Searching for college scholarships can be confusing, frustrating and often completely overwhelming. And with the price of college on the rise, making it necessary for most students to have some sort of scholarship to help offset the cost, the competition can be stiff.

What you need is a course on navigating the tumultuous terrain that is finding scholarships for your soon-to-be college student, and KSL.com has teamed up with the experts at CollegeCon to bring you just that.

Here are six ways to be a scholarship-smart parent.

1. Prioritize the ACT.

The harsh reality of scholarships is this: when colleges first look at your child, they see a number. Most academic scholarship money is awarded based on an index that combines high school GPA and ACT/SAT scores. For instance, if your student wants to attend Southern Utah University, a 26 on the ACT combined with a 3.8 GPA makes them eligible for $2,250 per semester.

If an academic scholarship is what you’re looking for, encourage your student to take preliminary standardized tests (like the EXPLORE, PLAN and the PSAT) during their 9th and 10th grade years and use the results to plan early intervention in areas where your student needs extra help.

You might also want to consider having your child take an ACT prep class to learn effective strategies so that when they begin to take the ACT as a Junior, they can really excel. This test can (and should) be taken multiple times because, in many cases, a single point on the ACT could equate to thousands of dollars in scholarship funding.

2. Choose extracurricular activities strategically.

If you student is hoping to receive a leadership scholarship, find ways to help them lead in a variety of settings. While being captain of the soccer team is a great thing to put on a college application, it would be even better if that title were grouped together with leadership on a community project (like a food drive or awareness campaign) that they personally initiated and carried out.

Likewise, if you are looking for a community service scholarship, it would be best to have completed many unique or student-initiated service projects to help you stand out above the rest.

Encourage your student to begin to focus on building a "resume" of extracurricular activities that relates to their chosen field. For example, if they hope to someday apply to medical school, have them volunteer in a hospital or organize a community health fair. Think outside the box and create your own internships and opportunities.

3. Apply for college and scholarships by the "Priority" or "Early Decision" deadlines.

If you think you can put off applying for scholarships to the very last second, think again. The “Priority” or “Early Decision” deadline for colleges and Universities is often December 1 of your student's senior year. Even though applications aren't technically due yet, if you want the best chance of getting admitted to the school of your choice and attaining a selective scholarship, you will need to have applied will by this date.

4. Ask about scholarships at work.

Unbeknownst to many, there are a lot of companies who offer scholarships — and yours may very well be one of them. Ask if your employer offers scholarships. If not, check with your spouse's employer. Perhaps your child is working a part-time job, and their employer has a scholarship program. You’ll never know unless you ask, so just ask.

5. Help your student narrow down his or her fields of interest and choose a major early.

Plain and simple, time is money — and the quicker your student can get in and out of college, the less money will be spent and the sooner they will be able to get on with a career or graduate school. If you can help your student narrow his or her field of interest down and choose a major early, this will cut down on time spent in school, equating to fewer dollars spent. The scholarship you give yourself is giving your student the confidence she needs to choose a major early on.

6. Attend classes at CollegeCon 2016.

What better way to learn how to gain scholarships than getting the best tips from universities and industry experts? And what better way to save money than to attend a class by a professional that is free?

CollegeCon is a free, one-day conference designed to help parents and students learn to more effectively navigate the college preparation process. Here, you can attend classes on scholarships, standardized testing, career paths, major options, creating a healthy college lifestyle, speed reading, and more. Thirteen Utah colleges and universities will be present to teach classes and answer your questions. The event will be held at Davis High School on April 16, 2016. Registration is free at collegecon2016.com

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