Best Places to Find Last-Minute Scholarships

Local organizations

Local organizations often won’t have a recipient, so they’ll most likely extend their deadline and they don’t always advertise that. Find organizations in your hometown that award scholarships. Start by inquiring with your high school’s guidance office or college career center to find community-based scholarships that have gone unclaimed. 

Scholarship search engines and contests

Monthly scholarship contests may pop up on search engines, too. They’re simple to enter. Normally awards are around $1,000.  Find late-deadline scholarships using search engines like the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop scholarship finder, College Board Big Future scholarship search tool, Scholarships.com, FastWeb, and FinAid. Never enter a contest or apply for a scholarship online if you’re required to submit money or private information, like your Social Security number; that may signal a scam. 

Your employer or your parents’ employer

If you’re working yourself, find out if there is a scholarship program for employees. Ask your parents if their employers have scholarships available. Some companies have employer-sponsored scholarship programs for members of their employees’ families.