Maria Pavy– During this next semester, looking for scholarships is important. Throughout this process I have used several sites to help me search, organize and apply for scholarships that would have been difficult to find otherwise. I have applied for several, and outside of the academic scholarship that I have received through Indiana Wesleyan, I have not found out if I have won those scholarships yet.

Two of the major scholarship websites that I have been using are Cappex.com and Fastweb.com. Through these websites, scholarship matches can be organized into ones that I do not want to apply to, ones that I want to apply to and ones that I have applied to. Organizing scholarships is important so you can keep track of the possible money you have received.

Using both of these websites instead of focusing on one has offered me a variety of scholarships to choose from instead of focusing on the scholarships offered by one website. I have found different scholarships through Cappex.com when comparing with Fastweb.com, so using both has been beneficial.

The two websites are set up similarly, so there is not a large difference in the way it is accessed and organized. The scholarship websites are also recommended by reliable colleges like Taylor University, so the scholarships offered can be trusted.

When searching for scholarships, the credibility of the website should be kept in consideration before a student applies. According to FinAid.org, if a scholarship requires personal information like social security numbers, checking or savings account numbers, then the scholarship is most likely not trustworthy. Other tactics for checking the reliability of a scholarship can be found at FinAid.org.

Fishers High School offers several scholarship opportunities as well, and these can be taken advantage of by high school seniors. The guidance office website offers several scholarship opportunities. Scholarships can also be found by talking with a guidance counselor for further opportunities to win money for college.

Seniors should also fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which will get seniors financial aid through either federal loans (money that will be payed back later) or federal grants (money that will not be payed back later). The FAFSA was released Jan. 1. Taxes must be done for the FAFSA to be filled out, so parental help is needed.