I am so surprised when my friends told me there are not a lot of scholarships available for them. They're either a citizen of United States or permanent residents. I envy them because I'm an international student, and it's even harder for me to find scholarships here. Forget about fastweb. There are so many students going for the same scholarships. If you're not a great writer, you probably have very slim chance.
Online scholarships are easy to apply. Sure. But the competition pool is much higher. Instead, try going to local bookstores like Barnes and Nobles or Borders (or Ebay and Amazon). There'll be scholarships handbooks of where to find the scholarships. Many of them don't have a website, therefore you have to send it by using postal delivery. Students these days just go straight to the computer, taking the easy way out. If you really want it, you have to work for it. There are many scholarships that do not require you to write essays. I recently saw a scholarship for left hands people. Ever since I've been trying to write with my left hand. Not successful though.
If you're in organizations such as Global Kids, Key Club, Amnesty, they have their own scholarships for sure. Ask your club presidents or go to their websites. Instead of looking for general scholarships, narrow them down to something that it looking for people who enjoy your hobby or your major. Your school especially have insights. Be friends with your guidance counselor or professors. Don't just pass the office, poke your head in, and say hi. Talk to them. Everyday if possible (okay, maybe not everyday...every week would be better).
Writing essays for scholarships can kill you. But you know, all you really need is one. If you write about, let's say, how you've helped your community. Then search for scholarships that require you to write about how you've helped your community. Then you edit your essay a little for different scholarships. It would be useful to have someone looking over your essay. Don't just type whatever and submit it.
If you'd rather work than apply to scholarships, try using snagajob.com and craigslist.org (My favorite. But be careful when you type this. If you misspell it, it will lead you to a...very inappropriate site). Trust me, you can do a lot. And it's local too. You can even sell stuff you don't want anymore. If you want to go for a job, resume is really helpful but not needed.
Things that I say, it's pretty much common sense. Yet why do people still have trouble finding scholarships? Oh, don't be greedy. There are scholarships that reward you $10,000 or more. But it's probably better to go for lower awards since there'll be less applicants pool. The number of competitors is important. It determines your chances of winning!
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
What you say is true, but not every club or organization has scholarships for them. A lot of people also do not qualify for scholarships, even the ones in the mail, because of their grades or economic status of their family.
However, it does seem like many of the people complaining are not looking further than fastweb or other online databases, and they could do with reading this.