Call any school to which the student is applying, ask for the scholarship office, and ask what internal scholarships are offered. Often we do not hear about them. Also ask each school what form or forms need to be filled out for financial aid. Many schools, particularly small schools, have their own internal forms. Yes, colleges would rather see a B in a higher-level class as opposed to an A in regular class.
Colleges place a lot of importance on course selection.
Four or five years in a language shows great ambition and dedication. Many times when two students with the same GPA and SAT scores are being compared, one of the first things the Admissions Committee will look at is how much Foreign Language was taken. Again, take the highest level math possible for you to still be successful. While we are not all math people, colleges would rather see you stuck with the academics and not that you filled your schedule with electives at the end.