Finding money to help pay for college is a high priority for almost all college students. And one of the best ways to help pay for education costs is to get a college scholarship as it is basically money that you are being given and will never have to repay. But pursuing college scholarships should be done in an organized way if you plan on being successful, and here are the top 10 tips to help you get college scholarships.

1. Before applying to any scholarship program, be sure you thoroughly understand what the requirements for the scholarship really are, and only apply for the scholarship if you are sure that you are indeed eligible.

2. In filling out the application form for the scholarship, make sure that you fill in every single blank on the form without leaving anything out. If a particular section of the form does not apply to you simply indicate that on the form space provided. If you leave areas of the form blank, there is a good chance that your application will not succeed.

3. Be sure that you know what the directions are for applying for each scholarship program and that you follow them very carefully. Do not just send a generic pack of information to each scholarship program, or send extra information that they did not ask for.

4. One of the most important things that you can do to get your application noticed is to make sure that it is easily readable and neat. The best way to do this is to type out your application, but if that is not possible then be sure to print neatly so that it can be easily read. If the scholarship program has quite a few applications to go through, they will most likely just discard those that are difficult to read.

5. When writing an essay for any scholarship program, do your best to make it as personal as possible. Avoid long, dry recitations of information. Here is where you want the scholarship reviewers to get to know you as a person.

6. Before sending off any scholarship packet, make sure that you have made a backup packet just in case the first one gets lost in the mail.

7. Keep good track of all deadlines and make sure that you get your scholarship packet gets sent off well in advance so that it is not late.

8. Before sending off your packet have someone with good writing skills review it and make suggestions on any improvements that could be made.

9. Double and triple check your spelling and grammar to make sure that your packet is as error free as possible.

10. Avoid all scholarship scams that ask you for money in order to qualify for or be eligible for a scholarship.

If you follow the tips listed above for finding and applying for college scholarships, and then regularly apply to as many as you can, most likely you'll be able to find the money that you need to pay for your college education.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including education. You can find scholarships for minorities and scholarship essay samples and more by visiting our education website.