How To Get a College Scholarship – You might be wondering how to get or make the most of scholarship money to help pay for your education, whether you’re about to start college, going to graduate school, or already in the middle of your studies.
You’re posing the appropriate query. Getting a scholarship (or more than one, since you can get more than one!) can help you pay for school without draining your bank account, but it can also be a difficult process.
Many students think that financial aid and student loans are the only options when figuring out how to pay for college.
Filling out your FAFSA forms to apply for need-based financial aid (including grants and work-study programs) is very important, but putting your merit-based scholarship applications first can help make college even more affordable.
Follow our advice on how to get scholarships before taking out a federal loan because they offer free money that doesn’t have to be paid back.
How to Find Scholarships for College Students
Federal Student Aid
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid should be filled out by all students (FAFSA). The federal government determines your financial need and determines what kind of financial aid you are eligible for through this application. Keep in mind that the majority of federal grants are given out based on need, not merit.
BestColleges
At BestColleges, we’ve put together scholarship guides with a lot of information so that you can look into all of your options for getting money all in one place. Lists of scholarships for students with particular backgrounds and majors are available on our scholarship pages. Scholarships for HBCU students and scholarships for undocumented students, for example, are available.
College Board, third
The College Board has a college scholarship search service with over 2,200 programs in addition to providing advice on college admissions and a wealth of test-prep materials like SAT and ACT books. Students can narrow their searches by clarifying their demographic and/or academic information. This enables students to find scholarships that fit their unique needs and interests.
Fastweb
Since 1995, Fastweb has been a free database of scholarship and financial aid opportunities for college students. Students can use personalized scholarship matching and get a guide to the FAFSA and federal aid. Fastweb also helps people find internships and puts out articles about career planning.
CareerOneStop
CareerOneStop, a program of the U.S. Department of Labor, aims to provide people with the tools, tests, and guidance they need to find jobs. The website also has a database of over 8,000 scholarship opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, vocational, and professional development programs. Users can look for scholarships, fellowships, grants, prizes, and loans.
America Gives Scholarships
Scholarship America tries to get rid of the things that make it hard for students to get the financial aid they need to go to college. 2.8 million people have received scholarships totaling $4.5 billion from the organization to date. Students can look at the scholarship opportunities by state.
Peterson’s
For students who want to continue their education after high school, Peterson’s offers college and test prep services. Visitors to the Peterson’s website can look through a list of scholarships for college students from more than 4,000 organizations.
The company also offers a scholarship. The $2,500 award, known as the “World’s Easiest Scholarship,” only requires interested students to enter some basic information.
Unigo
Unigo aims to connect students to financial aid, running a database of millions of college scholarships and grants. You simply create an account and fill out a personal profile, which will enable you to browse scholarships that match your demographic and academic information.
There are also helpful categories on the site, such as “easy scholarships” and “$10,000 scholarships.”
Chegg
Chegg is a learning platform that puts students first. Its goal is to improve the return on investment for education. Part of that mission includes providing a scholarship database with over 25,000 opportunities. Both high school and college students can search for scholarships and find matches based on their personal and academic profiles.
Cappex
Cappex is a platform that helps students find colleges and search for scholarship and financial aid opportunities. On this website, you can look for scholarships based on your demographic. Scholarships are available for women, Black and Hispanic students, LGBTQ+ students, and first-generation students.
Scholarships.com
Since 1998, this website has assisted students in their search for college scholarships. With millions of scholarships in the Scholarships.com database, students can find scholarships that are right for them. This site also lists scholarships by type, such as those for Hispanic students, veterans, and athletes.
Niche
Niche isn’t just a place to learn; it’s also meant to help people find where they belong, whether that’s in a school or a neighborhood. The site has a number of tools to help students find their place in higher education. One of these tools is a college scholarship search, which lets you look for grants based on your major or your background.
DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is not meant to be professional financial advice, and it is not meant to be. Instead, all of the information, content, and materials on this site are just for general information. Before making financial decisions, readers of this website should speak with a qualified advisor.
Top Scholarships for 2023
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
- Eligibility: This easy scholarship is available to all high school, college, and graduate students in the US.
- $10,000
- Deadline: June 30, 2023
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
- High school, college, community college, and graduate students are all eligible.
- $2,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
$40,000 BigFuture Scholarships
- Eligibility: Open to high school students in the US from the classes of 2024 and 2025. There are no requirements for an essay, a minimum GPA, test scores, or citizenship.
- Amount: up to $40,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
$25,000 No Essay Scholarship
- All high school, college, and graduate students are eligible.
- $25,000
- Deadline: March 29, 2023
$2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
- Students in high school and college are eligible.
- $2,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
Sharpen No Essay Scholarship
- No essay scholarship is available to high school seniors and college freshmen.
- $2,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
“Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
- Students in high school, college, community college, and graduate school are all eligible.
- $25,000
- Deadline: April 1, 2023
$2,500 March ScholarshipPoints Scholarship
- Students in high school, college, community college, and graduate school are all eligible.
- Amount: $2,500
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
$2,000 CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship
- All high school, college, community college, and graduate students are eligible for this simple scholarship.
- $2,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
- All high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible.
- $10,000
- May 1, 2023 is the deadline.
March Madness Scholarship
- All high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are eligible for this simple scholarship.
- $1,000
- Deadline: March 31, 2023
Tips for students applying for simple scholarship
Apply frequently and early.
The best way to find an easy scholarship is to look everywhere. Because the application is “easy” and there are more applicants, you have a lower chance of winning any given easy scholarship.
So, the best way to help your chances is to apply to a great many opportunities, since each individual application takes minimal time and effort.
Applying for easy scholarships is great, but you should also spend a lot of time on more involved applications.
You have a much better chance of winning scholarship money with a well-written application to an opportunity that fits you than with a random drawing, which is how many easy scholarships choose their winners.
If you’re looking for a place to start looking for more specific scholarships, try out our free scholarship search tool to browse custom-matched, vetted opportunities, updated daily!
Expect a lot of email.
Easy scholarships are a great way to put your name in the running for scholarship money without spending too much time on your applications. But remember that every opportunity you apply for will ask for your contact information.
Most of the time, when you fill out an application, you will also sign up for a mailing list. You might receive emails from the organization providing the scholarship on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis.
Many people use two separate email accounts: one for personal communication with friends, family, and professional relationships, and another to manage the emails they receive from businesses, from their banks, and from newsletters they subscribe to. Making a separate email can be a great way to handle the flood of mail you will start to get if you apply for a lot of easy scholarship.
Scholarships without essays are an option.
If you’re looking for easy scholarships, don’t forget to check out our list of college scholarships that don’t require you to write an essay.
Our simple scholarships require little in the way of application materials, but some of them require a short essay or response. You don’t have to write anything for these scholarships that don’t ask for an essay, and you can easily apply to many of them at once.
Scholarship frauds should be avoided.
There are a lot of scholarship scams out there, but they happen most often with easy scholarships. Before you send your application to any organization, make sure you’ve done some research.
You should never give out information about yourself that could be used to steal your identity, and you should never pay to enter a contest. Check out our article on how to avoid scholarship scams for more details on the subject.
Don’t forget about financial aid.
Financial aid like institutional aid, FAFSA funds like the Pell Grant, and other federal and state grants are one way to pay for college that is even easier than easy scholarships.
Remember that if you don’t fill out the FAFSA, you could be missing out on free money for college.
The FAFSA does not require essays or personal statements, unlike a scholarship application. The application process only requires financial information from you and your parents, such as tax returns and asset information.