NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Looking for scholarship money? There's plenty available.
The College Board, a national nonprofit membership association that assists college students, has a database of more than 2,300 sources of college funding, totaling nearly $3 billion in available aid every year
If you want a piece of that action, your first step should definitely be the college financial aid office. But that shouldn't be your only stop.
Help is no further away than your home PC or laptop. And one expert we spoke to says enterprising students can make as much money applying online for aid as they can working a part-time job.
How can you tap the virtual gold mine? Here are today's five tips:
Tip 1: Use your imagination
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 When looking for scholarships, the financial aid office should not be your only stop. CNNfn's Gerri Willis shares five tips for finding college scholarships.
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Business organizations, service groups and clubs offer scholarships that range from $1,000 to $5,000. The problem is most people don't even know they are available. So think about your interests and affiliations. Many are not need based; some simply require that your write an essay to compete for the money.
Do you spend your weekends helping the local park service? The World Wildlife Federation offers scholarships. Has your dad been a Rotary member all his adult life? That service group offers them as well. Don't forget that companies like Microsoft (MSFT: up $0.47 to $26.61, Research, Estimates) and Intel (INTC: up $0.97 to $33.92, Research, Estimates) give away money to students too.
Tip 2: Avoid mistakes
The problem is getting the right search terms. Here is some advice from Paul Krupin, the author of "Magic Search Word: A Guide to Finding Scholarship Information."
"Some of the biggest mistakes that people make is that they use too few words," Krupin said. "If you just put in 'scholarships' all by itself, for example, and you use a popular search engine like Google, you're going to get over 16 million Web sites and you're not going to know what to look at first."
Tip 3: Get the right search terms
To find the best options, use search terms such as "online application" plus another phrase that describes any area where you might distinguish yourself, such as "athletic scholarship." If you've spent any time on the Web at all, you know that one of the big problems is finding current information -- much of it is outdated. Zero in on current information by including dates and even locations in your search.
Tip 4: Use the tricks
One of the problems with searching online is that you can end up locking on to a bunch of commercial sites. To avoid them, put this phrase into your search "-.com" Or minus .com.
Tip 5: Apply multiple times
The biggest determinant of success, Krupin says, is the number of scholarships you apply for. The more that you apply for, the better your chances of actually winning one.
Gerri Willis is the personal finance editor for CNN Business News. Willis also is co-host of CNNfn's The FlipSide, weekdays from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (ET). E-mail comments to 5tips@cnnfn.com.
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