It's graduation season and we'd like to offer a little assist to the high school graduates out there (as well as returning college students) who are looking to lower their tuition bills.
With over $1.4 trillion(?!!) student loan debt out there – we'd love to help point to ways that students can access money that is available to those who are willing to make a little effort. In particular, we are looking at some of the lesser known scholarships out there.
While they may not be large sums of money, we believe any bit can help offset the high costs of an education today. Typically, many require some sort of essay to be qualified.
Please let us know about any other scholarships that you may know of and we'll continue to update this post as we get them. Note: Some of these deadlines have since passed – but many have not.
Here's to better education and NO student loan debt!
Dealspotr's Couponing in College $1,000 Scholarship Essay Contest
Dealspotr’s bi-annual Couponing in College Scholarship is our opportunity to spread the word about the power of couponing to college students around the nation. To apply for this scholarship, simply write and publish an article that summarizes your best strategies for using coupons to save money in college. You can discuss digital coupons, physical coupons, promo codes, checkout strategies, loyalty programs, basically any technique that can net shoppers more goods at lower cost.
We summarize these tips in a major bi-annual blog post that we promote to students around the nation. This post offers great savings advice to help college do more with less while in school, and is read by thousands of students. You can see an example from last year’s scholarship here: https://dealspotr.com/article/couponing-in-college.
Our editors comb through all the submissions, and we’ll select the one article that provides the most helpful, unique, and well-written advice to win the $1,000 scholarship.
Requirements
- Your essay should provide strategies on using coupons to save money in college. You can discuss digital coupons, physical coupons, promo codes, checkout strategies, loyalty programs, or other techniques that enable shoppers to obtain discounts on products or services.
- Your essay must be published on a publicly-viewable webpage such as a blog, public Tumblr page, Medium article, or public Facebook post.
- The essay must be 500 words or more.
- Your essay must include a link back to this contest page (https://dealspotr.com/scholarship).
- Essays will be judged based on novelty and usefulness of the tools described as well as writing style, grammar, and depth of information provided.
- Please do not include local or campus-specific resources, your tips should be applicable and useful to students in any location.
Prize details
A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to one winner. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is May.
Visit Dealspotr to use their online submission form
Student Loan Hero $5K Scholarship
About
Student Loan Hero, an unbiased solution to organize, manage, and repay your student loans, is thrilled to award two (2) $5,000 scholarships each semester to help alleviate educational costs.
Who Qualifies / Criteria
All applicants must be actively enrolled (at least part-time) in a college/university
How to Apply / Guidelines
To enter, please submit a short essay (500 words or less) answering one of the following
- What financial challenges have you overcome growing up? How have they shaped your goals and career aspirations?
Dates
Spring 2018 Semester
- Opens: Oct. 15
- Deadline: Dec. 15
- Winner Contacted: Jan. 2
Notification
Final winners will be selected by our team and contacted via the email address provided.
Legal
- No purchase necessary to enter or win.
- Void where prohibited.
- Participants must be 18 years of age or older, legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, and enrolled at an eligible educational institution.
- This contest is sponsored by Student Loan Hero, Inc.
- The Student Loan Hero Scholarship contest is subject to the complete Official Rules available here: https://studentloanhero.com/scholarships/rules/
Directtextbooks.com Scholarship Essay Contest
pRIZES TO BE AWARDED
- $5000 to first place
- $2500 to second place
- $1000 to third place
How to apply
- Fill in all of the information about yourself (the applicant). All information is required.
- In 500 words or less write a response to the following questions:
“What is required to live self responsibly? What skills are you acquiring that will help you live self responsibly?” - Applications will no longer be accepted after August 1st, 2018, or after 5000 qualifying entries have been submitted.
- Once the contest is closed, all essays will be reviewed and the winners will be notified by email on or before August 29th, 2018
- One entry per person.
- Applicant must be: Current US citizen, currently enrolled in an accredited 2 or 4 year college or university for Fall of 2018, and have a most recent GPA of 2.5 or above.
Visit their scholarship page to learn more and to apply.
PromoCodeWatch Smart Spender $2,000 Scholarship ($2,000)
Eligibility Criteria
- Entering or attending any post-secondary institution in the United States.
- U.S. resident or International students with valid visas.
- Complete all application requirements before deadline.
Fall 2018 Scholarship Schedule:
- Open for Applications: February 1, 2018
- Application Deadline: October 2, 2018
- Application Review Process: October 2-15, 2018
- Winner Announced: October 16, 2018
Application Process
What to include with your application:
- Your Full Name
- School Info: Your first choice if you have not made a final decision
- 1000 – 1500 word Essay
Essay Criteria
Write an essay on the topic of frugal shopping and saving money while attending school.
- Who has taught you the most about frugal shopping?
- How will you save money while attending college?
- What unique experiences will help you be successful in your education?
Send Your Application to scholarship@promocodewatch.com before October 2, 2018.
The VoIPHub 2017-2018 Scholarship Application Information – $1,000
Requirements
You must show that you are currently taking a minimum of nine credit hours through a post secondary program. If not, you must be a senior in high school that has already been accepted at such a program.
In addition, you must email us two recommendation letters. One must be from your employer, and the letter must be on company letterhead with your signature in order to be valid. The other letter needs to come from someone at your school that knows your capabilities.
Finally, your overall GPA (grade point average) needs to be at least 2.75 (assuming the scale is a 4.0).
Documentation
There are a few other pieces of information that need to be submitted along with your application as well.
First, in a minimum of 500 words, answer the following question: Why do you want to be awarded this scholarship, why are you a worthy candidate, and what are your future career goals?
In addition, there are several documents that need to be sent us when you finish the application. Please send a transcript with your current grades (either high school or college). If you are a high school senior, there must be documentation of your grades for 12th grade. Your transcript does not need to be official, but you cannot simply submit a report card. Also, if you are a high school senior, you must send in your letter of acceptance from the post-secondary program you have been accepted to.
As was mentioned before, your two letters of recommendation must be sent as well. Please follow the guidelines mentioned earlier.
All submissions must include your 500 word essay on why you should receive this scholarship, etc., two letters of recommendation and your transcripts. These must all be attached to one email for consideration.
Your information needs to be sent to us by 5:00pm on December 31st 2017. If you do not do so, you will not be considered for the scholarship.
The amount of money awarded is $1,000 (one thousand dollars). There is only one winner, and that individual will get the funds through PayPal. Please email us at admin@thevoiphub.com with any questions or concerns.
Feel free to add any others that you may come across. Thanks!
5 Comments
DirectTextbook.com is also offering pretty lucrative scholarships. A $5k, $2.5k and $1k are all up for grabs.
Hello Admin,
Nice information shared by you and thanks for sharing this useful information with us. We also want to draw your attention towards our scholarship named as “CCRIF Scholarship Program”. The deadline of the scholarship is June 4, 2017. Scholarship is open to students pursuing a Masters or an MBA with a major in risk management and/or insurance or a related field.
Kindly go through the given link:
http://usascholarships.com/ccrif-scholarship-program/
Thanks
I LOVE how many of these scholarships come from finance-related companies. In hindsight I wish I had applied to more scholarships. Although a $2,000 scholarship won’t cover everything, that’s $2,000 of FREE MONEY. :)
We tried to make that our aim!