The misconceptions about Scholarships and Financial Aid are endless. The most common is that it is: "Getting a scholarship is hard" people think that your chances are so slim, like 1 in a million. That is not the case at all. The truth is the more scholarships that you apply for the more you increase your chances of actually getting a scholarship.

The same principal goes for college grants as well. The difference is in the application process because with grants in some cases you need a co-signer. However the guidelines for college grants aren't as strict as those of scholarships. With scholarships you have to take a specific amount of courses and maintain a specific GPA. With student loans...forget about it lets just focus on getting scholarships and grants free money for college.

College Scholarships are Free

The first thing that should come to mind when you think about college scholarships is the word free.

You do not have to pay to apply for a college scholarship. When you see advertisements for a scholarship that is not

free that is a red flag and most likely a scam.

Applying for Scholarships Online

When you apply for scholarships online there are a few things to expect:

within a few days of being awarded with that scholarship you should receive a phone call from a representative of that organization.

An email confirmation with the information you provided

A pin number or password if you are using a scholarship search

Information abut additional scholarship opportunities that you are eligible for

Combining Scholarships and Financial Aid

The title of this paragraph is self explanatory: "Yes you can Combine Scholarships and Financial Aid. Many people don't realize that you can combine financial aid: Scholarships, Grants and student loans can all be used in conjunction to pay for your College Tuition. Also you can use multiple sources of each for example: You can use more than 1 scholarship, grant or student loan - you can have as many of each that are needed to pay for your tuition.

Misconceptions of Scholarships & College Financial Aid

It is hard to find scholarships -False use a scholarship search

Universities and Colleges are the only sources that provide scholarships

You can only use scholarships from the school your are attending -False you can find other scholarships and grants from private organizations

Student Loan Consolidation is the best option -False sometimes it can hurt your more than it can help you

You can't apply for scholarships if you aren't currently enrolled in school -False you can always apply for scholarships



Every scholarship requires an essay to be submitted -False some just require a standard application

You can't get a student loan without a co-signer- False

You can't get a student loan with bad credit -False

There are 2 free scholarship searches provided at scholarshipsupport.com. Also many people think that they are allowed to use one scholarship, you can use as many as you need to pay for college. As far as student loans go, student loan consolidation isn't always the best option. As said before focus on using scholarships and grants to pay for college; student loans should be a last resort.