Sources of Money 40: Search Google & Other Engines to Find Scholarships

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Beatriz immigrated from Brazil to study in the United States. She used several scholarship search engines to find scholarships. She also worked with financial aid counselors at the university that admitted her. The results of her efforts disappointed her, nor did they raise the funds she needed. One of our staff showed her how to use Google, Chrome, and other general search engines to find scholarship from Brazil for students studying in the US, as well as scholarships from the US for students studying from Brazil.

Characteristics of Using General Search Engines

We do not need to teach you how to use search engines. You use them everyday. We can, however, suggest phrases and techniques that may generate lists that will help.

• “Scholarships for students studying…”
  • …in your state
  • …your major
  • …at your university
  • …in another country
• “Scholarships for students that are…”
  • …your nationality
  • …your ethnic group
  • …your gender
  • …your marital status
  • …members of a certain club, community, or service organization
  • …members of a certain faith, congregation, or religion
• “Scholarships for students that graduated…”
  • …from your high school
  • …from your city
  • …with your grade point average
• “Scholarships for students involved in…”
  • …football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, track, or other athletics
  • …drama, dance, choirs, cheer, band, orchestra, or video production
  • …poetry, photography, painting, journalism, composition, or writing
  • …community activism, service, environmentalism, or humanitarian causes
  • …leadership at church, in your school, at work, or in your community

Disadvantages of Using General Search Engines

You will encounter several disadvantages using general search engines. They include:

• No system to verify valid scholarships from scams, contests, or surveys
• No profile to verify that you qualify for the listed scholarships
• Algorithms creating the list of scholarships rank them differently than you want
• No method for saving or storing possible scholarships for later applications  
• Creating a manual system for monitoring which scholarship applications you submit
• Listing millions of scholarships most of which will waste your time
• Competing with a lot of people

Thursday we answer questions about various reusable materials to find scholarships

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.