Finding ways to pay for college can be one of the toughest challenges for high school seniors. The American Fire Sprinkler Association is eager to help educate students about fire safety and help ease the burden of college expenses.

High school seniors can now apply for AFSA's popular online High School Senior Scholarship Contest. The scholarship will award a total of $20,000 to 10 lucky winners.

The High School Senior Scholarship Contest is open to high school seniors who wish to pursue a college degree or technical education. Ten winners will be randomly chosen, and each winner will receive a $2,000 prize that will be paid directly to the accredited educational institution of the winner's choice, to be used for tuition and/or book expenses for the fall 2017 semester. To enter, high school seniors can visit afsascholarship.org, where they will read an educational essay with information about fire sprinklers. After reading, the student will then be asked to take a ten-question, multiple-choice reading comprehension test. For each question answered correctly, students will receive one entry into a drawing for one of the ten $2,000 scholarships. A total of ten entries into the drawing are possible.

The 2016-2017 high school contest is currently open online, and will run through 12 p.m. Central Time April 7. Since 1996, AFSA has provided over a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships to help fulfill the educational dreams of students from across the nation. In 2016, over 45,000 high school seniors from across the United States entered the contest.

We know current college and trade school students need help, too! For individuals who have already graduated from high school or earned a GED, AFSA also offers the Second Chance Scholarship Contest. Those seeking to pursue a college undergraduate or graduate degree or trade school education, including returning military, parents returning to the workforce, etc., are encouraged to enter. The 2017 Second Chance Contest will be open April 12-Aug. 30 and offers five $1,000 scholarships.

Year after year, students die in campus-related fires. Through these scholarships, AFSA hopes to create greater awareness that fire sprinklers save lives and property to those who otherwise may not recognize the importance of fire safety.

For details or to apply for either scholarship, visit afsascholarship.org.