College scholarships are one of the biggest factors when determining which university a person chooses to attend. This is because nearly every student needs financial aid these days with the economy so bad and tuition so high. A lot of the time, a brilliant student will be accepted by Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and many other great schools. Unfortunately, this student probably will choose to go to a lesser ranked college just for the money. Most people get partial scholarships. For example: 45% of a full four years paid for. Only very few get a full scholarship (full ride). There are many ways to obtain a scholarship. Some of these include sports, SAT scores, grades, music, national competitions, and other extra curricular activities. The most common way to get a full ride is by sports.