10 Scholarships You Can Apply For Right Now

Think back to your last few days as a high school senior. With a half dozen college acceptance letters and a severe case of senioritis, your parents probably pressured you to spend time on websites like Freeweb.com and Scholarships.com searching for any scholarship money you could put towards the tuition bills you were soon to be receiving. Whether you applied for just a handful or a few dozen, you remember that process well.

 
Fast forward to today. Whether you’re a few months or a few years out of high school, applying for scholarships probably hasn’t taken priority—yet your college bill is still sitting in front of you, flashing big green dollar signs and the promise of hefty student loans upon graduation. Fear not, collegiettesä! We’ve got a list of 10 scholarships that college undergraduates can apply for right now. So if you’ve got time to spare in the next few weeks, fill out the forms and get your creative juices flowing. There’s tons of free money out there—you just have to claim it!

1. “Frame My Future”  
How to apply:
Prize: Five awards of $1,000 each 
Deadline: March 2, 2011

Not a writer? This scholarship is perfect for you! Created by diplomaframe.com, entrants can create a piece of artwork that embodies what they would like to achieve following college graduation. The entry can be anything from a photograph or collage to a graphic design, scrapbook style page or poem. A short accompanying description of your submission is required, although it only has to be 500 words. 
 
2. Proof-Reading.com Scholarship  
How to apply:
Prize: One $1,500 award 
Deadline: June 1, 2011 
 
The only requirements for this scholarship are being enrolled in more than 12 credit hours at a university and maintaining a 3.5 GPA. Contestants must choose from three different prompts and must submit a 1,500-word essay about recently sworn in U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. As of February 20, 2011, only 41 entries had been received, making your chances of winning much higher than scholarships that receive thousands of applications! 
 
3. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation  
How to apply:
Prize: Varies 
Deadline: Varies 
 
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation offers a wide variety of scholarships with deadlines well into late April, May and June. Although each award is different, many do not require students to be of African American descent. Some, like the Performing Arts Scholarship require a resume, letters of recommendation, a personal statement and a video recording of a recent performance. Others, like the Environmental Studies Scholarship, will award $10,000 to minority women pursuing a degree in environmental science or other related fields.