Last-Minute Scholarships

Time is ticking away, and you still haven't figured out how you'll be able to afford books for the fall semester. Never fear. These late-deadline scholarship programs can help you earn some money for your education.

• Coca-Cola and Chuck E. Cheese Collegebound Scholarship ($25,000) It's a random drawing, not an essay competition. But it's lots of money. Deadline: May 1, 2008.

• MoneyMatters101.com 2008 Scholarship Award ($400) Essay: Should the tax system be changed and, if so, how would the federal debt be paid? Deadline: April 30, 2008.

• Patricia M. McNamara Memorial Scholarship ($1,000) Essay: Describe one major event that you feel has disrupted the flow of nature. Deadline: May 31, 2008.

• Journyx Scholarship Program ($500) Essay: Answer one of two questions about using project-oriented time tracking to solve real-life problems. Deadline: June 1, 2008.

• OP Loftbed $500 Scholarship Award ($500) Essay: Short answers to such questions as, if you could be a living advertisement, which product or company would you choose, or what is your life motto? Deadline: July 31, 2008.

• The Charles Shafae' Scholarship Fund ($500) Essay: Which 2008 presidential candidate most embodies Benjamin Franklin's 13 virtues? Deadline: Aug. 31, 2008.

• Ayn Rand Institute's Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest ($50-$10,000) Essay: Answer one of three questions pertaining to Atlas Shrugged. Deadline: Sept. 17, 2008.

• Akademos/TextbookX.Com 2008 Scholarship ($2,000) Essay: What, if anything, should be done to stop nuclear proliferation? Deadline: Oct. 31, 2008.