Get good grades and be in the top 5 percent of your class. This will qualify you for academic scholarships. It helps if you are either valedictorian or salutatorian and if you have won any academic awards.
Excel in sports. This is a great way to get an athletic scholarship. You must be one of the best players on your school team. It also helps if you play for competitive teams outside of your school. Make sure you apply to a college or university that offers athletic scholarships and submit a tape of one of your best games.
Fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). FAFSA awards both grants and loans based on the information you provide them with. You will need to prove your income if you are independent of your parents. If you live at home you will need to prove your parents' income. You need to show what you and/or your parents paid last year in income taxes and a month of pay stubs. Student aid is awarded based on your income as well as your parents' income.
Apply for other scholarships and grants through the financial aid department of the college you've chosen to attend. It will have a list of scholarships and grants that are not as well known. Some of these are given to minorities who can prove their heritage, such as African-American or American Indian. Other scholarships and grants are given out based on the type of field you are entering such as business or early education.
Talk to your high school guidance counselor to find out if there are any scholarship contests in your area. Oftentimes students can qualify for student aid through programs in their own community. For example, a real estate agency may be awarding a $500 scholarship to local students entering the field of business, so if you plan to go into accounting, you could apply.