Scholarship Station

     Scholarships have many roots such as  schools, philanthropists, databases, legacies, sponsoring institutions, and and organizations.  Some scholarships for college are merit-based, some need based; some do not have particular qualifiers or limitations.  You earn them by meeting or exceeding certain standards set by the scholarship-giver. Merit scholarships might be awarded based on academic achievement or on a combination of academics and a special talent, trait, or interest. Other scholarships are based on a recipient's financial need.

         Many scholarships are geared toward particular groups of people; for instance, there are scholarships for women or high school seniors. And some are available because of where you or your parent(s) work, or because you come from a certain racial or ethnic background (for instance, there are scholarships for military families, Asian & Pacific Islanders, Italians, Hispanics, African-Americans,  and Native Americans.).
        A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of a few hundred dollars. Some require simply an application; others may need an essay submitted.  Either way, they are worth the time to apply for because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education. 
         Two important links with which to become familiar are the Greater Kansas City Educational Foundation and the KC Scholars Program (the 2nd and 3rd links on the side) In addition, there are multiple scholarship databases listed that require you to set up an account; often, you will receive an email notification that a scholarship is available for you to consider application.  The "GoingMerry" is one requiring an account, and the organization will send regular communications about new scholarships.