Education should be available to all, and it should not be hampered due to monetary difficulties. But college education is quite expensive and many students have to put their dreams and aspirations on hold due to lack of funding. Many families are unable to bear the expenses of a pricey Ivy League college degree and are heartbroken when they see their smart kids denied the right to a good education. When funding your college education is a problem, you should consider scholarships. There are many easy scholarships that you can apply for, which would fund either the entire, or part of your college fees. Some scholarships will even pay for books, study materials, accommodation and food. Some scholarships like the Coca Cola Scholarship, Discover Scholarship Program and college grants have stringent requirements that take a lot of time and effort to apply. Moreover, you will be competing against a higher number of applicants, which will considerably decrease your odds of bagging such prestigious and popular scholarships. A good plan is to apply for these popular scholarships and also apply for some easy scholarships. Nordstrom Scholarship Program The Nordstrom Scholarship Program is a scholarship offered by Nordstrom, Inc., which is an upscale fashion retail chain. The scholarship amount is $10,000 which is awarded to 80 students annually. The application for 2013 has not yet been announced, but it will be open around the early part of the year. Eligibility: To be eligible for this scholarship you need to be a high school junior who plans to attend an accredited college, where the duration of study is four years. You also need to have a cumulative unweighted GPA of minimum 2.7. Participation in community work during school is also an additional requirement to be eligible for this scholarship. Short and Tweet Scholarship We all know the power of social media. But, did you know that just tweeting can earn you a scholarship? To enter the Short and Tweet Scholarship, all you need to do is tweet, to answer the question, "What's your school related resolution for 2013 and how you plan to stick to it?" This scholarship is open from December 26, 2012 and it ends on January 31, 2013. The winner will receive an $1,000 scholarship and the first and second runners up will be awarded a Kindle each. You can submit as many entries as you like, provided the tweets do not exceed 140 character. You also need to limit your submissions to not more than 3 tweets a day. Eligibility: This scholarship is open to all U.S. citizens who are high school, undergraduate or graduate students. First-Time Freshman Scholarship For all aspiring chefs who want to attend culinary school, but are held back due to lack of finances, the First-Time Freshman Scholarship is worth applying to. This scholarship is sponsored by The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The deadline for the application is July 24, 2013 and the scholarship award is $2,500. To apply for this scholarship, you need to answer four different essays questions, the word limit for which varies from 100-300 words. Eligibility: This scholarship is open to all U.S. citizens who will be first-time freshmen, including graduating high school seniors, GED graduates and high school graduates. Fifth Month Scholarship A unique scholarship that students can apply to is the Fifth Month Scholarship 2013 sponsored by ScholarshipExperts. To apply for this scholarship, applicants have to write a letter under 250 words. This letter has to be addressed to number five (since May is the fifth month of the year), explaining why number five is important. Entry for this scholarship starts from January 3, 2013 and ends on May 31, 2013. The scholarship amount is $1,500 which is awarded to one recipient. Eligibility: This scholarship is open for all U.S. citizens who are above the age of 13. Applicants must be enrolled in post-secondary institution or higher learning institution. Create a Greeting Card Scholarship If you are artistically inclined and have a flair for designing, then you can definitely apply to Create a Greeting Card Scholarship. The sponsor for this scholarship is Prudent Publishing Company Inc. To enter this scholarship cum contest, you need to design an original photo, computer graphic or artwork for the front of a greeting card. The winner will be awarded $10,000. If you are interested in this scholarship, then you need to hurry as the last date of submissions of entries is January 16, 2013. Eligibility: This scholarship is open for middle school, high school as well as college students residing in United States, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands and Puerto Rico. The contest is also open for international students who have a student visa to attend school or college in United States. Giacomo Bologna Scholarship Is it your dream to be a world renowned chef who is in charge of his/her own restaurant? An easy scholarship to apply for, to make this dream a reality, is the Giacomo Bologna Scholarship. This scholarship is funded by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and Beni Di Batasiolo Winery. The best thing about this scholarship is that it awards recipients with an all expenses paid trip to Italy from New York. During this scholarship program, students will travel all over Italy for a week and take part in culinary classes and tours along with first hand experience in Italian wine making and cooking. The deadline for submitting this application is February 6, 2013. Eligibility: This scholarship is open for all U.S. citizens. To be eligible for this scholarship, you need to be a full-time student enrolled in a culinary school, with two years of work experience under a chef. You should also have a keen interest in Italian food and wine. The Blogging Scholarship If you are a blogger, then your blogging skills can help you earn a scholarship. The annual blogging scholarship is sponsored by CollegeScholarships and it awards $1,000 to college students. To enter this scholarship, the blogger needs to write an essay based on questions provided. November 13, 2013 is the deadline for submitting application for this scholarship. Eligibility: This scholarships is open to U.S. citizens who are attending post-secondary education. You also need to have a blog that contains unique and interesting posts about yourself or things that you enjoy writing about. Some other scholarships that you can apply for are:

• U.S. Bank Internet Scholarship Program (Award amount: $1,000, last date: March 31, 2013)
• Daisy Rock Bangles/Vicki Peterson Guitar Scholarship in USA (Award amount: $1,000, last date: August 30, 2013)
• State College of Beauty Culture Scholarship (Award amount: $1,000, last date: April 20, 2013)
• Travel Photography Scholarship (Award: Trip to Oman, photography kit from Cannon, last date: January 14, 2013)
• M. Hildred Blewett Fellowship for US and Canadian Students in USA (Award amount: $45,000, last date: June 1, 2013)
• Pagel Graphic Arts Scholarship (Award amount: $500-$1,500, last date: February 28, 2013)

Whenever you apply for a scholarship, make sure that you gather all possible information about the scholarship and submit your completed application form within the stipulated time period. It is easy to get scholarships for studies related to medicine, business and engineering. Those who want to pursue art, literature and fashion need to do some research regarding the types of funding and scholarships that are available to them.