of these scholarships have deadlines in the early fall of your senior year. Again, these are examples of scholarship opportunities. 

There are a couple different types of scholarship search engines. There are search engines where you can make an account and scholarships are matched to you based on the information in your account. The sites listed here should be free to use. There are also websites where scholarships are listed based on a variety of different characteristics (your chosen major, activities you are involved with, etc.). 

Please utilize the links below to explore scholarship search engines to look for scholarship opportunities. 

There are many organizations that offer scholarships that are specific to students at Hough, the Lake Norman area, or who attend schools in CMS. the majority of these scholarships open Dec.-January of the senior year. Please visit the Local Scholarship Opportunities Page for more information by clicking this link or clicking the button below.  

As you start your search, create an organizer so you can stay on top of the requirements for different scholarships as you find scholarships you want to apply for. There are two scholarship organizers linked below that you can make a copy of or that you can use to create your own organization system. 

• Scholarship Organizer 1

• Scholarship Organizer 2

Here are some additional tips for your scholarship search!

• Set aside specific amounts of time to search and work on scholarship applications and stick to that time. For example, if you set aside 45 minutes every couple of days, stick to that 45 minutes to help avoid feeling like the search is never ending

• The order in which you should search for scholarships is as follows:

  • Large national scholarships that you fit ALL of the criteria for (these often have the first deadlines and are the most amount of effort)

  • Scholarships at the universities and colleges you are applying to (Fall of senior year)

  • Scholarships that are specific to your state or local area (most will open in the late Fall or early Spring semester)

  • Scholarships that are available nationally - this can be done at any time

• Your best bet for scholarships are those that are a medium amount of effort, worth a medium amount of money, and that a medium number of people apply for them. 

• You would be surprised how many people don't apply for scholarships that have an essay as part of the application. Don't let an essay scare you away!

• Lastly, searching for scholarships can be frustrating and overwhelming because there are a TON of options, but they often have very specific requirements. Know that you are not alone in feeling frustrated or overwhelmed and stick to it!