The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Kids are out of school. Families take vacations. The last thing anyone wants to think about is scholarship searching. But wait! It’s the best time for a summer scholarship project. Spend the summer searching and applying for scholarships. Everyone is playing and your college-bound teen will be hard at work (well maybe not that committed, but he’s putting forth some effort) and it will pay off when the scholarship awards come rolling in.

Here are a few summer scholarship search tips to help your teen on the path to finding big scholarship bucks over the summer (and it’s not just for upcoming seniors):

Find out about local scholarships

The odds are best when you apply to local scholarships. The applicant pool is smaller. The awards may not be as big but every dollar counts. Many local organizations have trouble finding scholarship recipients every year and their money is not awarded. Cash in on this opportunity.

Sign up on some search engines that match you to scholarships

You might as well maximize your time by letting the search engines match you with scholarships. Complete the questionnaire and you’re on your way to locating all kinds of scholarships.

Devote some time each day to checking your email for scholarship matches

Now that you’ve registered on the search sites, you’re going to get daily emails. Read them. It does you no good to let them pile up in your inbox. That’s the way you miss application deadlines.

Devote some time each day to searching

Decide how much time you can devote each day to searching (parents can help). If you’re teen gets overwhelmed, start with 20 minutes a day. If he’s motivated, reach for an hour. And don’t just depend on the search engines. Look for scholarships on Twitter and Facebook as well. Your teen is on social media all day, he might as well use it to be productive.

Apply for at least one scholarship a week, more if possible

Once you’ve done your searches, start applying. Set yourself apart by submitting a killer application packet. Then wait for the money to roll in.

With a little effort, a ton of organization, and some stellar detective skills those scholarship awards should start rolling in. The first one is always the most exciting!