Fiction Fans: Its the Harry Potter Scholarship!

I was reading the Scholarships Blog at Enotes and I was reminded of what I’ve thought several times in my financial aid career: There is a scholarship for practically every hobby or demographic I can imagine (and there are thousands I definitely would have never imagined)

At the Common Knowledge Foundation, you can take this Harry Potter Scholarship quiz on the specified dates (plenty of time to hit the bookstore and study-up! If you were looking for a reason to read, here’s a great excuse.) I’m not personally familiar with the Harry Potter books, but they’re part of the culture and they seem to draw a lot of excitement to reading, which is great. No offense to the TV, but it seems to be a drag on vocabulary, writing skills, and creativity. Reading a book for pure enjoyment can also be a good way to break the stress of studying: If you can enjoy a good fiction story, it helps remove some of the negative association that can go along with reading.

This program is another good reminder that students should perform a comprehensive scholarship search at free web sites (review), high school guidance offices, and your college or university’s financial aid department. Also, local Chambers of Commerce will often have information about scholarship programs that the city’s businesses and business leaders are contributing to.

Don’t limit your scholarship search by focusing on a few sources of information. Make sure you look around and compare lists. Its easy to take the first opportunity and run with it, but you need to know all the options before rushing in.