With tuition costs steadily rising, students are encouraged to apply for financial aid immediately after Jan. 1. In addition to any financial aid that students may receive, they may also

need a second or third source of income to support the cost of school.

Fortunately, there are scholarships that are available to students of all years of study.

Students may be unaware of these scholarships, or feel asthough they don’t have enough time or are not qualified. Erin Sudrovech, associate director of alumni engagement

and campus programs, insists that students take advantage of the opportunities given to them.

“Students may be unaware of the scholarships that we, at the alumni association, give away,” Sudrovech said. “There are a lot of scholarships available for students of all class levels.

We have scholarships for freshmen, sophomore, junior, senior, transfer and graduate students.”

Along with those offered by the OUAA, there is a wide range of scholarships offered through the office of financial aid and other academic departments. There are over 100 scholarships available on OU’s website. Students can find out how to apply and how much the scholarship will be.

Some scholarships can be applied for when filing FAFSA forms. The financial aid office on campus will determine who qualifies for each one.

Students should keep in mind the scholarship deadlines for different departments and programs.

Sudrovech said that students should visit the alumni website to check out the different scholarships they offer.

“Graduate students may apply as well,” Sudrovech said. “Everyone can benefit from these opportunities.”

There are 13 available scholarships through the OU Alumni Association.

There are also scholarships available to students that are not funded through OU organizations.

The Dannon Company has a scholarship for incoming or current graduate students that excel in science and show a special interest in probiotics studies. The scholarship pays up to a year’s tuition or $25,000. The winner will also receive an all-expense paid trip to the Dannon Research Center in France to explore topics in probiotics, nutrition and human physiology, alongside leading experts. This experience offers the winning student access to networking opportunities with top international researchers.

“There is already a lot of research on probiotics and we want to expand the research team, so basically this scholarship would be a research program,” Miguel Freitas, director of

health affairs at The Dannon Company, said. “No one has ever done this before so we wanted to be the first.”

According to Freitas, this scholarship will support dedication in the field of probiotics and encourage students to continue studying in the field. The Dannon Company, being the leader in probiotics research with products such as Activia, is hoping to get more people involved in the field.

“I applied for many scholarships while in school.” Freitas said. “My advice to students is not leaving things to the last minute”.

Freitas said there isn’t room for procrastination when you are serious about doing something. He also suggests students apply to as many scholarships as they can and to include as

much information as they can. Achievements and extracurricular activities will benefit students when applying for scholarships. “It takes time, so don’t wait until the last minute,” Freitas said. For more information about this scholarship go to dannon.com/fellowship

For a list of the available scholarships through OU go to oakland.edu/scholarships, oakland.edu/OUAAscholorships or