Scholarships/Financial Aid

There are 3 basic forms of financial aid:

• Federal - applied for through the Free Application for Federal Student Aide (FAFSA)

• State - applied for through Bright Futures

• Private - Scholarships provided by private individuals, companies, organizations, etc., private aid has to be searched for.

The FAFSA application should be completed starting October 1st of your senior year.  You are applying for the next school year (the year you will attend college). FAFSA

The Bright Futures application, also known as Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA), should also be completed beginning October 1st of senior year. FFAA

Private scholarships have to be searched for.  There is no one-stop shop.  There are many places where you can find private scholarships.  Melbourne High School will post any private scholarships we hear about to the left.  Check back monthly for updates.

Scholarship Search Tools

FinAid offers tips to help you avoid scholarship scams.

The sites listed below are search engines.  You enter your personal information and the site will search for scholarships for you that they feel match your profile. 

Pro tip #1: Make your profile VERY specific, otherwise you will match an overwhelming amount of scholarships that may not actually be something you can apply for.

Pro tip#2: Make an email address dedicated to scholarship applications only.  This way, when the search engines below send you scholarships, they are not blowing up the personal email account you use every day.

Fastweb

Bold.org

Going Merry

Big Future through College Board - Take the scholarship quiz by signing in to your College Board account.  If you do not have a college board account, you can make one here.

Big Future is not a search engine.  However, you can search for scholarships through them.  They also offer their own scholarships just by recording with them when you have completed steps in the college process, ie: started your Common App, registered for an SAT, etc.

Scholarship Directories

BPS Directory of Scholarships

Brevard Schools Foundation - Scholarships specifically for students graduating from Brevard Public Schools.  All scholarships offered here are local!