Just because an organization offers money for the college-bound doesn't mean that you're automatically eligible to receive it. Most scholarships have some sort of eligibility criteria that you must meet before you'll even be considered for the award. Nicely, organizations tend to explain the criteria upfront.

The standard evaluation categories consist of the following:

• Background (ethnic, religious, family history, employment)
• Intended field of study
• Geographic location (home or college)
• Impairment (physical, learning, visual, hearing)
• Talent (sports, arts, languages)
• Community service (the voluntary kind, not the kind that the judge orders you to do when you've been bad)

You can't do anything to change your ethnic heritage, but you can do something to qualify for the talent or community service awards. Of course, a few awards have no eligibility limitations; they're available to anyone entering college and are generally assessed by highest marks or performance in a competition.