Looking for college scholarships? Here are some places Greater Columbus students can apply

Between the ever-increasing cost of college tuition, changes to this year's federal financial aid formulas and the anxiety caused by a much-delayed Free Application for Federal Student Aid rollout, paying for higher education might feel a little more stressful this year.

While there is so much outside of families' control, there's one big way that students can lower that sticker price: external scholarships.

Applying for external scholarships — meaning financial aid given by outside donors like high schools, clubs, nonprofits or religious organizations — can help give students "more buying power," said Kirsten Crotte, senior associate director of financial aid at Otterbein University.

"Students should be investing time in applying for external scholarships," Crotte said.

Searching for and applying to external scholarships can be time consuming, but Crotte said every little bit helps.

"If a student spent 10 hours applying to 10 scholarships and only got one for $1,000, that could feel discouraging," she said. "But that's still $100 an hour for your time spent."

Typically, many external scholarships have February application deadlines. But a number of organizations have adjusted their deadlines to match the pushed-back FAFSA rollout and give families more time to apply.

There are plenty of external scholarships available for Greater Columbus students. Here is a non-exhaustive list of where you can apply.

The Columbus Foundation

Not only does The Columbus Foundation have a database of more than 200 college scholarships, but it also has its own Universal Scholarship Application.

High school and college students who fill out the Universal Scholarship Application can automatically apply for more than 100 scholarships listed in the Foundation's online scholarship directory.

The Columbus Foundation extended its deadline for the Universal Scholarship Application to March 22 to better align with the FAFSA rollout.

According to its website, applicants can upload a PDF of their confirmation email that includes their estimated Student Aid Index in lieu of the FAFSA submission summary. If the SAI cannot be calculated, applicants can also upload a screenshot of the page on the FAFSA website showing that the form has been submitted and that their SAI cannot be calculated.

Applicants are also required to provide a short description of their financial need in the application.

Alumni funds

Already committed to a university? Congrats! Your fellow insert-school-mascot-here alumni might have a scholarship fund to help you get through school.

The Ohio State Alumni Club of Franklin County, for instance, has a scholarship funded by club members for local students who got accepted at any Ohio State campus and are committed to attend. (That deadline is March 1.)

Search your city or home county plus the name of your college into a search engine and see what is out there.

Your high school's alumni association is also a good place to look for external scholarships.

High school and college students can search for high school-specific alumni scholarships through organizations like The Delaware County Foundation, The Muskingum County Community Foundation, The Pickaway County Community Foundation and The Union County Foundation.

Eligible Columbus City Schools seniors with continuous enrollment in the district who are enrolling full-time at an accredited U.S. university or college can apply for I Know I Can's Founder's Scholarship.

Program-specific scholarships

If you've committed to a certain major or are interested in pursuing a field of study, there is likely a scholarship for you.

The Career & Technology Education Centers of Licking County has a roundup of outside scholarships for trade fields including, but not limited to, cosmetology, cybersecurity, massage therapy and HVAC.

The Ohio Farm Bureau has a number of scholarships available to students interested in studying agriculture and related fields. Franklin County's Farm Bureau, for instance, awards multiple scholarships totaling nearly $15,000 each year to students studying at accredited colleges and universities.

The Nationwide Foundation Scholarship Program is awarding 24 scholarships averaging $3,000 each this year to Franklin County who have attended Columbus State Community College and are enrolled full-time in a bachelor's degree program at one of five Ohio colleges. Applicants must be business majors.

State grants and scholarships

The Ohio Department of Higher Education invests in a number of scholarship programs to keep students in-state and lower the cost of attendance for Ohioans.

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship is designed to support Ohio students interested in STEM-related fields and to increase the number of STEM teachers. The Department of Higher Education provides funding to participating colleges and universities, which direct the money to students. Interested students can reach out to the point-person at their specific institution to apply.

The Grow Your Own Teacher Scholarship Program is designed to help school districts recruit their own students and staff to become teachers within the district. Scholarship recipients agree to teach for a minimum of four years at their home school district in exchange for a scholarship of up to $7,500/year for four years of college.

The Department of Higher Education also has several scholarships for caregivers of disabled Ohio veterans; children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio veterans; and the kin of peace officers, firefighters and certain other safety officers who are killed in the line-of-duty.

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Looking for college scholarships? Here are some places you can apply