Whether through sports, good grades or extracurricular activities, obtaining a college scholarship is no easy feat and the fact that it can alleviate a part or all of your college costs is a huge relief especially with the rapidly rising costs of tuition. But just because you secured funding for one year doesn’t necessarily mean the scholarship will be automatically renewed the next year. That’s because many scholarships come with conditions like maintaining a certain GPA. It's important to note, however, that if you happen to lose a scholarship, you can still continue on with your studies with a little more work and effort on your end. Here are some steps you should take if you need to compensate for lost funds.

APPEAL
Although the appeal process is generally under-advertised, most schools do have one for both admission and financial aid decisions. Make an appointment with your financial aid counselor first to see what your options are and then write out an appeal letter if necessary. Regardless, try to work things out first with the financial aid office before you explore other options on your own.

APPLY TO OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships are not just for high school seniors. No matter what year of college you are in, there are scholarships and grants out there waiting to be picked up by strong applicants and strong applications. You can do a search for major scholarships or local ones.

SEE ABOUT WORK-STUDY
Work-study comes as part of many students’ financial aid packages and allots a certain amount of funds that the student can earn through working on-campus (and sometimes off-campus). It’s a good way to stay near campus, build work experience and help contribute to your college costs.

TAKE OUT A LOAN
Although not ideal, taking out loans to fund college is a necessity for most people. Even though you may not have the option of not taking out loans, you do have options in terms of selecting them. Federally subsidized loans, for example, have much better interest rates than private loans. Shop around for the best rates and terms.