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They say the best things in life are free...and though we don’t know who exactly "they" are, we couldn’t agree more: As a Scholarships.com member, you have access to a customized scholarship search, detailed financial aid information, an organized college search, standardized test study guides and more all at no cost to you. Think your friends might like these gratis goodies as well? Spread the word about Scholarships.com through our Tell A Friend Scholarship and you'll have a chance to win money for college – $1,000 for you and $500 for one of your buddies!

To enter, simply copy your personalized TAF referral link (you can get it here) and blog it, tweet it, email it, IM it or Facebook it. For every one of your friends who creates a profile on our site by clicking your link, you will be entered to win a $1,000 award; there’s no limit as to how many people you can send your link to and if you win, one of your friends who created a Scholarships.com profile using your link will be chosen at random to win $500. That’s WAY better than a friendship bracelet!

Remember, the more friends you refer, the more entries you’ll get until the June 30th deadline. For more information, visit our Tell A Friend Scholarship page and for additional scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today. Good luck!

Winning money for college is great but doing so without having to meet astronomical word counts and double-digit page requirements is even better. Lucky for you, the folks at College Prowler couldn’t agree more and have launched the $2,000 No Essay Scholarship.

The scholarship is open to all students and those planning on enrolling within 12 months. The monthly winner will be determined by random drawing and then contacted directly and announced on their Facebook page. One entry per person, but you can come back each month to try again. To apply, please visit College Prowler or complete a free scholarship search to find additional opportunities.

Cost plays a huge role in many students’ college choices. Depending on their financial situation, some students dismiss the schools with high tuition in favor of lower-cost in-state schools because they think it will save them money. In actuality, they could be doing themselves an economic disservice in the long run.

Using data from U.S. News and World Report’s most recent student debt survey of 25 top-ranking public and private schools, Reuters revealed that, on average, 53 percent of students surveyed received financial aid and at least half of students at most of the institutions graduated debt-free...but it depends on what school they attended: Princeton graduates, for example, owed only $5,000 at commencement while University of Michigan graduates owed more than $27,000 despite Michigan’s in-state costs being less than half of Princeton’s. How is this possible? Numerous schools including Princeton, Caltech, Davidson College and the University of Washington have eliminated student loans from their financial aid packages and others like Harvard, Stanford and UC Berkeley have capped contributions for students from low- and middle-income families. (Check out the entire article here, including this handy infographic.)

While it is difficult for many students to attend college without taking out some kind of loan – especially those attending state-run institutions which don’t have the fiscal means to eliminate debt – it is possible to avoid debt if you choose the right school. Thoughts?

by Angela Andaloro, Scholarships.com Virtual Intern

As college students, we make tons of important decisions every day. Our futures are constantly at the forefront of our minds and for some students, continuing their schooling after completing their undergraduate degree is a very serious option. Luckily, many schools recognize this and offer five-year programs that allow students to begin graduate work as an undergrad and have their credits apply to both degrees. So how can you tell if such a program is right for a student like you? Here are some things to consider:

• Are you positive you want to pursue a graduate degree? If so, then these programs can be great for you! You can finish both degrees in less time than it would take to pursue them separately. Financially speaking, this is also a good move because you'll be spending less money on school.
• Are you looking for a challenge? By senior year of college, some students start to question how much they’ve learned and how challenging their course loads are. If you feel like you need more of a challenge, beginning graduate classes as a senior could provide you with just that. You’ll also have the opportunity to warm up to a graduate course load.
• How much of a difference does it make? In some instances, a master’s degree does not make much of a difference in the type of job you get or how much you will ultimately make after college. It IS very important and almost necessary in some fields – yours just may not be one of them. It’s best to do research on your intended field and see what the pros and cons of getting a master’s degree are for what you want to do when you have your diploma in hand.

I hope these tips help you out but the truth is no one can decide for you whether or not a five-year combined undergrad and grad program is the right fit – it takes your willingness to research, consult with people in the right departments and get all the facts straight before making your final decision.

Angela Andaloro is a junior at Pace University’s New York City campus, where she is double majoring in communication studies and English. Like most things in New York City, her life and college experience is far from typical – she commutes to school from her home in Flushing and took nearly a semester’s worth of classes online – but she still likes to hang out with friends, go to parties and feed her social networking addiction like your “average” college student.

At this point in the year, high school seniors and transfer students know where they’ll be heading in the fall...unless they don’t. It’s not uncommon for a student to have second thoughts about the school they committed to or receive the news that they didn’t get off the wait list at their school of choice after enrollment deadlines for other potential schools had passed. If this sounds like you, you don’t have to put your post-secondary aspirations on hold: NACAC’s Space Availability Survey has revealed hundreds of schools that are still accepting freshman and/or transfer applications for the fall semester. Check out a sampling below:

• Albertus Magnus College
• Birmingham-Southern College
• Canisius College
• Drew University
• Eastern Illinois University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Gonzaga University
• Hofstra University
• IUPUI
• Johnson & Wales University
• Kalamazoo College
• LSU (Baton Rouge)
• Massachusetts College of Art and Design
• North Dakota State University
• Oregon State University
• Pace University
• Queens University of Charlotte
• Rutgers University (Camden)
• Southern Vermont College
• Truman State University
• University of Kansas
• University of Utah
• Valparaiso University
• Wilkes University
• Xavier University
• York College (CUNY)

The list will be updated regularly here – will this information help you in your college search?

by Radha Jhatakia, Scholarships.com Virtual Intern

The majority of college students today own smartphones and use these devices more for apps, browsing the web, checking email and texting than actually making phone calls. Here are a few that will benefit most students...and most are available for both Android devices and iPhones.

My top most recommended apps are Amazon Student and Kindle for iPhone or Android. Amazon Student has deals for students on books, electronics and much more and if you are a member of Amazon Student, you only have to pay half price ($39) for Prime membership, which gives you access to movies, TV shows and music online plus free two-day shipping anytime. The Kindle app allows you to access e-textbooks on your phone for those few minutes before class when you remember you had a reading assignment to do.

Students also have schedules filled with schoolwork, extracurricular activities, jobs and more. How do they keep it all straight? Some apps to make things convenient include The Weather Channel, Wells Fargo, Discover and Evernote. A weather app allows you to check the weather outside so you can dress accordingly, a bank or credit card app will make it convenient for you to pay your bills on the go (some even have ways for you to make check deposits without setting a foot in the bank) and note apps allow you make to-do lists and take notes which you can sync with your calendar.

Other convenient apps include translators, dictionaries and games for stress relieving. As long as you don’t mind some ads, these apps are available for free (but you can purchase ad-free versions for about $.99). What are your favorite apps?

Radha Jhatakia is a communications major at San Jose State University. She's a transfer student who had some ups and downs in school and many obstacles to face; these challenges – plus support from family, friends and cat – have only made Radha stronger and have given her the experience to help others with the same issues. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking, sewing and designing. A social butterfly, Radha hopes to work in public relations and marketing upon graduation.

The academic year is winding down but so is the amount of time left to apply for Scholarships.com’s Short & Tweet Scholarship: Applicants now have just one week to enter to win a $1,000 scholarship or Kindle for college!

Whether this is the first you’re hearing about this award or you’ve applied multiple times since the contest relaunched on April 2nd, here’s a quick refresher on what you need to do to create a scholarship-worthy entry:

• Follow @Scholarshipscom on Twitter.
• Mention @Scholarshipscom in a tweet answering the question "What was the most important thing you learned this year *AND* why?" Once you do this, you are entered to win a $1,000 scholarship or one of two Kindles.
• You may enter as many times as you want until May 14th but please limit your tweets to three per day (and no tweeting in class!). Each tweet will be a stand-alone entry and tweets that are submitted by non-followers, exceed 140 characters, do not include @Scholarshipscom, do not answer the entire question or are submitted after the May 14th deadline will not be considered. On May 15th, the Scholarships.com Team will begin reviewing Short & Tweet entries to determine which tweets are most deserving of the awards.

Think you have what it takes to take the Short & Tweet prize this time around? Get thee to Twitter and wield those 140 characters wisely! For more information about this scholarship and others, conduct a free scholarship search today. Good luck, everyone!

Note: The Short & Tweet Scholarship is offered by Scholarships.com and is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Twitter.

by Lisa Lowdermilk, Scholarships.com Virtual Intern

If you had to guess, what percentage of students start college and actually finish it? According to a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 46 percent of students who started college earned degrees in 2010. Hefty student loans and interest rates, stress and being academically unprepared are amongst the many reasons college drop-outs cite; some students report being as much as $50,000 in debt before graduation with no viable means of paying it off.

Given this info, it’s really important that you consider if college is right for you before applying, especially if the field you’re thinking about going into doesn’t require a degree. There are still plenty of great job opportunities for people who think college may not be for them, including air traffic control and locomotive engineering. That’s not to say, however, that a college degree is overrated. According to a study conducted by Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, bachelor’s degree holders earn 84 percent more than high school graduates during their lifetimes. And while there are still plenty of jobs that don’t require a degree, virtually every employer will prefer a college graduate over a high school graduate.

My goal here is not to discourage anyone from attending college; instead, I want to present both sides of the argument so that you can commit 100 percent to furthering your education or, alternatively, seek out a job that doesn’t require a degree. It’s better to recognize now that you won’t be able to commit to college than be forced to drop out and pay back $50,000 in student loans later. No matter which path you choose, one thing’s for sure: You’ll have to work hard if you want to succeed!

Lisa Lowdermilk is a soon-to-be published author (her first novel is a murder mystery for young adults set in the future), an avid video gamer and an artist. She enjoys watching thrillers, trying different restaurants and attempting to breakdance. Lisa completed her Associate of Arts degree entirely online and is now majoring in professional writing at the University of Colorado Denver.

In this scholarship of the week, Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation wants you to consider the role patents play in the invention cycle? What would the world be like without the patent system? Then create an original video that conveys why you think the patent system is important for a chance to win a cash prize or scholarship. Your video should be creative and concise. Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation is devoted to promoting intellectual property rights, so please do not use copyrighted material in your video. Submit your video along with the required supporting materials by July 1st for a chance to win!

For more on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

by Kayla Herrera, Scholarships.com Virtual Intern

As a soon-to-be college graduate, you are probably stoked to get the heck out of school but also a little scared to enter the sneering, looming workforce that will launch you into the rest of your life. This is it - the final draw before your life is dictated by 40-hour work weeks and mortgage payments - and there are some things I highly recommend you do before leaving your campus life behind:

• 1. Attend a rock concert somewhere. Sure, it’s not entirely school-related but you should still do it. The energy of the audience coupled with the chill atmosphere and good music is extremely uplifting – take a walk on the wild side!
• 2. Study abroad. I know this can get costly but a study abroad experience is remarkable and one you won’t forget. Ever. Plus, employers love someone who’s willing to go the extra mile...or 3,000.
• 3. Get on stage. Whether it’s to recite poetry, sing a song, participate in a debate or give a speech, having a stage experience can benefit you in so many ways. Once you stand back and see it didn’t kill you, you feel pretty good about yourself.
• 4. Get experience in your field. Whether it’s an internship or co-op, you are going to want to be able to say you’ve seen the inside of a newsroom, a trading floor or something related to your career. You've got to test out the waters before you know you want to dive all the way in!
• 5. Have your own first pet. This may sound weird but owning a pet at this age can really help us grow. Owning your first pet – it doesn’t have to be just a dog or a cat – is a remarkable feeling because YOU raise it and it is YOUR responsibility. And when it turns out pretty okay, it’s nice to know you’ve got what it takes to take care of something other than yourself.

What are some other experiences you think you should have before you graduate from college?

In addition to being a Scholarships.com virtual intern, Michigan Tech student Kayla Herrera is a media coordinator for the Michigan Tech Youth Programs and is a writer for The Daily News in Iron Mountain, Mich., Examiner.com and WHOA Magazine. She love a tantalizing, action-packed video game and can't get enough of horror movies (Stephen King's books always have her in their grip, though she prefers the old over the new). Writing is what she has always done and that is what she is here to do.