Scholarships can be extremely helpful in subsidizing your college experience. External scholarships may be awarded through professional, civic, or service organizations or private foundations. Resources available to help you find additional scholarships include libraries, your local chamber of commerce office, and the Internet. You (and your parents) should also inquire at your current places of employment to determine if financial aid benefits are offered.

Private Graduate Scholarships
Private Scholarship Search Engines
Top 10 Private Scholarship Preparation Tips

Private Graduate Scholarships

$1,000 Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
The Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship is a merit-based program that helps students fulfill their dreams of a higher education. The scholarship is named for Gen and Kelly Tanabe, best-selling authors on education, whose generous donations fund this program. Eligibility is reserved for legal U.S. residents who are currently in school or planning to start school in the next 12 months. The deadline for Spring application is July 31st.

Contact:
$1,000 Gen and Kelly Tanabe Student Scholarship
3286 Oak Court
Belmont, CA 94002
650-618-2221

The American Indian College Fund
Corporate and private donors partner together to offer scholarships to American Indian students pursuing graduate degrees.  Applicants must have a 3.0 or higher GPA and a letter of recommendation. Deadline to submit a complete application is May 31st, 2013.

Contact:
American Indian College Fund
8333 Greenwood Blvd.
Denver, Colorado 80221
Susie Mitchell at 800-776-3863

Ayn Rand Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors annual essay contests that offer 680 prizes and over $99,000 in prize money every year.  This year's essay topics include Anthem, We the Living and The Fountainhead.

Contact:
Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O. Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044

Crosslites.com Scholarship Contest
Dr. Charles Parker was generous to those who were truly deserving and desired for his money to be used to continue benefiting others long after his death. From this desire grew the idea of "CrossLites." As the applicant, you will write a reflective essay (400 - 600 words) based on one of Dr. Parker's quotes or messages.

Contact:
CrossLites
c/o  Samuel Certo
1000 Holt Ave .
Winter Park, FL 32789

Edwards Scholarship Fund
The fund seeks to further the development of good citizenship through education by offering scholarships to men and women of good character and ability who are in need of financial assistance.  Only students domiciled in the City of Boston (at least since the beginning of their junior year in high school) are eligible for aid from the Fund.  Deadline March 15th.

Contact:
The Edwards Scholarship Fund
The John Hancock Tower
200 Clarendon Street, 27th Floor
Boston, MA 02116
617-654-8628

Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship is open to applicants who demonstrate commitment to the relationship between children's use of media and learning or personal growth. Particular attention will be given to those interested to the development of program concepts or creative elements of existing children's media.

Contact:
The Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship
Michele Fowble at 818-754-2802

Sallie Mae (Free Money Scholarship)
Register with College Answer to use Sallie Mae's free scholarship search and be entered into their monthly $1000 scholarship drawing.

Contact:
Sallie Mae, Inc
SallieMae.com/freemoney

Hispanic Scholarship Fund
HSF/ General College Scholarships are designed to assist students of Hispanic heritage obtain a college degree. Award amounts generally range from $1000 to $5000 and require a GPA of 3.0 or above. Applications are due December 15.

Contact:
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
55 Second St., Suite 1500
San Francisco, CA 94105
877-HSF-INFO

Massachusetts Educational Foundation Scholarship
This foundation currently distributes scholarships annually to mature women, aged 35 or older, living in Massachusetts, who are embarking on a career transition. Consideration will be given to special circumstances that have been overcome and the goals of the applicant. The Massachusetts Educational Foundation Scholarships are approximately $1,000.00.

Contact:
Massachusetts Educational Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 192
Accord, MA  02018-0192
781-335-4055

The Sell Used Books College Essay Contest
The SellUsedBooks.com Sell Used Books College Essay Contest is designed to help students cope with the rising cost of education. Essays will be judged on originality, organization, strength of ideas, and presentation (including grammar and spelling). To enter, submit a short essay on the topic "Why I deserve to win this scholarship." The essays must be between 300-500 words and the grand prize is $1,000.  Deadline on or before April 30th.

Contact:
SellUsedBooks.com
 My Book Drive, Inc.
1451 Doolittle Drive
 San Leandro, CA 94577
408-890-5155

SNCARC Scholarships
South Norfolk County Arc (SNCARC) offers up to five scholarships each year to college students (who will be juniors, seniors or graduate students) who are studying Special Education or a closely related field and who will be juniors, seniors or graduate students in the upcoming academic year.  Deadline April 12th.

Contact:
South Norfolk County Arc
789 Clapboardtree St.
Westwood, MA  02090
781-762-4001

STOP Hunger Scholarships
The Sodexo Foundation is looking for applicants who have demonstrated on-going commitment to their community by performing unpaid volunteer services impacting hunger in the United States at least within the last 12 months. Added consideration is given to students working to fight childhood hunger. 

Contact:
Sodexo Foundation
9801 Washingtonian Blvd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Winifred R. Reynolds Educational Scholarship Fund
Applicants must be a resident of Colorado or have been a resident of Colorado for at least 2 years between January 1, 2004 and April 1, 2011. They also must be enrolled in a master's or doctorate level program in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Educational Psychology, or an equivalent program with coursework focusing on early childhood education, have unmet financial need and have earned a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.5 or higher for any graduate level work that has been completed.

Contact:
The Denver Foundation
55 Madison St., 8th Floor
Denver, CO 80206
303-300-1790
or 800 763 3946

Private Scholarship Search Engines

• My College Dollars- Facebook
• Broke Scholar
• College Net
• Fast Web
• Ford Foundation National Academies Fellowships
• Sallie Mae Fund
• Scholarships.com

Top 10 Private Scholarship Preparation Tips

1. Two heads are better than one! Put together a team you can scholarship hunt with.  Include in your team:
   • Someone who is creative; a good writer and storyteller to boost the team's creative energy.
   • Someone detail-oriented and organized to put in charge of the group calendar.
   • Someone technical to set up personal web pages, get web apps set up, and make all of your processes more efficient.
   • Someone literate who can use the English language fluently, find grammar and syntax errors, and make words flow.
2. Take an inventory of what you do. List all your interests, activities, etc.  Use this list as important keywords for Internet scholarship searches.
3. Gather as much information as possible about the scholarship for which you're applying.
4. Check thoroughly to ensure that you are actually eligible for the scholarship.
5. Read instructions carefully.
6. Make notes of the deadlines for the scholarships you've found (and put them in your calendar!).
7. Make sure your application and presentation is neat, organized, and legible.
8. If references are required, make sure that your references provide information about you that the selection committee will need to know.
9. Make a checklist for each scholarship application and check, then double check, before you submit the completed application.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask. Contact the scholarship agency.