There are many scholarships out there that aren’t tied directly to the PSAT. You would probably need to take the SAT or ACT so you can show your abilities to the panel awarding the scholarship. Most scholarships aren’t automatic like the National Merit Scholarship where you take a test and get money if you do well.

Most scholarships are simply offered by charities, individuals or through the colleges (often those are donated by former students), and you have to send in an application for the scholarship along with transcripts and SAT scores. If you think it sounds like a pain in the butt to have to apply twenty places in hopes of getting money, that’s good–it means that every qualified student won’t be applying, which raises your chances.

You can find out about scholarships in a variety of places. Search the internet of course–there are many small scholarships that aren’t advertised well. If you have picked out a college to attend, call and/or visit the financial aid office (it may be too soon for them to really help you since you haven’t been accepted, but they should be able to set your mind at ease that there is money out there for you). Also, most high schools have something set up to help with this–a career center, your guidance counselor, or something–figure out who at your school help students with this–they won’t find you scholarships (actually, they may find you one or two), but they’ll at least tell you where to look for them.

Then comes the hard part–putting together a good application. When that seems like too much trouble and totally not worth it, think of the application as an essay contest to win $5000 (rather than a boring application)– it is good for the motivation.