While most sports scholarships are given by specific schools that are members of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) or other collegiate athletics organizations, there are a variety of lesser known scholarships given out by private sources for which athletes in various sports and at various levels should definitely considering applying.

Covering a range of athletic activity – from common sports like baseball to more obscure sports such as waterskiing and bowling – these sports scholarships can help cover the cost of tuition while encouraging a student to pursue his or her sport of interest.

Many of these scholarships deal with students who are not involved in mainstream collegiate athletics but who nevertheless have athletic abilities and interests.

These scholarships could also be an option for students involved in more standard college sports (such as division 1 and 2 football).

Participating in a different sport helps avoid burnout and may secure additional scholarship funds.

This increases the total amount of grant money available to help you pay for college.

1. American Legion Baseball Scholarship

This scholarship is for high school seniors and members of American Legion affiliated baseball teams. In order to be considered for the scholarships the students must be nominated by the head coach or manager of the team. The award amount is $1000. Only one student from each state will be selected, so this is a fairly competitive scholarship. Students can obtain a nomination form online.

2. AWSEF Scholarship

This sports scholarships is sponsored by the American Water Ski Educational Foundation (AWSEF). It is awarded college sophomores and seniors at both 2 and 4 year colleges who are members of all divisions of US WATER SKI, the main association for the sport. The award amount is $1500. An application, essay, two reference letters and a transcript are required.

3. Billy Welu Scholarship

Sponsored by the United States Bowling Congress, this scholarship is awarded to amateur bowlers who are enrolled in college program and have better than a 2.5 GPA. The award amount is $1000.

4. Dixie Boys Baseball Scholarship Program

The states Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia have a baseball franchise for youth called Dixie Boys Baseball Inc. This scholarship is for high school senior boys who have participated in the program. The scholarship is awarded based on financial need, leadership type participation in the school and the community, and academic performance. Two reference letters are required to apply along with proof of participation in a team, and essay, and a financial statement. The award amount is $1250.

5. Dixie Youth Scholarship Program

This scholarship is similar to the one above, but is awarded to high school seniors that have participated in a Dixie Youth Baseball League before the age of 13. Again, financial need and scholastic performance are taken into account as criterion for receiving the award. The award amount is $2000.

6. Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Scholarship

This scholarship is for both ethnic minorities and women who are interested in career paths in intercollegiate athletics on an administrative level. The scholarship is sponsored by the NCAA and the award amount is $6000.

7. Harness Racing Scholarship

Harness horse racing is a relatively obscure sport, but this scholarship is awarded to youth who have involvement with horses at either an employment or athletic level to encourage them to learn about the sport. It is awarded to students who are high school seniors all the way up to those under the age of 25.

8. Marsh Scholarship Fund Surfing Scholarship

The Eastern Surfing Association offers this award to students regardless of athletic ability who are members of the Association. Academic achievement and community involvement, rather than surfing ability, is the criterion for the award. The award amount is variable.

9. National Archery Association (NAA) Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to student archers at the college level who compete in the NAA College Division. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.5. The award amount is $500.

10. NABF Scholarship Program

NABF stands for the National Amateur Baseball Federation. The scholarship is awarded to students who have been involved in this organization and participated in at least one federation event. Scholastic achievement and financial need, as well as whether or not an applicant has received the award previously, are factored into the award decision. A grade point average of over 2.5 is also required.

11. USBC Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow Scholarship

This is another Unites States Bowling Congress (USBC) award but in this case is awarded only to high school senior girls with promising bowling ability. A bowling score average of 175 or higher is required in order to be considered. The student also may not have participated in professional bowling tournaments aside from Pro-AMs. The award amount is $1500.

12. USBC Annual Zeb Scholarship

This United States Bowling Congress scholarship is awarded to either high school junior or seniors who are USBC Youth members and have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher. Again, they may not have participated in professional tournaments accept the Pro AMs. Award Amount: $2500.

13. Women’s Western Golf Foundation Scholarship

This scholarship support high school senior girls who are golfers. It is sponsored by the Women’s Western Golf Foundation Scholarship. Academic achievement is part of the criteria for receipt of the award – applicants must be in good standing and maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or better in order for consideration in renewal of the award. The award amount is $2000.

14. USBC Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow

This award is yet another offered by the United States Bowling Congress. It is awarded to high school senior and college enrolled males under the age of 22 who compete in certified bowling events. The applicants must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher and a bowling score average of 175 or greater. Like the other USBC awards, students that have competed in professional bowling tournaments other than the Pro-AMs are excluded from the possibility of applying.

15. USBC Earl Anthony Memorial Scholarships

A more generally applicable United States Bowling Congress scholarship. This one is awarded to either male or female members of the USBC who are either high school or college students and who, as in the other cases above, have not participated in professional tournaments other than the Pro AMs.

Tips about Applying for Sports Scholarships

• Start the application process early. Do not wait until the last minute.

• People who submit sports scholarships applications earlier in the year often have a better chance of receiving an award. For instance, someone seeking to apply for a scholarship to help cover the tuition expenses of their freshman year should begin researching and applying for scholarships at the beginning of their senior year rather than the middle of the end.

• Create a list of applicable grants and scholarships and stay organized

• It does no harm to apply for a wide variety of sports scholarships. The worst than can happen is that student won’t be given the award. The goal should be to create a list of all the scholarships that are being applied for. Organization is important here. It’s a very good idea to keep the list of the scholarships and all the related paperwork in a folder (either a physical one or on the computer) and keep it well organized. A student will receive response letters, requests for information, and so on, all of which need to be kept in one place and monitored. If you have a Gmail account (you can get one for free if you do not), try using Google documents to set up a spreadsheet to monitor submission dates, responses, and so on.

• Supply the sports scholarships sponsor with a list of your sports and academic activities.

Though the sports scholarships mentioned in this article are athletic in nature, receipt of the award is usually based on more than athletic participation or performance, and is sometimes not based on a student’s sports career at all.

Thus the student will want to furnish the organization offering the scholarship with information on all his or her academic, school, and community activities.

To make sure that the student doesn’t miss any, it is a good idea to go year by year through the student’s junior high and high school career and list all of the school, extracurricular, and community activities so that none are forgotten. Then the student can give this information to the scholarship sponsor when they ask for it.

With diligence and organization, a student with athletic or other interests has a good chance of being awarded a scholarship by one of these private foundations. The key is to apply to a good number of them and present yourself in the best light possible.

When it comes to paying for your post secondary education, nothing beats school grants. For one, you don’t have to pay them back (unlike student loans), and secondly, they are usually doled out without the expectation of scholastic performance (unlike a scholarship, for instance).

From the student’s perspective, this makes grant funding one of the most desirable means of paying for his or her continuing education.

These days, obtaining a post secondary education is critical step to obtaining a well-paying, sustainable career. At the same time, it has become prohibitively expensive to do so. Accordingly there are a number of grant programs and funding sources in place that can be accessed by almost anyone willing to get educated.

Let’s take a look at some of the essential information necessary to get school grants and make your education something affordable.

Who is Eligible for School Grants?

The basic principle here is that any citizen who can demonstrate “financial need” is eligible for a grant. However, what financial need means differs somewhat from grant to grant. Basically, it is based on the yearly income either of the individual seeking to enroll in the school program, or the individual’s family income (i.e. parents).

As we go over the various grant programs currently available, we’ll also take a look at what some of the eligibility requirements. Chances are that unless you or your family are really doing quite well financially (which is less and less common in these troubled economic times), you are eligible for some sort of grant.

Which ones will depend on the specifics of your financial situation as well as the school(s) to which you are applying.

How Does One Apply?

The simplest way to apply for a large majority of available state and federal grants is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The FAFSA form can be found online and more details about it can be found here! It can also be picked up in paper form at many different locations such as universities, libraries, legal offices, and so on. The FAFSA is the basic way that state and federal government find out about and processes your financial status so that they can determine your eligibility for grants.

 The FAFSA has several sections. In the first section you fill out basic information such as your name and social security number, address, and so on. The next section requires you to answer questions regarding your dependency status (the majority of people applying for school grants are young and still dependent on their parents). The third section requires you to answer questions about the income situation of the parents, and the fourth section asks for information on the income/tax status of the student himself or herself.

Obviously, for people no longer dependent on parents, the third section is not important, and the fourth section is where all the relevant financial information is supplied. Various documents such as your tax returns and proof of income are needed to complete the FAFSA (there is a worksheet that goes along with the form to help you gather all the right documents before hand).

Types of Grants Available – Back to top

There are a number of school grant programs available in the U.S. Two of the main federal grant programs are PELL grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) grants. In addition there are other grant sources which include state grants available in the student’s state of residence, scholarships given by private foundations and organizations, and grants given by the educational institutions themselves.

Pell Grants  (Back to top)

Pell grants are one of the most common and widely accessed type of federal school grant, and are funded by the U.S. department of education. This type of grant was originally called the Basic Education Opportunity Grant program and was named after Claiborne Pell, a US senator from Rhode Island. While the amount of Pell grant money issued has been steadily rising (in 2010-11 the maximum grant will be $5,550, up from $4,050 in 2006-7), the fact that tuition are also steadily rising means that it now covers less of the tuition than it used to. It currently covers about 30% of tuition on average while in 1990 it was around 60%.

The eligibility for Pell grant is based on what is called Expected Family Contribution, which is an assessment of how much either the student or more commonly the student’s family can contribute to education costs for the school year being applied for. Again, this information is accessed from the FAFSA – simply filling out the form and stating that you want to be considered for a Pell grant is all that is required to apply for one.

Some of the nice things about Pell grants is that the amount of grant money never runs out – the more students apply the more money is allocated, you can be reimbursed for tuition money you’ve already paid, and you can adjust the amount you are applying for in response to changes in financial status.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity (FSEOG) Grants (Back to top)

FSEOG grants are similar to Pell grants in that they are federal and are based on financial need. These grants are done in tandem with the school a student is applying for. The government puts up 75% of the grant amount awarded and the school provides the remaining 25%. The eligibility is also arrived at from information on the FAFSA form and again, this is the main way to apply for them. A few other stipulations are that you must be a U.S. citizen, you must not already have a Bachelor’s degree, you can’t have had an overpayment of a federal Pell grant, and you can’t be in default on any educational loan.

More information on the FSEOG can be found here!

State Grants (Back to top)

Virtually all states have their own school grant programs. It is very easy to find out about them by consulting our exclusive state by state listing of available programs. Although your eligibility for some of these will be determined after you submit your FAFSA, applying for some of these grants require submitting separate forms. These can be accessed either be from the school in question or from the grant program’s website. They are then submitted prior to the beginning of the school year.

Grants and Scholarships Given by Private Foundations or Educational Institutions  (Back to top)

There are all kinds of foundations that give grants to students based on financial need, often along with good academic performance on the part of the student. These grants are known as scholarships. They may have various criteria other than simple financial need and good grades – sometimes they are for, say, underprivileged minority groups, students studying a particular field (for instance, electronic technology), and so on. Check our listing of state grants and scholarships and you will find many of these available programs.

Scholarships can often be secured from the very school a student is attending. If you have good grades and clear financial need, you may be eligible for one. Simply check with your school’s financial aid department and they can tell you all about scholarship eligibility.

Primary and Secondary School Grants (Back to top)

It should be noted that the above discussion has mainly been about grants for post secondary education – i.e. the college or university level. There are also grants/scholarships available for children attending private school at the secondary (high school) or even primary educational levels. These grants are a bit harder to find, but nevertheless many programs exist.

Probably the best advice here is to talk to the financial aid administrator of the school to which your child is applying. They can tell you all about both the grant and scholarship opportunities of the school itself, and of various foundations and government programs that you can apply to. You can also check with your state’s department of education.

If you want to go to school, the grant money is, more often than not, there. If you are truly wealthy enough not to qualify for any grant money, chances are you won’t be searching for grants anyway. So rest assured that if a grant seems like it will be necessary to help you out with education costs, you’ll probably be eligible for one. It may not cover the entire cost of your tuition, but the more effort you put into finding a series of grants (rather than just one) the more of your educational costs you can potentially fund.

The first step is apply to go for the main “big” grants – the federal grants listed above, plus whatever is available at the state level. For that, the key is submitting your FAFSA as early as possible in year you wish to attend school. After that is done, begin making a big list of all the more private grant sources available – everything from scholarships from your school, to private foundations, to even websites. When you’re done you should have a large list of potential sources. Simply apply to them all, and see what happens. If you’re lucky, you’ll find yourself with a good, substantial proportion of your education taken care of. Good luck!

Helpful Links (Back to top)

FAFSA web site
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

Grants.gov
http://www.grants.gov