Each year, billions of scholarship dollars are available to help college students pay for tuition. Here's how you can find scholarships for which you may be eligible to receive.
Outside scholarships are different than loans - they don't have to be paid back. Scholarships are gifts that are awarded to individuals based on specified criteria. Often the criteria are unique to the specific scholarship.
Outside scholarships are funds you receive from public and private agencies to pay for a portion or all of your tuition, fees, or required textbooks. You must apply for these scholarships through a separate process from the Missional University Sponsorship Program application process. Missional University encourages you to seek out public and private sources for scholarship aid and has developed some helpful resources to guide you through the scholarship application process.
Scholarships Come in Many Types, Sources, and Sizes
Even if your grades aren't perfect you should consider applying to as many scholarships as you can. While academic performance is important in some cases, academic interests, talent, financial need, community service, career goals, volunteer involvement - any or these may qualify you for a scholarship.
Never Pay for Information About Scholarships
Don’t be fooled if you see an ad offering an “exclusive” list of scholarships in exchange for a fee. All scholarship information is readily available for free, so there’s no reason to pay for it.
How to Apply Funds from Outside Scholarships
Some of the funds provided by public and private agencies may be paid directly to Missional University (not to you, the student). This is considered third-party billing. Through Missional University's third-party billing process, the agency that provides the scholarship will receive a bill and send payment directly to Missional University.
Scholarship third-party billing is only available as an option if the student/agency provides the necessary tuition assistance documents prior to each term of enrollment. The tuition assistance documents must meet all standard requirements and will provide Missional University with direct bill authorization. If the private agency determines you are no longer eligible to receive a scholarship, you will be responsible for paying the tuition balance.
To have a private agency approved for direct billing, please send the following information to finaidinfo@missional.university.
- The name of the agency
The Educational Benefits Coordinator contact information
Search for Outside Scholarships
The following websites allow you to search and apply for many outside scholarships:
- CollegeScholarship.org -- Helping students pay for college since 1999
- Scholarshipowl.com -- Save you time by applying for compatible scholarships
- Scholarships.com—More than 3.7 million college scholarships and grants worth more than $19 billion.
- Fastweb—The leading free Internet scholarship search service.
- ScholarshipsCanada.com—Canada’s most comprehensive scholarship portal.
- Unigo Scholarship Search - 3.6 million college scholarships worth over $14B
Applying for scholarships is a time-consuming process and organizations have different schedules for disbursement. We encourage you to plan ahead.