Most students are familiar with merit-based scholarships, which are awarded to students who demonstrate abilities in one or more areas. Some merit scholarships look at your grades, others at extracurricular achievements, and still others at test scores. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation bases its awards on your PSAT scores. Other merit scholarships require an essay of some kind; you can find essay contests on various topics. FastWeb is a scholarship search engine that can direct you to merit-based scholarships.
Some scholarships are need-based, which means that one selection factor is how much financial help you need. Financial need is the difference between the cost of attending school and the amount you and your family can afford to spend. Some need-based scholarships base the award entirely on your need, whereas others just use need as a qualifying factor.
Students who play varsity sports are well aware that many top colleges offer scholarships to sports stars to attract them to the school. This is because schools' sports teams play a large role in their national marketing. Top athletes often get full-ride scholarships, but any student-athlete who visits colleges and meet with coaches may find an extra little scholarship in her financial aid package if the coaches want her on their team.
You may also find scholarships in your hometown and high school. Many local businesses and foundations have money set aside for scholarships, which they will award directly to students, through an application process or essay contest, or give to a school so teachers can select scholarship recipients.
Some scholarships take the form of sweepstakes; whether these qualify as scholarships is subject to debate. Websites advertise the chance to win lots of money for school, and collect information such your email address to put you on many mailing lists. Chances at winning sweepstakes scholarships are low and completely random, so students with high academic achievements are no more likely to win than others.
If you are looking for scholarships for a preschool or K-12 student attending a private school, most of the above types of scholarships are available for younger students as well. The best resource for finding scholarships for your child is the school's administration office. They can direct you to the school's financial aid application and to organizations in your community and outside resources such as the Children's Scholarship Fund.