Many people around the world now feel the pressure that is brought about by the continuous increase of tuition and other campus-related expenses. Public colleges and state universities now have a tuition increase that is even higher than that in private colleges.

The option of applying for college loans may be difficult to consider since most of these loans are paid off for years long after graduating from college. Due to this unavoidable problem, many students are now forced to take odd jobs or even to stop for a year or so and work, in order to earn enough money for higher education.

Fortunately for students, there are different kinds of scholarship programs available today. Many now try and take advantage of these programs no matter how small the assistance is since every dollar that they can save means more.

For most people the term scholarship is mainly related to only two things: academic and athletic. This misconception is the reason why many people are intimidated to try and apply for financial assistances or scholarships. However, what students should be aware of is that anyone can apply for a scholarship, all they need to do is to look for the scholarships that they can qualify for. One of these programs is the At-Risk scholarship.

Who Qualifies For All-Risk Scholarship Programs?
In order to qualify for an all-risk scholarship program, a student must first be proven as an all-risk and he should fall in at least one from these categories:

1. Having a serious disability that causes the student to unable to complete a college course. A certain handicap that is considered for the all-risk scholarship program is blindness or if he needs to use a wheelchair. These kinds of handicap maks it difficult for a student to go around and attend college.
2. Coming from a family that has an annual income lower than the poverty level, including both parent and single parent.
3. If the student is a certified member of any ethnic minority and who has a traditionally lower average rate of members able to pursue a higher level education.
4. If the student is a dependent of any migrant worker in farms.
5. If the said student is the first in the family that is to attend a higher level of education.

The above mentioned are grounds enough for a student to be awarded of an all-risk scholarship. What is more fortunate is that students are not required to have all of these qualifications; only one is enough to qualify them for such type of scholarship program. In the United States, the common all-risk scholarship programs are available in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. These are courtesy of the Roy P. Drachman Fund, the Idaho Minority and at risk Scholarship, and by the Daniels Opportunity Awards.

The Downside Of All-Risk Scholarship Programs
Unfortunately for students who are qualified for an all-risk scholarship, this is only usually offered within a certain college. This means that a scholar can only enroll in a certain course from a certain school. This limits the chances of students to apply for a course that they truly want.

Unlike a popular scholarship fund from an organization, an all-risk scholarship progra'm' course options are limited to only one school. Most of the schools that offer this kind of scholarship require an application that is accompanied by an essay. An advantage of this scholarship is that this can be awarded for many years.

Tips In Searching For All-Risk Scholarships In Your Area
For students who find themselves qualified to be the recipients of the all-risk-scholarship, they should first try to search through the local agencies. These agencies include groups like the Los Angles County Commission for Women that offers a $1000 fund for their Girls At-Risk Scholarship program.

It is advisable that a student who intends to apply for this form of scholarship starts looking for one and applying early on, probably even before the start of the senior year. Most of these scholarships are not highly publicized unlike other scholarship programs, so it is definitely ideal for a student to ask for assistance from their school's counselor.

Affordable or even free education is a right that a citizen of a certain country must take advantage of. Poverty is not an excuse for not trying to get away from it by studying and looking for a good and high-paying job.