When you think about scholarships, you might imagine awards for students with artistic, academic, or athletic talent. However, scholarships aren't limited to these categories. Companies and special-interest groups create scholarships to encourage students of specific ethnic origins, nationalities, or with certain career goals. Many corporations have scholarship funds to help employees or future employees get an education that benefits the business. When budgeting for your college career, think of scholarships as money that rewards you for pursuing your dreams.

Types of Scholarships

• College Scholarship Programs. Many colleges and universities have a substantial scholarship program. Alumni may have endowed a scholarship or community groups may fund scholarships that they ask the school to administer.
• Prestigious Awards. These scholarships are well-known and lucrative. Companies like Coca-Cola and groups like The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offer huge tuition benefits to promising students. These popular scholarships are competitive and often hold applicants to certain age, academic achievement, and future employment restrictions.
• Community Service Awards. If you've always been inspired to serve others, you may find yourself eligible for scholarships that have been set up to reward philanthropic individuals. Many of these scholarships require recipients to commit to a specific number of hours serving the community while they are still in school. Online universities often award additional scholarships for military service.
• Essay Contests. Use your love of writing to earn yourself money for college. Many groups hold essay contests on topics like patriotism, vegetarianism, and religion. Applicants are asked to write a convincing, thoughtful essay on a specific topic. If you have a powerful written voice, this might be an ideal opportunity.
• Other Scholarships. Do you know Klingon? Are you left-handed or unusually tall? Believe it or not, scholarships exist for people with unique skills, situations, and abilities. If you are an excellent duck caller or caddie, or you're considering a career in mycology, there may be scholarships available to you. Really.

With 1.3 million scholarships worth an estimated $3 billion dollars, scholarship searches can be both lucrative and complicated. Scholarship search Web sites can be helpful but you shouldn't have to spend your own money on an expensive search site. You should consider free sites like FastWeb and Student Aid on the Web to initiate your scholarship search. See the private scholarship section for more information. You can also look at a variety of annual scholarship compendiums that are available at your local library. Be sure to check with your school to see if your institution offers scholarships.