The first step to take when applying for scholarships is to collect all the information scholarships generally ask for, such as transcripts, personal statements, your personal income and expenses information, your community service history and extra curricular activities.
Once you have gathered all the basic requirements, go online and search for scholarships that are right for you.
Several online scholarship services match you with scholarships based on your profile information and their requirements.
Fastweb.com is a scholarship matching service where all you have to do is register and answer profile questions about yourself. You will instantly get a list of scholarships you may be eligible for based on your answers.
 Although it may be exciting to see all these potential scholarship matches, remind yourself that, though $3 billion worth of scholarships are offered on these sites, millions of people are applying for them. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply for them; though just don’t put all your focus on only that.
Look for scholarships offered in your community and school. Often, local stores or community organizations offer excellent scholarships many people don’t hear about because they are harder to find because of lack of publicity. Luckily, there are resources to help find these scholarships online.
On the De Anza website’s Financial Aid home page, the link titled “Scholarships” provides the process of filling out applications all in one place.
Local scholarships are accessible by creating a username and password and filling out one application, which will be used for every scholarship applied to.  Although only one application needs to be filled out, every individual scholarship has its own criteria. Try to qualify for every requirement listed to increase your chances of getting the scholarship.
According to Sarah Corrao, financial aid assistant, recommends submitting five to six applications.
After you have completed your applications and sent in all of the required material, the final step is to continue checking up on the status of your application and be updated on responses.