Private Scholarship Search Facts Listed below are some of the services you might reasonably expect from private scholarship search services. Most scholarship search services provide a list of "sources" of financial assistance for which you may apply. Search services do not, in most cases, provide any awards directly to students. After studying the list, you then send a separate application to each "source" in which you are interested. The scholarship search service does not apply on your behalf or pay any additional application fee that may be required. Some search services include federal student aid in their list of sources. However, please remember that you can find out about federal student aid without paying a fee to a search service. Some sources on the list may have early application deadlines or limited funds; awards for a specific year may have been already made before you apply. Many search services offer to refund your fee if you do not receive any award. However, some services require you to first provide a rejection letter from every source on the list to claim your refund. The US Department of Education does not evaluate private scholarship search services. If you decide to use on of these services, you may check its reputation be contacting the Better Business Bureau or a State Attorney General's Office.