Mark Kantrowitz shares some excellent tips in 5 Little-Known Ways to Boost Your Scholarship Odds. Though please don’t make the common mistake of searching and applying for these types of scholarships without applying for need-based financial aid, as the latter is where the majority of aid is available. To apply for scholarships, you first have to find them, as the article describes. But you won’t have to do a lot of searching to apply for need-based aid. Just follow the explicit instructions on each college’s website, which will almost certainly begin with “File a FAFSA.”