Although most of the commercial scholarship research companies that claim to find sources of financial aid are unreliable, the good news is that information on scholarships does exists and is available for free on the World Wide Web. The World Wide Web, or just web for short, is a part of the global computer network known as the internet. Although there are only a handful of individuals and organizations in The Gambia that have regular access to the internet, relatives or friends living abroad may be able to assist in the research process. Access to the internet is widely available in the U.S. and Europe through businesses, schools and some public libraries. In addition, individuals who have a home computer equipped with a modem can access the internet if they sign up with an online service provider. This type of access is not entirely free because all internet providers charge a monthly fee. Gamtel recently started offering internet access for homes and businesses through the Compuserve online service.

There are a number of web sites that offer information on sources of financial aid. One of the most comprehensive lists is called FastWeb. FastWeb is a searchable database that contains information on over 180,000 financial aid sources, mostly in the U.S. After entering personal information such as nationality, intended field of study, athletic ability, etc., the database will return a list of possible funding sources the user can then write to for additional information. Sample form letters are even provided. FastWeb be accessed by entering the following URL into a web browser: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mkant/Public/FinAid/html/fastweb.html.

Another useful web site is the Financial Aid Information Page. This page has links to numerous other pages on the web that deal with scholarship sources and can be reached at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mkant/Public/FinAid/finaid.html.

A note of caution is in order. Although searching for sources of financial aid on the internet seems promising and will not cost anything to the user who has access, the odds are still quite low of discovering funding sources that will help the average student from a developing country. The unfortunate reality is that there are very few sources of aid available for international students. Virtually all scholarships are limited to certain nationalities, families of employees from particular companies, or fields of study. Some scholarships are only for students currently enrolled in a university, while others require a students to be a member of a certain organization. In general it is easier to find sources of financial aid for graduate education than it is for undergraduate study. Almost all scholarships cover only a fraction of the total cost of a university education, and most require outstanding exam scores, artistic or athletic talent. While every bit of assistance helps, students should not expect an outside scholarship to cover all the costs of their university education, just as one should not assume he will be able to get through school entirely on personal earnings. As the proverb says, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."