The Scholarship Scouting Report: An Insider's Guide to America's Best Scholarships

The first in-depth guide to the nation's best, most accessible scholarship opportunities!

A true insider in the world of tuition financing, Ben Kaplan has helped tens of thousands of students attend colleges and universities they never thought they'd be able to afford. Now he takes his expertise one step further in this behind-the-scenes tour of America's top scholarship programs.

Based on hundreds of exhaustive interviews with scholarship judges, administrators, and past winners, this easy-to-use scouting report highlights the essential scholarships you must know about and helps you better address each scholarship's "hidden" judging criteria in your application.

If you think the college of your dreams is out of your financial reach-or that your scholarship search has to be an overwhelming and frustrating process-think again: Ben Kaplan wrote the guide that will help you focus your search, position your scholarship candidacy, and ultimately afford the college of your choice.

Special Note: As a valued reader of this book, you also receive access to the Coach's Locker Room at Ben Kaplan's ScholarshipCoach.com website. The Coach's Locker Room provides a wealth of bonus material, updates to information contained in The Scholarship Scouting Report, question and answer postings, and other helpful resources.

Ben Kaplan won more than two dozen scholarships -- amassing nearly $90,000 in unrestricted college cash for use at any school. In 1999, he graduated from Harvard debt-free, with virtually the entire cost of his education covered by his scholarship winnings.

In addition to writing The Scholarship Scouting Report, Kaplan is the author of How to Go to College Almost for Free and Scholarship Seeker’s Toolbox -- the three books forming an essential paying-for-college trilogy for students of all ages. Kaplan has also written numerous articles on winning scholarships, including columns for The New York Times and U.S. News & World Report, that have been syndicated in publications nationwide. He has been featured on hundreds of television and radio programs, including appearances on Oprah, NBC, CBS, and National Public Radio.

Known internationally as "The Scholarship Coach," Kaplan has served as the resident scholarship adviser at some of the Internet’s most popular scholarship search websites, and is the founder of ScholarshipCoach.com, the leading online scholarship advice portal.

Kaplan currently resides in Portland, Oregon, and can be contacted at Ben@ScholarshipCoach.com via e-mail.