The Connecticut Association of Professional Financial Aid Administration (CAPFAA) is announcing the CAPFAA Scholarship for the academic year 2006/07.

This scholarship will be awarded to ten students for a thousand dollars each.

According to the Dean of Sacred Heart University Financial Assistance, July B. Savino, "Students should be encouraged to apply to scholarships. There are a lot of programs and scholarships which students could be eligible for," she also explained.

CAPFAA was founded in 1969 with the function of promoting professional training and collaboration between Connecticut College and University's student financial administrators, as well as others in educational organizations, government agencies, foundations, and private community associations that have to deal with the assistance and administration of student financial aid.

According to the CAPFAA, "We feel this scholarship is an excellent way to promote our mission of effectively serving the interest and needs of students in their pursuit of a higher education."

As Savino and Gail Marks, Assistant to the Dean and Coordinator of Office Communications noted, there are a lot of different scholarships and programs that offer significant opportunities and considerable amounts of money.

In fact, "over six-hundred thousand dollars of scholarships were given to full time students just in December for this academic year," said Savino.

In addition to the CAPFAA Scholarship, Sacred Heart University holds other programs for transfer students such as the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship; transfer students who are elected member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society and who have or will graduate from a qualified two-year institution are eligible for this program which offers more than four thousand dollars for an academic year.

The Connecticut Community College Scholarship Program is also available for forthcoming transfer students who are attending a Connecticut Community College and are residents of the State of Connecticut. This scholarship puts forward one thousand dollars to four thousand dollars for an academic year as well.

Also, students transferring to Sacred Heart University from an ascribed institution will be eligible for the Transfer Achievement Award Program.

Another scholarship also available for Sacred Heart Students is the Westchester Golf Association (WGA) Caddie Scholarship Fund. This program endeavors to make available financial assistance to worthy caddies and others who work in service to golf, enabling the search of higher education.

Scholarships have been awarded to over sixteen- hundred men and women so far. At this time, three-hundred students are attending colleges, universities and other schools bearing a caddie scholarship

Besides hundreds of specific scholarships, there are also scholarship opportunities available for students depending on majors, religious beliefs such as scholarships for Jewish students; ethnicity such as scholarships for Hispanics, Native Americans, Japanese or African-Americans; gender such as women's scholarships et cetera.

For instance, the AAUW Grants (American Association of University Women) offers money to women in all areas of study or majors or the American Association of University Women Project Renew Grant for women as well.

Programs for Hispanics or Latinos such as the Congressional Hispanic Scholarship (CHCI) are also available.

Scholarships for African Americans such as the Alpha Mu Gamma Scholarship or the Zeta Phi Beta African Fellowship offer different awards for black undergraduate students.

The American Indian Endowed Scholarship is another program that aids financially students tied to a Native American Community to follow undergraduate or graduate studies.

The Connecticut Community Foundation makes available programs for Jewish students such as the Malcolm Baldrige Scholarships for Jewish students enrolled in a university in Connecticut and residents in this state.

Hundreds of scholarships are accessible for students. There are a lot of different and very specific programs adequate for each student's needs.

Websites such as fastweb.com or free-4u.com are some of sites that help students to find out the appropriate scholarship for them. It's a free and easy search.

After logging in, students might look for their community, which might offer certain opportunities that they might be interested in. Students should look for organizations that provide awards based on ethnic backdrop, heritage, religious beliefs, gender et cetera.

Professors and academic advisers could be a good help because they may know about endowments, not public and corporate scholarships.

Besides this, it's important to pay attention to the scholarship essays; they must be organized, demonstrate creativity and tell real and precise facts. In addition to this, students must apply to those scholarships that they are qualified and eligible for.

"All they have to do is write a brief essay, list community involvement and they get the money! We have scholarships we can't give away because kids won't write an essay," said a representative of the Alumni Scholarship Fund Office.

According to this fastweb.com, there are over a million scholarships, which students can apply to. It is a "Free search of three billion dollars in scholarships."

As Savino finally explained, there are hundreds of fellowships and scholarships that are willing to offer their awards to those students who want to pursue a higher education. As she finally insisted, college students have to be encouraged to apply because there are a lot of award opportunities out there.