Scholarships can be a vital piece of the financial aid puzzle for graduate and doctoral students. Include the following types of scholarships in your financial aid search as you budget for your educational career.

• Institutional Programs. Alumni groups often fund school-wide scholarships open only to students who attend that school. As a graduate or doctoral student, you may have more options than undergraduates for specialized institutional scholarships. Talk to your department chair to find out about scholarships directly related to your major or choice of study. Check with your school's financial aid office for more details about institutional scholarship programs.
• Corporate Scholarships. Scholarships by national or international corporations offer huge education benefits to promising students. These popular scholarships are competitive and often hold applicants to certain academic achievement, age, and employment restrictions. Small businesses in your community may offer locally based scholarships.
• Community Service Scholarships. Look for service-oriented scholarships to reward your drive to serve others. You can expect many community service scholarships to require recipients to commit to a specific number of service hours while they are still in school. Some institutions also offer scholarships for military service.
• Essay Based Scholarships. Community groups and businesses often hold essay contests open to students on a number of topics. To apply, you may need to write a convincing, thoughtful essay on topics ranging from vegetarianism to politics. If you take pride in your written voice and have a passionate stance on the subject of the scholarship, an essay contest could be an ideal way for you to earn money for school.
• Other Awards. Do you enjoy making things with wool? Are you interested in aquatic entomology or black and white illustration? Believe it or not, scholarships exist for people with unique skills, circumstances, and talents. If you are an excellent skateboarder, you work well with duct tape, or you're considering a career in mycology, there may be scholarships available to you.

With 1.3 million scholarships worth an estimated $3 billion dollars nationwide, scholarship searches can be both lucrative and complicated. Rather than paying a costly scholarship search company, consider starting your scholarship search at free sites like FastWeb or Student Aid on the Web. Scholarship information may also be available through your school, local community, or public library.