Scholarships are awarded based on criteria such as academic or athletic achievement, cultural or religious background, or special skills and talents. Most scholarships are offered directly to students through the colleges. View a partial list of school-specific aid. You sometimes need to apply separately for these scholarships. A few scholarships are offered through the government:

• Power of You Program
• Naviance Scholarship Listings
• Minnesota Academic Excellence Scholarship
• Minnesota Achieve Scholarship
• Minnesota Indian Scholarship
• Minnesota Educational Assistance for War Orphans
• Minnesota Veterans' Dependents Assistance Program
• Education Vouchers for Former Youth In Care

Remember to take advantage of free online scholarship searches that help match you to scholarship money, but be wary of any scholarship search offer that charges fees, asks for credit cards or checking account information, or guarantees scholarships.

Be sure to review our scholarship tips before applying. You will also want to check out the private scholarship information at www.finaid.org which sorts scholarships into categories such as merit, community service and scholarships for average students.

MN Department of Higher Education