The thought of starting the inevitable search for scholarships may seem nothing short of exhausting as a first-year college applicant. While applying to your top five universities, you also have to think about how you're going to pay for them. However, upon graduation and right around the time your student loan payments start kicking in, you will be thanking yourself for casting a wide net and taking every monetary opportunity available to you.

Searching in places you would least expect

The truth is, you aren't going to find all of the opportunities available to you neatly presented in one place. To maximize your opportunity to score scholarships and grants, you have to consider the unlikely places they may be hiding.

Great places to start your search include religious organizations like the church you belong to. Also, watch for potential opportunities offered by organizations and local businesses in your area.

One great benefit to applying for a scholarship or grant with small organizations like these is that the pool of applicants is much smaller than of a large organization, increasing your chances of obtaining a scholarship.

Another unique place you may not have even considered is with your parent's employers. It is not uncommon for companies to provide scholarship opportunities to the children of their employees.

Once you seek out opportunities in these unexpected places, make sure you take advantage of the more common resources as well.

Searching in places you would expect

A great resource available to you is your high school guidance office. Make an appointment to learn about what opportunities they are aware of that you may not have heard about.

If you have already selected what university or trade school you plan to attend, you should contact them to obtain a list of scholarships opportunities they have available to their upcoming students.

Scholarships are also available to students in specific fields of study. Don't be afraid to do an internet search to see what opportunities are available to you in your field.

Don’t shy away from small grants and scholarships

There are a few reasons why you shouldn't discredit small grants and scholarships.

First, every little bit counts. There is no rule saying that you can only apply for so many grants. So, a few small grants could end up being just as much financial assistance as one larger grant.

Second, many applicants don't bother applying for the smaller grants so your chance will be that much greater.

Applying for financial aid can be a good supplement

Learn if you qualify for financial aid by completing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) at studentaid.gov.