Full scholarships are incredibly rare, with fewer than 20,000 students per year receiving them - that's less than 1% of freshmen entering college each year. Private scholarships are even more difficult to come by, with Kantrowitz estimating that there are fewer than 250 in the country that can cover all college costs. If you're looking to get a full scholarship, you'll need to strive for outstanding grades and test scores - nothing less than the best will do. These scholarships are highly sought-after and competitive, and only awarded to an incredibly small fraction of students (around 0.1%).
Full-tuition scholarships are the holy grail of college scholarships, covering most college costs for four years. They can be awarded by the federal government, universities themselves, or private sources (although these are rare). The Coolidge Scholarship is one example of a full scholarship available to any American university student, regardless of background or academic discipline. It covers tuition costs and other expenses such as travel, room and board, and student fees.
The Charles Scholarship is another full scholarship option, awarding up to three students each year with coverage for tuition and other educational costs. The Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship is also worth considering - it offers full tuition plus a one-summer stipend for immersion activities such as studying abroad. Although full scholarships are rare, there are other scholarship opportunities that can significantly reduce your college expenses. Corporate and foundation scholarships generally give students more freedom to attend the college of their choice while receiving scholarship money to cover most or all of their tuition costs.
The Soka Opportunity Scholarship is another option - it covers up to the cost of tuition plus additional costs such as room and board, health insurance, a meal plan and laptop stipend, and possibly additional stipends for books, transportation and personal expenses.
