• Earning a scholarship can help alleviate college tuition costs.college campus image by Nick Alexander from Fotolia.com
  
  With the cost of college tuition rising every year, finding suitable funding to pay this cost is almost essential. Student loans are a big help, but they will need to be repaid after graduation. Achieving a scholarship is a helpful way for high school students interested in college to help pay for tuition without having to worry about debt after graduation.
  
  

Coca-Cola Scholars Program

• High school seniors must apply between Aug.1 and Oct. 31. Applicants must have a grade point average of 3.0 or greater and intend to go to an accredited U.S. school. Applicants will then be notified in November if they are semifinalists. These semifinalists will complete a second application that includes an essay, transcript and two recommendation letters. Then, 250 finalists will be brought to Atlanta for an interview. Fifty of the finalists will become National Scholars and receive $20,000 over four years. The 200 other finalists will be named Regional Scholars and be awarded $10,000 over four years.
  
  

Key Club International Scholarship Program

• If a high school student is a member of his school's Key Club, he can apply for the Key Club International Scholarship. The student applying must be a high school senior with a grade point average of at least 3.0. A copy of the student's high school transcript is required. Deadlines vary from club to club, so contact the KCI representative of your district for more information.
  
  

AFA Teens for Alzheimer's Awareness College Scholarship

• The AFA Teens group awards a $5,000 scholarship to a high school student who writes the best essay on Alzheimer's awareness. A student hoping to achieve this scholarship must submit an autobiographical essay on how Alzheimer's disease has affected her life and what she has learned from Alzheimer's disease. The essay must be 1,200 to 1,500 words. The deadline to apply is Feb.15, and this scholarship is awarded yearly.