Schools like Harvard and MIT almost never give out merit scholarships because of their snobbery. They only give need-based aid. You can also win random alumni/foundation scholarships based on religion, race, where you're from - but you can't change those things and you just find out from the school if you win those.

at MOST colleges (ie not harvard, MIT, or other top tier schools) you can get a full scholarship one of 3 ways
1. you can get it through financial need. this is not a "scholarship" but a "grant." they work the same way though, only the reason your getting it isnt necessarily cause youre smart

2. you can get it through academic merit. this means you meet some kind of threshold requirements for consideration or you fill out applications when you apply. these are the kinds of scholarships you can find out about on a school's financial aid site.

3. you can get a full ride through sports achievements. these are usually arranged through recruiters who approach you to discuss a deal

there you have the 3 main ways of getting a full ride.

i think what you're looking for is a list of requirements you have to meet to get a full scholarship, but that doesn't exist.

these requirements will change from school to school. Schools even handle full ride scholarships in different ways. some have named, specific scholarships that must be applied for. some have big pools of money that they just hand out based on how well you compare to the rest of the class. some schools (like the ivy leagues) don't even give out full ride merit scholarships. they only give out minority and special case scholarships that you have to apply for.

in general, you can find out what kind of scholarships a school offers and what you need to do for them from their financial aid website.