Never let a mistake you’ve made in the past discourage you from applying for a scholarship–

most applications don’t even ask about the applicant’s criminal record.

If you’d qualify for the scholarship without a felony conviction, there’s a good chance you’ll

quality for the scholarship with one.

Here’s some great advice to follow while you’re conducting your search:

1. Ask everyone you know.What resources are other students and parents using?

2. Use Scholarship Search Engines.Engines like scholarships, com, collegeboard.org, and fastweb.com are the perfect place to start. Fill out all optional questions in the search profile to yield as many as twice the amount of results.

3. Check with the colleges/universities you’re applying for.Straight from the horse’s mouth, as the saying goes–they’ll often have information on school-specific scholarships you can’t find elsewhere.

4. Check local newspapers and/or your guidance counselor’s bulletin board.Locally-based scholarships can be just as helpful while remaining far less competitive than their nationwide counterparts.

5. Check with community-based organizations in your city or town. Places of worship, civic centers, charitable groups, community foundations, Dollars for Scholars. Any one of these could hold the keys to your collegial future.

6. Don’t give up.Applying for a scholarship is like applying for a job–you won’t often book your first one. Apply early, apply often, and don’t get discouraged!

7. DO NOT pay for advice.Opportunities that require you to pay money to receive money are most likely scams. The only monetary investment you should ever make towards scholarships or scholarship-related info is the money you spend on postage stamps.