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FINANCIAL AID
Finding A Scholarship That's Made for You

High School Clubs
If your child belongs to the Latin club, Thespian club, National Honor Society or other high school club, or a national scouting organization, he might be eligible for a scholarship or learn of scholarship competitions. Encourage him to ask the club adviser to watch for awards he might want to apply or compete for. If the adviser or teacher chooses the nominees, your child's expression of interest might tip the scale in his favor.

Your Employer
General Motors awards $1.9 million in scholarships each year to about 900 college students who are GM employees or spouses or children of GM employees. Similarly, hundreds of other large employers have generous grants and scholarships available to children of employees. Usually the programs are well-publicized, and your company's personnel office will have details.

Professional Associations
Your child wants to study engineering? Nursing? Journalism? There's probably an association -- like the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Student Nurses Association or National Press Club -- that wants to support the education of a potential member. The Gale Directory of Associations, available in libraries, can help you pinpoint possibilities. Also check with any associations to which you belong; some award scholarships to children of members.

Unions
Scores of unions award scholarships to the college-bound children of members -- from the American Postal Workers Union (five $1,000 awards, renewable for four years) to the Utility Workers Union of America (two $2,000 awards, renewable for four years). If your local chapter can't provide information, write to the union's national headquarters (often in Washington, D.C.) for an application.

Local Community and Civic Groups
Elks, Jaycees, Kiwanis, Lions, Rotarians and similar civic groups often have funds earmarked for local college-bound students. The Elks, for instance, award more than $3 million annually nationwide. Call around to groups in your area to see what's available and how to apply.

State Agencies
Every state has scholarships, grants or loans available only to its residents. In one of the more generous state programs, any Georgia high school student with a 3.0 GPA or better receives a full waiver of tuition at any public college, university or technical institute in the state or $3,000 to help offset tuition costs at any private school in the state. The program, called HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally), is funded by a state lottery. Many states provide grants to students willing to spend a few years in teaching or law enforcement after graduation.

Advocacy Organizations for Ethnic Groups
There is an especially large group of scholarship programs for:

• African-American students (from numerous groups, including the NAACP; the National Urban League; and others),
• Hispanic students (from, among others, the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund; the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses),
• Native American students (from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the Native American Scholarship Fund; and the Indian Health Service); and
• Italian Americans (primarily from the National Italian American Foundation).

But a little digging turns up scholarships for many other ethnic groups, including students of Albanian, Armenian, Asian, Chinese, Danish, Greek, Haitian, Japanese, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swiss and Welsh extraction.

These guidebooks (published by the Reference Service Press, 5000 Windplay Dr., Suite 4, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762; 916-939-9620; also in libraries) are a good place to start looking, although for most ethnic groups that aren't traditionally considered underprivileged, general scholarship directories are probably a better bet:

• Directory of Financial Aids for African Americans ($37.50)
• Directory of Financial Aids for Asian Americans ($35)
• Directory of Financial Aids for Hispanic Americans ($37.50)
• Directory of Financial Aids for Native Americans ($37.50)

Advocacy Groups for Disabled People
The National Federation of the Blind and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing are among the organizations that offer scholarships for disabled students. Here's a directory to try: Financial Aid for the Disabled and Their Families ($40; the Reference Service Press; see above).

Religious Groups
The Presbyterian Church in the USA, United Methodist Church, Aid Association for Lutherans, Lutheran Brotherhood and Knights of Columbus are among the religious organizations with nationally organized scholarship programs. Lutheran Brotherhood, an insurance association, for instance, awards 800 scholarships of up to $2,000 to Lutheran Brotherhood members and another 500 scholarships of $800 or $1,500 to Lutheran students, regardless of membership, who attend Lutheran colleges. For more information, visit the Lutheran Brotherhood's Web site.

Military Groups
Dozens of scholarship programs target children of military personnel whose parents may be active members of the armed forces, war veterans, deceased or disabled service personnel, MIAs and former POWs, retired officers, and members of specific branches or divisions of the military.
One guide to consult is: Need a Lift? ($3.95; American Legion, Attn: National Emblem Sales, "Need a Lift?", P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206; 888-453-4466).

Hobby or Other Connections
A little creative thinking about your child's recreational interests or hobbies might lead you to an offbeat scholarship. For instance, Columbia 300 Inc., a marketer of bowling balls, gives the $500 John Jowdy scholarship each year to a high school senior active in bowling. The National Scholastic Surfing Association awards scholarships in varying amounts to high school members who are surfing competitors and have good grades.

Special Advice for Athletes
If your child is the next Michael Jordan or Mia Hamm, colleges will come courting. But otherwise, students who are good athletes or excel in a more-obscure sport will need to put some effort into pursuing a scholarship or preferential aid package -- and realize that the competition will probably be stiff.
Students who don't earn an athletic scholarship sometimes receive financial assistance in the form of an enhanced financial-aid package. These tips can help your child be in the running for either kind of help.

• Write letters to the coaches at colleges to which you plan to apply. Include a résumé of your athletic accomplishments, a letter of recommendation from your high school coach, and a video of up to five minutes showing off your skills.
• Send your letter in advance of your final season in the sport you play, in case a recruiter wants to catch a game. You may also want to include a schedule.
• When you visit colleges, make an appointment to meet with the coach in your sport to reinforce the message that you're interested. Don't be shy about mentioning that you need financial aid, because coaches often have influence over admissions and financial-aid decisions for athletes.

For more detailed advice, consult any of the following books:

• The Winning Edge: The Student Athlete's Guide to College Sports, by Frances and James Killpatrick (Octameron Associates, $6; 703-836-5480)
• NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete