Is your child dreaming of what comes after high school? Whether it’s a four-year college, community college, trade or technical school, an apprenticeship, or a certificate program, the savings in your Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage account will pay for those qualified expenses.

Your family should also look at scholarships to maximize the funds in your Ohio 529 account. Scholarships are free money that will not have to be paid back. Together, 529s and scholarships are a powerful team as they work together to reduce the need for student loans.

Also, having a 529 plan will not affect your child’s eligibility to earn merit scholarships because these scholarships are based on your child’s academic and/or athletic prowess skills, as well as other extra curriculars and work in the community. Some businesses will even offer scholarships to their employees in appreciation of their hard work and dedication.

 According to the 2024 “ How America Pays For College” study by Sallie Mae, families use scholarships and grants to pay for up to 27% of educational expenses. These families received scholarships from schools, their home state, non-profits, and other organizations. According to the study, the average amount of scholarships from schools was $8,250. That dollar amount shows how scholarships can be a critical part of your game plan to cover your child’s college or career training. Here are some ideas to get started to find those scholarships to help cover their college costs.

Encourage your student’s skills and passions

During high school, your student will probably pursue many different extracurriculars, like school organizations, sports, work, and volunteer activities. This can help them to be a more well-rounded candidate to colleges as well as scholarship organizations. 

What is your student passionate about? This could lead to volunteering opportunities to add to their scholarship applications and may even inspire their choice of what to study after high school. Do they participate in any clubs after school or are they a member of a sports team? Do they work a part-time job to add to their college savings? These activities not only show off your student’s academic abilities, but they also highlight that your student can balance responsibilities with good time management skills. 

Start the scholarship search early

You should start the scholarship search at least a year before your student heads off to their next chapter after high school. Some scholarships have deadlines that are at least a year from when these funds would be released. So, if your student would like to compete for these scholarships to use their first year of college, they will need to fill out the application the summer prior to their senior year of high school.

It will take time for your students to research and find all the available scholarships for which they qualify. It will also take a good amount of time to fill out the scholarship applications and write the necessary essays.

Where to begin

Start your scholarship search by visiting Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. This is the federal agency where you will fill in the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which will determine how much federal financial aid your student qualifies for. The agency also offers guidance on scholarships and Pell Grants, and has additional resources like free scholarship search tool from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Also, check with the schools and institutions where your child wants to pursue their education. They may be able to point you to other scholarship resources like state agencies and scholarships or aid at the school.

Visit high school counselors

An appointment with your student’s high school counselor is also a smart move. Counselors have access to resources and scholarship tools to point you and your student in the right direction. Counselors also can offer guidance on scholarship essays, and help your child prepare for any scholarship interviews. They can also assist your students in identifying teachers to ask for recommendation letters to strengthen their applications.

Search free scholarship websites

There are many free online scholarship sites to research like Scholly® Scholarships by Sallie℠ and FinAid to name a few. On these sites, your child will create a profile with their academic scores, community, or volunteer service, athletic or academic activities. Students will then be matched with eligible scholarships. 

Sallie Mae also offers the Paying For College Resource. The website assembles free tools, videos, and checklists to follow as you all prepare for your children’s higher education. It even shows what steps to take to fill out FAFSA and how to understand your financial aid letters. There’s also a monthly $2,000 scholarship that your child can register for and they don’t even have to write an essay for it.

Free Ohio scholarship websites

The State of Ohio also wants to help you search for scholarships. Once your child fills in this online form, the site will match them to over 1.5 million scholarships in Ohio’s database.

Additionally, the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) offers to connect you to multiple scholarships and grants available throughout the state. As the ODHE website states, some financial aid will be decided based on students’ “areas of study (such as teaching, science, engineering, technology, math and medicine), academic merit, financial need, military status, and more.”

Check for any local scholarships offered in your area. Some scholarships are given to a local student in someone’s memory with the same education plans. Also, local businesses could also offer scholarships for students who want to study in a specific area of study or in a certain vocation or technical skill. Local service organizations like Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs also offer scholarships. Also, see if the business where your student works or organizations where they volunteer offer scholarships.

Cities and schools can also offer financial aid through scholarships. For instance, the Say Yes Cleveland Scholarships help Cleveland Metropolitan School District graduates can pay for college tuition to attend college, university, or accredited training program. Greater Cleveland residents have additional scholarship, mentoring, and college and career training resources at CollegeNow. With The Columbus Promise, Columbus City School (CCS) District graduates can take classes for free at Columbus State Community College. The CCS students will also receive a $500 scholarship per semester, up to six semesters. For students in the greater Cincinnati area, look to the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation to find available area scholarships in that part of the state.

As local and statewide scholarships draw from a smaller pool of applicants, there may be less competition and therefore, better odds of receiving these scholarships.

Be sure to apply for small dollar scholarships. If your student earns several of these, their scholarship total will grow. There may also be fewer applicants for these scholarships so your student’s application may stand out in a smaller crowd. 

Remember, you should not have to pay a fee to apply for a scholarship. If an organization asks for a fee or credit card number, do not share that information with them and take your scholarship search elsewhere.

Since 1989, Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage has been helping families across the nation save for their children’s college and career training. Ohio 529 Plan covers qualified costs at any four-year college or university, two-year community college, trade or vocational school, apprenticeship approved by the U.S. Labor Department, or certificate program nationwide that accepts federal financial aid. Learn, plan, and start for as little as $25 today at CollegeAdvantage.