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The Dell Scholars Program enables more under-served students with financial need to achieve their greatest potential through higher education. The Program seeks to reward students who leverage their high school experience to prepare for college, taking challenging classes and participating in college-readiness programs, while taking care of other responsibilities outside of school. High school seniors who have participated for two years in an approved college-readiness program, such as AVID or Upward Bound, while maintaining at least a 2.4 GPA are eligible to apply for the Dell Scholars Program, which carries a scholarship award of $20,000.

The scholarship application focuses primarily on a student's dedication to college success, asking questions about your non-scholastic activities and responsibilities, the challenges you face, the steps you've taken to prepare for college, and the amount of financial support you need for college. Dell Scholars are students who have the drive to push themselves to earn a bachelor's degree. For more information on this award and other scholarship opportunities, please conduct a free scholarship search on Scholarships.com today!

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." This famous quote from The Wizard of Oz reminds us that people tend to hide their true selves behind some version of smoke and mirrors. In honor of the film’s 75th anniversary, we’re asking you: Do you hide behind a curtain, or a mask of sorts? Who are you internally versus the person you present to everyone else?

Write a poem about the true you, and what’s preventing you from pulling back the curtain so everyone can see too, for your chance to win $1,000 for your college education. Need a boost to get started? Check out our tip and action guides for ideas.

How to apply:

• Make sure you're eligible by checking out our FAQ and the contest rules. Basic requirements - (1) 25 years of age (or younger), (2) a current or former high school student who will attend/is attending college within the U.S. or its territories, and (3) a submitted original poem with the poetry slam tag Slam Behind the Curtain.
• Become a Power Poet by registering to be a part of our community. Look at previous winners, Action Guides, Tip Guides and other poems for inspiration.
• Add an original poem to Power Poetry by November 30th.

Check out our FAQ if you have any questions about the contest. If you’re interested in learning more about this or other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today!

While the road to a college degree may include countless detours, it’s essential to understand the importance of financial aid and filling out the FAFSA. But don’t just take my word for it – President Obama agrees: Last week, the President announced an initiative that would encourage more students to apply for federal student aid.

Under the FAFSA Completion Initiative, the Department of Education will work with states to identify students who have not completed the form and employ new outreach efforts to help more students through the process. The White House said the effort would build on earlier steps by the Obama administration to simplify the form and make it easier for parents and student to use information from their tax returns to complete the paperwork. "We made it simple. It doesn't cost anything. It does not take a long time to fill out. Once you do, you're putting yourself in the running for all kinds of financial support for college," said President Obama.

For those of you that aren’t familiar, the FAFSA (which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) acts as a gateway between graduating seniors and almost $150 billion in grants, loans and work-study funds that the federal government has available. Funds do run out, though, so we recommend filling out the FAFSA as early as possible. Have you filled out the FAFSA? Let us know how it went in the comments section. If you haven’t done so yet, review our financial aid section for some tips.

If you're actively considering a career as a physician, you're well aware of the long, rigorous and demanding road ahead. With challenging coursework and fierce competition in the forecast, not everyone is up for the challenge...but that hasn't necessarily translated into fewer students applying to medical school. According to U.S. News & World Report, medical school experts have predicted a shortage of doctors throughout the next decade but no shortage of prospective students. In 2013, total applications increased by 6.1 percent with the average number of applications at the top 10 medical schools totaling approximately 10,645. Check out the top 10 medical schools that receive the most applications for the most recent school year below:

• Drexel University College of Medicine – 13,620
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine – 12,901
• Georgetown University – 12,250
• Temple University – 10,980
• George Washington University – 10,397
• Jefferson Medical College – 10,118
• Boston University – 9,665
• New York Medical College – 9,044
• New York University – 8,830
• Tufts University – 8,647

Did your top-choice medical school make the list? If so, would you consider other schools with less competition? For more information on applying to medical school and figuring out how you're going to pay for it, head over to Scholarships.com.

Here at Scholarships.com, we make a point to advocate the importance of funding your college education the right way (for free!) and while financing your higher education solely with scholarships is an amazing feat, there is another factor to consider: colleges with no tuition to be begin with. Yup, they totally exist – check out the 11 colleges below where you can earn a degree for free:

• Alice Lloyd College
• Berea College
• Deep Springs College
• Curtis Institute of Music
• Webb Institute
• Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York
• Barclay College
• U.S. Military, Naval, Air Force and Coast Guard academies

We should also mention that elite universities with healthy endowments also tout financial aid programs that pay 100 percent of tuition, room and board and fees for students from families with certain incomes – $75,000 or less at MIT, $65,000 or less at Harvard and Yale, and $60,000 of less at Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, Duke, Brown and Texas A&M. For a more detailed look at any of the schools listed or hundreds of other universities, check out our College Search. And let us know where you’re heading this fall in the comments section!

With recent college graduates facing an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent and substantially lower starting salaries, we have to ask: What path should students take in order to flourish after graduation? And while there isn't one direct route that translates into post-collegiate success, H&R Block has compiled the top 10 majors with the highest unemployment rates for recent college graduates:

1. Anthropology & Archaeology – 10.5%
2. Film/Video & Photographic Arts – 12.9%
3. Fine Arts – 12.6%
4. Philosophy & Religious Studies – 10.8%
5. Liberal Arts – 9.2%
6. Music – 9.2%
7. Physical Fitness – 8.3%
8. Commercial Art & Graphic Design – 11.8%
9. History – 10.2%
10. English Language & Literature – 9.2%

What are your thoughts on the majors that made the list? Do you agree with the sentiment that these majors that aren't in high demand should be avoided or should students be encouraged to pursue their passion regardless of potentially high unemployment rates? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. For more information on how to choose a major,the most popular college majors and 10 things to consider before choosing your major, head over to Scholarships.com’s College Prep section.

Looking for a scholarship that doesn't require an essay? Well, look no further than ScholarshipPoints for your chance to win a $10,000 scholarship. ScholarshipPoints is free to join, fun to participate in, and provides you with the opportunity to win thousands of dollars in scholarships every month. Members earn scholarship points for doing what they already do online: shopping, reading blogs, playing games, searching the web, taking surveys and more! The more you do – the more points you earn – the more chances you have at winning a scholarship. Join today and you could be their next scholarship winner!

For more information on this scholarship and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free scholarship search today! By creating a Scholarships.com profile, you'll be matched with funding opportunities that are unique to you. These days you don’t have to be a star athlete or valedictorian to land scholarships. Many are based on characteristics like need, community service and your intended field of study, or if you dig even deeper, you’ll find a wide array of awards based on more specific characteristics. Chances are you qualify for more scholarships than you thought you did, so conduct a free scholarship search or browse through our site to see awards you may be eligible for and start earning money toward college.

To my understanding, the general rule of thumb for a creating registry is as follows: any event marking a significant life change (marriage, baby, new home, etc.) warrants one. And while no one would argue that heading off to college would fit that description, only recently have college-bound students been encouraged to register for items that would smooth their transitions to college life.

Once reserved for brides and moms-to-be, big box retailers are opening up their gift registries to college students. Target rolled out a college registry in June and already thousands have signed up. "Our college-bound guests were looking for an easy way to manage lists and share them with friends and family online," said Jenna Reck, public relations manager for Target. "When we looked at the registry experience we already offered through the Target Wedding and Target Baby registries, we quickly realized that it was the right solution." The registry will be accessible year-round and is geared toward students in every stage of their campus lives. Other retailers including Bed Bath and Beyond, The Container Store and Walmart also have registries that cater to college students. (For more on this story, click here.)

What are your thoughts on college registries? Do you think they’re practical or tacky? Share your thoughts in the comments section. For more information on preparing for college and what to expect once you get there, look over our College Prep section.

If you're heading to college in the fall, you'll be faced with a serious decision in the coming months: choosing the right major for you. And while there are myriad factors to consider when making your decision, reviewing the most popular college majors and the majors with the highest earning potential aren't bad places to start. But for those of you interested in something unique, USA Today has complied the list for you:

1. Puppet Arts, University of Connecticut: If you're interested in an undergraduate degree in puppetry, UConn is your only option in the U.S. Getting in might be tough – enrollment is limited to 22 students – but graduates have gone on to work and perform in theatres, television shows and films.
2. Bakery Science and Management, Kansas State University: KSU offers the only bakery science undergraduate program in the nation and graduates can pursue several jobs within the business. The school's website says bakery students can prepare themselves for "administrative, research, production, and executive positions."
3. Viticulture and Enology, Cornell University: Though it only recently became an official major, students in the school’s viticulture program typically go on to work in wineries all over the nation.
4. Secular Studies, Pitzer College: Phil Zuckerman, the school’s founder of the Secular Studies program, explained the degree’s main focus is about understanding secularity, secularism and secularization and how they relate to religion.
5. Canadian Studies, Duke University: Duke is one of the few colleges in the nation to offer such a program and it’s operated like most history tracks.

Would you consider any of these far-from-mainstream majors? Do you think said majors would translate into success in the real world? Share your thoughts in the comments section. And for more advice on how to choose a college major and 10 things to consider before finalizing your decision, check out Scholarships.com College Prep section.

Say what you will about Generation Y but one thing's for sure, they are one tech savvy group. Armed with smartphones, laptops and tablets, they are plugged in and on the go 24/7. And yet, so many students make the same tech mistakes repeatedly. (I’m looking at you, student who hasn't saved their work once in the past hour!) Luckily, U.S. News and World Report has compiled a list of mistakes to avoid when starting school as an online student, check them out below:

• Not backing up your data: "If I had a nickel for every time a student came to me crying to me, I wouldn’t have to teach," says Margaret Reneau, an instructor in St. Xavier University's online graduate nursing program. Reneau recommends using the online file storage service Dropbox, which offers free accounts of at least two gigabytes. Other options include regular back-ups to an external hard drive or uploading homework to cloud-based Google Docs.
• Not asking what browser is recommended for your program and courses: Check if your browser is compatible with the learning management system that your program uses and with the technical features in your courses.
• Not checking your email: Check your school email regularly for important announcements or forward your school emails to your personal account if that's the account you rely on.
• Not using apps: If your school offers an app, download it. Other apps such as Evernote can help with managing class work deadlines and projects.
• Not downloading a free reference manager: Free academic software programs like Zotero and Mendeley help students save, manage and cite research resources. This can save students a lot of time by making it easier to collect, organize and share research.

For the full list of tips, head over to U.S. News and World Report. What do you think of the suggestions? Are there any you'd like to add? Share your thoughts in the comment section. And for more information on preparing for college, head over to our College Prep section!