Scholarships and grants for specific minority groups have increased dramatically in the past few decades. These are intended to increase the availability of college education for groups that traditionally had limited opportunity for higher education. Probably the largest organization granting scholarships of this type is the United Negro College Fund, with 400 internship and scholarship programs for black students of all economic backgrounds.
Although scholarships and grants are available for students with interests in most fields, funding for students interested in the health care field, especially nursing, is plentiful. This is because there is such a high demand for health care professionals and a very limited number of people graduating from these types of programs each year. Many of these grants are from government sources, but a large number of grants and scholarships from private organizations can be found with a minimal amount of searching.
Students interested in becoming teachers also have a wide selection of grants and scholarships to choose from. This is particularly appealing to many students, because it covers a variety of interests and potential majors such as English, math, science, history or art. Funding is especially abundant if you are interested in working in public schools, special education or teaching English as second language. In addition to these opportunities, you may also be eligible for student-loan-forgiveness programs once you complete your education and begin teaching.
Merit scholarships and grants are awarded to students on the basis of outstanding scholastic achievement either in general or in a specific area of study, leadership and involvement in school organizations or extracurricular activities. One of the main organizations giving these types of scholarships is the National Merit Scholarship Corp., which awards thousands of scholarships each year. This organization also allows students to compete for scholarships given out by independent corporations.
Once you have decided what types of grants suit your needs, you will have to find them. The easiest way to do this is by searching an online database of scholarships, their individual requirements and their deadlines. You can start your search at FastWeb.com or Scholarships.com. Both of these sites offer more than a million opportunities to find funding for your college education.