But she is doing an EMT training now and won't be going directly into college. Might work for a little bit, then come back to a community college for a nursing degree.

For scholarships directly from schools, there is usually a common application and they base it on ACT/SAT and GPA for the most part. Extra-curriculars are a bonus and help with overall admissions to some schools. State schools are better bets than private (more need based). I got a tuition scholarship (25 years ago) to an out-of-state school, making it a similar choice for getting the lottery in-state waiver in NM. I agree that unless you can get it to at least an in-state price, out-of-state doesn't make a ton of sense.

There are a lot of 3rd party scholarships too. Usually have to write an essay plus submit your other information. You can pick up a few thousand here and there (the big ones are too competitive). I got one from my credit union then once in school got some smaller departmental ones and a 10-hour/week paid opportunity to work with a professor.