Looking to publish? Meet your dream editor, designer and marketer on Reedsy.

Find the perfect editor for your next book

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Best Writing Scholarships in 2024

Showing 159 scholarships that match your search.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Immerse Education

The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides the opportunity for students aged 13-18 to submit essay responses to a pre-set question relating to their chosen subject. 10 winners will receive a 100% scholarship, with runner-up prizes also awarded. 100% Scholarship Award For Cambridge, Oxford, Sydney & London Summer School Essay Competition.

Categories: Critical Essay

Organization: Immerse Education.

Deadline: January 04, 2025.

Additional awards: Runner-ups: 50% of scholarship.

Categories: Critical Essay.

Apply now →

scholarships that require essays 2021

Creative Writing Award

The winner will be offered the opportunity to occupy during her or his first academic year the residence room where J. D. Salinger lived; and Leadership standing in the Ursinus writing community. The winner will be expected to join the previous award winners in reading subsequent creative portfolios, and will help the Office of Admission in selecting the next winner. Award winners are also expected to be prominent members of Ursinus’ Literary Society, The Lantern, and the creative writing community.

Categories: Critical Essay, Journalism, Nonfiction, Novel Writing, Personal Essay, Playwriting, Poetry, Portfolio, Research, Screenwriting, and Short Fiction

Organization: Ursinus College.

Deadline: January 15, 2025.

Categories: Critical Essay, Journalism, Nonfiction, Novel Writing, Personal Essay, Playwriting, Poetry, Portfolio, Research, Screenwriting, and Short Fiction.

scholarships that require essays 2021

The Sub Pop Loser Scholarship

Sub Pop Records is extremely proud to offer a grand total of $15,000 in college scholarship money to three eligible high school seniors. To apply you must submit a one-page essay using any combination of our questions as a guide (or write something completely your own, be inspired and creative!). Applicants must be residents of Washington or Oregon in pursuit of higher education.

Categories: Personal Essay

Organization: Sub Pop Records.

Deadline: March 23, 2025.

Additional awards: Second place scholarship of $5,000, third place scholarship of $3,000.

Categories: Personal Essay.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Islamic Scholarship Fund Program

Students who are Muslim or active members of the Muslim community may apply for the Islamic Scholarship Fund. The ISF awards multiple scholarships each year ranging from $3,000-$10,000, though the amounts and number of recipients will vary. Students must submit applications including essay questions, work samples, and letters of recommendation, and must also be majoring in an ISF-supported field related to media or politics.

Organization: Islamic Scholarship Fund.

Deadline: March 21, 2025.

Additional awards: Multiple awards of varying amounts will be given.

scholarships that require essays 2021

BBB Torch Talk Scholarship

BBB Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to educating consumers on a variety of marketplace issues; this scholarship is in pursuit of that goal. Applicants must attend high school in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington or Western Wyoming, and will submit a 500-word essay for BBB’s online magazine Torch Talk on one of the given topics.

Organization: Better Business Bureau.

Deadline: March 16, 2025.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Flag House Scholarship Award

Do you know of an unsung history-maker in your community? Is there an organization in your community working to keep the legacy of a historically significant, but often overlooked, individual alive and relevant? Identify a person living or from the past whose professional work, activism, or personal story has made a significant impact on you or your community. Describe why their story is unique and explain how they have changed history. Response should be limited to 350 words.

Categories: Research and Critical Essay

Organization: The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House.

Deadline: March 26, 2025.

Categories: Research and Critical Essay.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Unpublished Writer's Award

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter. Applicant must email an original, unpublished fiction work (short story or novel excerpt) not to exceed 2,000 typed words on double-spaced pages

Categories: Short Fiction and Novel Writing

Organization: Go On Girl! Book Club.

Deadline: March 31, 2025.

Additional awards: Invitation to awards ceremony, promotion through website and publications.

Categories: Short Fiction and Novel Writing.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Christine B. Dexter Scholarship

The Christine B. Dexter Scholarship was established in honor of Christine B. Dexter after her passing from stomach cancer in 2008. This scholarship awards undergrad students a $2,000 scholarship towards their fall tuition. All recipients demonstrate a history of community service and resilience through their cancer journey.

Organization: Christine B. Foundation.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Marguerite Young Endowment Fund

The Marguerite Young Endowment Fund was established at The Pittsburgh Foundation to provide scholarships for students who plan to study theology. Candidates must be attending a Protestant seminary as a master of Divinity candidate, preparing for full-time ministry and/or be a seminary intern at a Protestant Church. Application must includes proof of this, as well as a personal essay.

Organization: The Pittsburgh Foundation.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Incight Scholarship

The INCIGHT scholarship is open to students in Washington, Oregon, and California who have a documented disability. Applicants must complete two detailed essay responses (video essays also welcome) in order to be eligible. The number of awards and total amount awarded will be determined during the selection process, and winners will be notified in June.

Organization: INCIGHT.

Deadline: April 01, 2025.

scholarships that require essays 2021

The AAF-Greater Evansville Scholarship

The AAF-Greater Evansville awards scholarships to deserving high school and/or college students yearly in April. To be eligible, students must plan to pursue a career in advertising, marketing, public relations or graphic design. Application varies yearly but includes various education details and personal statements.

Categories: Journalism

Organization: American Advertising Federation of Greater Evansville.

Categories: Journalism.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Aspiring Literary Scholar Award

The winner of this award receives $1,000, an invitation to accept the award at our annual awards ceremony, promotion on our website, and a feature of their work in our Magajournal and quarterly newsletter. Candidate must submit an essay not to exceed 800 words on the topic "The Power of The Written Word."

scholarships that require essays 2021

Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship

The Dr. Jerry Pournelle Scholarship may be awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, biological or physical sciences, or “science fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study. Applicants must submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several scientific topics.

Categories: Research, Personal Essay, and Critical Essay

Organization: The Heinlein Society.

Categories: Research, Personal Essay, and Critical Essay.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship

The Dr. Yoji Kondo Scholarship may be awarded to a candidate of any gender majoring in engineering, math, biological or physical sciences, or “science fiction as literature” as an eligible field of study. Applicants must submit a 500-1,000 word essay on one of several scientific topics.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Jack & Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship

Project Sleep’s Jack & Julie Narcolepsy Scholarship is a national scholarship program to support students with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Students must complete an application form that includes a response to the esssay question: "If you could go back in time and speak to yourself on the day you were diagnosed, what would you say? Write a letter to yourself on that day."

Organization: Project Sleep.

What are writing scholarships?

Writing scholarships are financial awards given to students based primarily on written work, though other factors are usually taken into consideration as well. Most writing scholarships involve a prompt or series of prompts to which applicants must respond. Some writing scholarships — especially those that award large amounts of money — require applicants to submit past writing samples, or even a full portfolio.

The good news is that, with so many writing scholarships to choose from, you don’t have to apply for any that are “out of your league.” Indeed, though most students have heard of writing scholarships, you may not realize just how many different varieties there are! Here are five of the most common types of writing scholarships, all of which you can find in this directory.

1. Personal essay scholarships

Personal essay scholarships involve writing on a topic related to your own experience. You’ll often see personal essay prompts like, “How have your experiences influenced your choice of major?” and “What are your career aspirations and how do you plan to achieve them?” Other prompts may ask you to write about a role model, a life-changing event, an aspect of your identity, etc. Suggested length is usually about 500-1,000 words, but varies depending on the level of detail requested and how many essay questions are provided.

Just about every scholarship these days has a personal essay component of some kind. This is because personal essay responses both demonstrate writing skills and give the judges a clear sense of each applicant’s goals. No one wants to throw away money on an aimless student — so if you’re applying for a personal essay scholarship, make sure to convey both your writing abilities and your ambitions in your work!

2. Critical essay scholarships

Critical essay scholarships are more in line with what students might consider  “academic” essays. The prompts typically ask applicants to analyze works of literature. However, unlike open-ended English class essays, most critical essay scholarships provide a very specific prompt (e.g. “Examine The Great Gatsby in the context of its World War II-era revival”).

Critical essay scholarships can also involve non-literary subject matter. Some may ask applicants to evaluate a historical event or figure; others may ask them to defend their stance on a political or legal issue. Though the line between critical and personal essays can sometimes blur, for the purposes of this directory, we define critical essays as those that use evidence from an external source to prove a point.

3. Short fiction scholarships

Short fiction scholarships include scholarships for short stories, one-act plays, poetry, and any other form of fiction that isn’t a novel or full-length script. Short fiction scholarships tend to be easier to find than long-form fiction scholarships, since most judging panels don’t have time to read more than a few thousand words per entry. Therefore, if you write fiction and you’re hoping to nab yourself a scholarship, this category is the way to go! (That said, if you’re a hardline novelist, some places will accept a sample chapter or two as short fiction entries.)

4. Journalism scholarships

Journalism scholarships are for students interested in pursuing a career in news, magazine, and/or online journalism. These scholarship applications almost always ask for writing samples to show the candidate’s interest. Depending on the organization, they may prefer topical news reports, informative articles, thinkpieces, or a mix. Some journalism scholarships provide a prompt and ask applicants to write a new article, but the focus is usually on samples. Speaking of which…

5. Portfolio scholarships 

Portfolio scholarships are the most rigorous kind of writing scholarship, requiring a substantial body of work from each applicant — usually 5-10 pieces of writing, if not more. The upside is that awards for portfolio scholarships tend to be pretty sizable, and may even cover your entire tuition!

If you decide to apply to a portfolio scholarship, make sure you have several strong pieces of work in your oeuvre, and consider writing a few new pieces as well. What you shouldn’t do is rush through a dozen new pieces to throw together as a portfolio. If you don’t have samples at the ready from previous assignments or projects, you’ll be better off applying to a less intensive writing scholarship.

Why apply to writing scholarships?

Applying to writing scholarships is a huge undertaking, especially if you’re pursuing multiple scholarships at once. It can sometimes feel like the effort isn’t worth it, or that you have little chance of actually winning any awards. But in truth, submitting to writing scholarships is one of the best investments you can make in your education, your creative writing skills, and your professional life.

Scholarships for larger amounts do attract more applicants, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to land — only that you have to work a little harder to stand out. And you can definitely sway the odds in your favor by applying to lots of small scholarships ($500 or less) for which you’ll have fewer competitors. Remember that every little bit helps! For example, if you plan on taking out student loans, even a $500 scholarship could save you much more in interest down the line.

Another compelling reason to apply to writing scholarships is that oftentimes, you’ve already done the work, or the work required is minimal. For scholarships that require writing samples, you’ll simply submit what you’ve already written in the past — and even for scholarships with specific prompts, you rarely have to write more than a couple of pages. If you were seriously committed, you could apply to a scholarship every day, spending a single concentrated evening on each application.

Jumping off that thought, as English majors love to say: the more writing scholarships you apply for, the better a writer you’ll become. Writing tons of scholarship essays will make you a much more creative and efficient writer. Not only will this help with your personal writing projects, but it will also be invaluable to your education and even your career! Writing is a crucial skill for every major — you’ll always have to write papers and emails to professors, after all — and even if you don’t plan to pursue a writing-based job, you'll still need writing skills to polish your résumé.

Finally, remember that there’s a writing scholarship out there for everyone, no matter what your interests or intended field. This directory includes plenty of creative writing scholarships, yes; but there are also personal essay scholarships for future doctors, lawyers, salespeople, and so much more. You have nothing to lose by giving it a shot, so why not start searching for your dream writing scholarship today? (And if you’re unsure about your writing skills, you might benefit from some of the resources below.)

Resources to strengthen your writing skills

  • 20 Writing Tips to Help You Become A Better Writer Today
  • How to Stop Procrastinating and Build A Solid Writing Routine
  • What is Creative Nonfiction? Memoirs, Literary Journalism, and More!
  • How to Write a Memoir: Tell Your Amazing Story in 9 Steps
  • How to Write a Fantastic Short Story In 7 Steps
  • How to Self-Edit Your Manuscript Like a Pro
  • 700+ Creative Writing Prompts to Inspire You
  • 100+ Creative Writing Exercises for Authors

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Reedsy Marketplace UI

Save your shortlist

Enter your email address to save your shortlist so that you don't lose it!

By continuing, you will also receive Reedsy's weekly publishing tips and access to our free webinars.

Reedsy Marketplace UI

We sent over your shortlist. Thank you for using Reedsy's Writing Scholarships Directory, happy publishing! 🙌

Bring your stories to life

Our free writing app lets you set writing goals and track your progress, so you can finally write that book!

Reedsy Marketplace UI

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Gravatar Icon

Find College Scholarships - Essay

Search lists of scholarships by choosing a category or get matched to college scholarships you are eligible for.

  • By Category
  • Your Matches

Niche $25,000 "No Essay" Scholarship

  • Deadline May 31, 2024
  • Amount $25,000
  • Offered By Niche
  • State National
  • Description Help cover the cost of college without writing a single essay! Niche is giving one student $25,000 to help pay for tuition, housing, books and other college expenses — no essay required! High school seniors will also be eligible to receive acceptances (and scholarships!) from our Direct Admissions partner colleges. Fill out your Niche Profile with key details like your GPA and the high school you attend, and you’ll automatically be considered. Apply below for your chance to win so you can focus on your education, not your finances. Good luck!
  • Essay Required :  No
  • Recommendations Required :  No
  • Minimum GPA :  None
  • Major All majors
  • Type Generic

Ozarka Natural Spring Water "Every Drop Counts" Earth Science Scholarship

  • Deadline May 10, 2024
  • Amount $10,000
  • Offered By Ozarka
  • State Texas
  • Description As part of Ozarka's commitment to Texas, the company created an annual "Every Drop Counts" Earth Science Scholarship Fund in 2002. Through Ozarka and parent company BlueTriton Brands, Inc.'s partnership with The Meadows Center for Water and Environment, an annual $10,000 scholarship is awarded to a Texas State University student who is pursuing an Environmental or Earth Science degree.
  • Essay Required :  Yes
  • Recommendations Required :  Unknown
  • Minimum GPA :  3.0
  • Major Earth Science/Geology

Robert D. Blue Scholarship

  • Amount $1,000
  • Offered By Iowa College Student Aid Commission
  • Description The Robert D. Blue Scholarship, named after the former Iowa governor, provides funds ranging from $500 to $1,000 to Iowa students who demonstrate literary and scholastic ability; exhibit qualities of truth, courage, and fellowship; and display moral force of character.
  • Recommendations Required :  Yes
  • Major Any Major

Access College Early Scholarship Program

  • Deadline May 15, 2024
  • Amount Varies
  • Offered By Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
  • State Nebraska
  • Description The Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship Program pays tuition and mandatory fees for qualified, low-income high school students to enroll in college courses from Nebraska colleges or universities, either through dual-enrollment or early enrollment agreements with these institutions.
  • Find Student Loans

Educational Benefits for Children of Deceased Veterans and Others

  • Offered By Delaware Department of Higher Education
  • State Delaware
  • Description Offers legal residents of Delaware who are dependents of deceased veterans and others a full tuition scholarship.
  • Type Military Family

Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship

  • Amount $20,000
  • Offered By State of Kansas Student Aid
  • State Kansas
  • Description Designed to encourage primary care physicians to establish practices in rural areas of Kansas. Recipients return one year of practice for each year of assistance.

Mildred Sylvester Scholarship

  • Offered By American Veterinary Medical Foundation
  • State New Jersey
  • Description The estate of Mildred Sylvester established an endowed scholarship that awards a $1,000 annual scholarship to an outstanding 1st, 2nd or 3rd year veterinary student with a connection to the state of New Jersey (current or past resident, high school or college graduate).
  • Essay Required :  Unknown
  • Major Veterinary Studies

New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant

  • Offered By Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
  • Description The New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) is a need-based grant awarded to full-time undergraduate students enrolled in an approved degree or certificate program.

Ohio War Orphans Scholarship

  • Offered By Ohio War Orphans Scholarship Board
  • Description The Ohio War Orphans Scholarship Program awards tuition assistance to the children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio veterans who served in the armed forces during a period of declared war or conflict.
  • Minimum GPA :  2.0

Presbyterian Scholarship for Undergraduates

  • Amount $4,000
  • Offered By Presbyterian Mission Agency
  • State Nationwide
  • Description The Presbyterian Mission Agency provides scholarships to college students every year. Eligible applicants will be PCUSA church members seeking a first associates or bachelors’ degree, attending an accredited college or university in the United States full-time. The basic scholarship award is $4,000, up to need, and if need remains after the scholarship is awarded, students may be considered for additional supplemental aid, including: $2,000 Supplemental award for People of Color.
  • Type Presbyterian

Scholarship Incentive Program

  • Description For legal residents of Delaware enrolling full-time in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at a nonprofit, regionally accredited institution in Delaware or an out of state, accredited institution in an undergraduate or graduate degree program that is not offered at the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, or Delaware Technical Community College.
  • Minimum GPA :  2.50

Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Loan Assistance Program

  • Amount $3,000
  • Offered By College Foundation of West Virginia
  • Description The Underwood-Smith Teacher Loan Assistance Program is for educators of mathematics, science, special education, elementary education, and counseling in areas of high need in West Virginia. Eligible teachers must agree to teach full-time in a public school in West Virginia in a subject area or geographic area of critical need for two school years for each year loan assistance is received.
  • Major Education

Young Ambassador Scholarship

  • Offered By The Eye-Bank
  • State New York
  • Description The Eye-Bank recognizes outstanding students with the Young Ambassador Scholarship in Memory of Christopher Nordquist. The annual $3,000 award to an eligible student is made possible through private contributions given to The Eye-Bank in memory of Christopher, who was two when he died and left the gift of sight. Eligible students must reside within The Eye-Bank’s service area: New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange Counties).

AAFP/EveryCat Health Foundation Scholarship

  • Deadline Varies
  • Amount $2,500
  • Description An annual $2,500 scholarship will be awarded to a 3rd or 4th year student who demonstrates an interest in feline veterinary medicine. The recipient of this award must be able to document a history of participation in activities that benefit the health and welfare of cats, including research, shelter work, cat clubs and other community service programs. A strong GPA and financial need are also considered for this scholarship.

Dual Enrollment Grant

  • Offered By Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
  • State Tennessee
  • Description The Dual Enrollment Grant program provides a grant for study at an eligible postsecondary institution that is awarded to students who are attending an eligible high school and who are also enrolled in college courses at eligible postsecondary institutions for which they will receive college credit.

Osteopathic Medicine Scholarship

  • Deadline May 16, 2024
  • Offered By Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
  • State Kentucky
  • Description The Osteopathic Medicine Scholarship Program provides financial aid to Kentucky students pursuing a degree at the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Pikeville.

Francis Maria Scholarship Application

  • Deadline May 17, 2024
  • Amount $5,000
  • Offered By Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
  • Description The Francis Maria scholarship is for students of parishes in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America who is in one of their first three years of undergraduate college studies.

Gioles Scholarship

  • Offered By Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
  • Description The Gioles Scholarship is for students pursuing higher education in Journalism of Eastern Orthodox faith.
  • Major Communications/Journalism
  • Type Eastern Orthodox

Malta Scholarship

  • Description The Malta Scholarship is for students pursuing higher education of the Eastern Orthodox faith.

Paleologos Graduate Scholarship

  • Description The Paleologos Graduate Scholarship is for students intending to enroll in full time graduate studies leading to graduate, non-theological degrees.

The Antiochian Women's Grant

  • Amount $500
  • Description The Antiochian Women's grant helps women return to education or training.
  • Type Female

FREE TRAINING: How I Secured 6-Figures in Scholarships & Graduated Debt-Free

The Scholarship System

Paying for college begins here

How to Write Winning Scholarship Essays

Scholarships & Financial Aid

scholarships that require essays 2021

Updated on November 24th, 2021

The vast majority of legitimate and reputable scholarships are going to require an essay as part of the application process, which means your student needs to know how to write winning scholarship essays. Otherwise, they may miss out on exciting opportunities for free money to help pay for college, increasing the odds that they’ll need student loans to make ends meet.

While “no essay” scholarships do exist, most of these are no more than sweepstakes, and some of them are incredibly sketchy. If you want to know more about no-essay scholarships, check out this article: What You Need to Know About No Essay Scholarships

Writing winning scholarship essays isn’t as challenging as it sounds, as long as your student knows the best approach. To help them get started, here is an in-depth guide on how to write a scholarship essay that will grab the attention of the committee for all of the right reasons.

If you and your student would like to learn more about  how to find scholarships  that can help pay for college, sign up for our  free college scholarship webinar ! We cover how to spot the scams so you can make sure your student is applying to scholarships that are actually worth their time. Join the next free training here:  www.thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar.

scholarships that require essays 2021

  • 1 Read All of the Instructions to Write Winning Scholarship Essays
  • 2 Define the Audience for the Scholarship Essay
  • 3 Brainstorm Before Writing Scholarship Essays
  • 4 Choose the Right Topic to Cover
  • 5.1 Writing the Scholarship Essay First Draft
  • 5.2 Refining First Drafts into Winning Scholarship Essays
  • 6 Get an Outside Opinion
  • 7 Finalize and Submit the Essay

Read All of the Instructions to Write Winning Scholarship Essays

While this may seem like common sense, many students rush through the instructions section before they start writing their scholarship essay. Why? Because reading instructions isn’t fun and many students are fairly pressed for time.

Ultimately, winning scholarship essays always adhere to the instructions. If your student misses a requirement, their essay may be automatically discarded, meaning they spent all of that time writing for no gain.

Have your student examine the instructions to look for details that outline the process including these:

  • The topic they must cover
  • Formatting requirements
  • Sourcing requirements

Only after this step is complete should they move forward.

How to Write Winning Scholarship Essays

Define the Audience for the Scholarship Essay

The audience of a scholarship essay is whoever will be reading it, and catering the content to those groups of people helps create winning scholarship essays.

While you likely won’t know exactly who is going to review their essay, they can infer a lot of information based on the organization or business that is providing the funds. For example, if your student can discuss a topic that relates to a company’s products, services, values, or mission, it may be easier to connect with the reader on a meaningful level.

Typically, you can figure out the audience’s priorities by reviewing the organization’s website. Read through the product or service descriptions, About Us section, as well as any mission statements to get insight into the group’s values.

Brainstorm Before Writing Scholarship Essays

In many cases, scholarship essay topics give your student a lot of leeway regarding what they can write. In fact, they may be able to choose from multiple prompts, something that may make it harder to figure out what winning scholarship essays for this organization entail.

When writing a great scholarship essay, brainstorming is an important part of the process. They should grab a sheet of paper, list every topic or prompt, and jot down notes of examples that apply to each one. With our students in The Scholarship System , we teach them mind-mapping for this step, a powerful tool to uncover creative essay ideas.

Usually, brainstorming only takes a few minutes, but it can make a world of difference when writing winning scholarship essays. It allows them to organize their thoughts and identify ideas that excite them.

Choose the Right Topic to Cover

After your student brainstorms, they should focus on topics that ignite their passion. If they are excited about the idea, it’s often easier to write about it. Plus, their enthusiasm will shine through.

Review the list of ideas and choose an option that peaks interest and fits the prompt. This makes writing winning scholarship essays feel like less of a burden, which can go a long way when your student wants to apply to a long list of scholarships.

Some key aspects to look for when selecting a topic include:

  • One that speaks to core values
  • Why the investment (the scholarship) is worth it
  • How it led them to their degree choice or career path

Ideally, the topic should relate back to at least one of the points above, creating a connection between the content of the scholarship essay and your student’s future.

Structuring Winning Scholarship Essays

Winning scholarship essays are always well-structured, so creating an outline is a smart move. Most high school students are familiar with essay outlines, so your student should be able to handle this with relative ease.

Scholarship Essay Introduction

Begin by structuring the introduction. Usually, your student will want to have an attention-grabbing first sentence followed by a short explanation of what will be discussed and a thesis statement that directly addresses the prompt. Students can get creative here but any story, question, or attention-grabbing beginning should clearly tie into the rest of the essay and of course, relate to the prompt.

Scholarship Essay Body

Ideally, each body paragraph should discuss a single point that relates to the topic, usually in a few sentences. If possible, it’s a great idea to make the point through a mini-story or example. This keeps the essay interesting for the reader and helps them understand the writer even better. For example, rather than saying “I initially decided I wanted to be a lawyer in 9 th grade…,” a student can instead share a quick story or example and sum it up with “That is when I first discovered my passion for law.”

Transitions

Having quality transitions between paragraphs is also essential as it improves the flow of the essay. To structure this portion, your student can write each point they want to cover and arrange them in an order that promotes readability and logical segues.

Scholarship Essay Conclusion

The conclusion should wrap everything up by reemphasizing how the prompt was addressed, discussing lessons learned, and even speaking to the core values of the audience. Depending on the essay prompt, students can stress how this essay shows they are a great candidate for the scholarship. Again, a few sentences will usually suffice.

After writing the outline, review it to make sure that it adheres to every requirement in the instructions and that every component provides value to the reader. Remember, winning scholarship essays always meet the requirements, so it’s wise to review this before the writing phase begins.

Related articles:

  • 8 Best Websites to Find College Scholarships
  • How to Win Scholarships with the Right Scholarship Essay Format
  • How to Find Local Scholarships for Your Teen’s College Education

Writing the Scholarship Essay First Draft

With the outline in hand, your student now has a guide for writing a high-quality first draft of their scholarship essay. How they decide to approach this phase may depend on their personal style.

Some students like to begin with the introduction, move through the body, and then create a conclusion. However, others may prefer to write the body first and then craft the introduction and conclusion after. Both approaches are perfectly acceptable as long as the final paper flows logically.

First drafts are allowed to be rough, so it’s fine if your student just lets their ideas run rampant while they create. Let their passion guide them as they get their thoughts down on paper.

It’s also okay to ignore spelling or grammar errors as they write as these can be cleaned up during editing. Writing the first draft is more about getting all of their ideas on paper than anything else, so a degree of sloppiness isn’t inherently a problem.

Refining First Drafts into Winning Scholarship Essays

Once everything is written, now is the time to refine the content. First, your student should correct any mechanical issues, like spelling or grammar mistakes. There are a variety of tools that can help them do that, but it’s also important to not rely on technology entirely.

A great approach for finding errors is to read the essay out loud. This allows your student to potentially hear problems, which can be easier than spotting them with their eyes. In some cases, using a text-to-speech program can work too, allowing your student to listen for issues.

In the vast majority of cases, winning scholarship essays are error-free, so finding mistakes and correcting them is critical for your student’s success.

Once the errors are corrected, the draft can be reviewed for flow. Ideally, each paragraph should shift naturally into the next, following a logical thought pattern or progression through an event. If a transition feels awkward or a detail feels out of place or unnecessary, then edits should be made.

After that is complete, your student should recheck it a final time to ensure that all of the requirements set forth in the instructions are met. This includes everything from properly covering the topic to meeting word count minimums and not going over maximums. Similarly, they should take a look at the formatting to make sure they used the proper font and size, margins, spacing, and anything else listed in the instructions.

Related Video:

  • 7 College Scholarship Essay Ideas to Win More Funding

Get an Outside Opinion

After the draft is refined, it could be time to get a second opinion. Often, it will be difficult for your student to review their essay objectively, so having someone else take a look is smart.

Who they choose is up to them, but some options worth exploring include trusted teachers and tutors. Parents can also make a good choice if their writing skills are strong, but some students won’t be comfortable with their parents reading what they wrote, depending on the topic. In those cases, selecting someone else is a better option than trying to force the issue.

Finalize and Submit the Essay

After the essay is reviewed by someone else, your student should make any final edits based on the feedback they receive. Then, once it is ready, it’s time to submit the scholarship application and essay for consideration.

By following the steps above, your student can increase their odds of writing winning scholarship essays that help them find free money for college. After they use the process a few times, it will likely begin to feel like second nature, making each essay easier to complete than the last.

Want even more help on writing scholarship essays? Grab a copy of our Free 3-Step Scholarship Essay Writing Guide where you learn the exact 3 steps we teach our students. This 3-Step Method helps even those students who hate writing!

Grab your free essay writing guide!

  • Pinterest 102

' src=

January 31, 2019 at 7:42 am

Wow! this is very deep and insightful.

' src=

March 22, 2019 at 4:29 am

very informative i love this site

' src=

April 30, 2019 at 7:36 am

' src=

June 8, 2019 at 6:10 am

I could not resist commenting on this topic- it’s inspiring, knowledgeable, full of wisdom and educational. I love this topic.

' src=

July 23, 2019 at 6:27 pm

wow! This is an amazing update. One would really love it.

' src=

October 13, 2019 at 3:06 am

I love the article on writing a winning essay, the problem most persons face is the Essay Introduction. One of the best ways to present your introduction is to get the attention of your reader with something interesting, unique, fact or ask a question.

' src=

November 8, 2019 at 3:46 am

Very well crafted essay and the way you write is also appreciable. Thanks for sharing the tips

November 14, 2019 at 11:58 am

Your content is so sweet thank you

' src=

January 28, 2020 at 6:56 am

A scholarship essay is all about highlighting what you are as a student and this post will make it easy for students to write their scholarship essays in a clear step-by-step way. Getting a second opinion on the essay draft is a really useful tip and is a must-do before submitting a noteworthy scholarship essay!

' src=

January 29, 2020 at 7:16 am

Thanks for bringing up this article.

' src=

February 20, 2020 at 8:31 pm

I actually followed some of this steps and it worked well for me. I received my first scholarship not long ago

' src=

April 8, 2020 at 8:00 am

' src=

May 10, 2020 at 3:20 pm

Thanks for writing this article I love this website

' src=

September 20, 2020 at 10:21 am

Scholarship essays to me is more important than the scholarship itself because without passing through this stage you can never get the scholarship. Thank you for sharing. It’s been helpful

' src=

September 29, 2020 at 3:02 am

Thanks a lot for sharing. This will be quite helpful for my blog.

March 27, 2021 at 7:11 pm

This is literally the best website I’ve gotten this wonderful piece of article from. Thank you for sharing.

' src=

June 21, 2021 at 9:13 pm

These tips really helped. thanks for sharing.

July 23, 2021 at 10:33 pm

Scholarship essays to me is more important than the scholarship itself because without passing through this stage you can never get the scholarship. Thank you for sharing. It’s been helpful

July 23, 2021 at 10:35 pm

This is literally the best website I’ve gotten this wonderful piece of article from. Thank you for sharing.

' src=

November 9, 2021 at 7:07 am

Scholarship essay is an integral part of your application

December 11, 2021 at 1:13 am

nice and interesting blog thanks for sharing

' src=

March 7, 2022 at 11:20 am

It is an amazing post and you explained it in a detailed way. Nice to see this here. I will bookmark your blog for more details. Keep sharing new things like this.

' src=

August 14, 2023 at 6:28 am

I liked and thought your blog exercise was exciting. Please keep giving us excellent and outstanding blog posts. At some point in a student’s life, he/she would need to write a Scholarship Essay, this essay can be for various purposes such as commencing a college program or funding research. Hence, this piece can either hinder or help students achieve their academic goals. Please read the post I made to my blog, It might be helpful to you in any way.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Subscribe via email

Popular posts, how to write an amazing scholarship resume, 75 easy ways to save money in college.

scholarships that require essays 2021

How to Find and Apply for Scholarships

College board scholarship search, what are scholarships .

Scholarships are a type of financial aid commonly referred to as “free money” or “gift aid.” Scholarships usually require an application and are often awarded to students based on a combination of factors including merit. Merit scholarships tend to have specific requirements and are awarded to applicants based on certain skills and accomplishments and may not be based on financial need. Scholarships may be renewable, meaning you can receive scholarships for more than one year. A new application may be required along with maintaining certain eligibility requirements, such as GPA or a certain major.

Why do I need scholarships?

Scholarships are a great type of financial aid because they do not have to be repaid. Receiving scholarships can help cover the remaining bill and indirect costs, while also minimizing the amount you need to borrow in loans while in college.

What are some common scholarship application requirements?

Many scholarships require similar application materials, which commonly include:

  • The application, which can be paper or an online form. 
  • Essays, often personal statements, that provide insight into your activities inside and outside the classroom. 
  • Letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, community members, or other mentors. 
  • Honors or awards you have received, academic or otherwise. 
  • Information about your high school or college, which may include your transcript, GPA, Student Aid Report, or financial aid offer.
  • A résumé that includes any employment, volunteer, or extracurricular experiences.

Specialized scholarships may require additional information and may have a priority deadline. For example, scholarships supporting the arts may require portfolios or writing samples. Be sure to read each application thoroughly for requirements so you don’t miss any.

What should I do before college to increase my chances?

Since many scholarships are merit based, maintaining good grades and increasing your involvement in school and community activities are important. Some scholarships have GPA requirements, so keeping your grades up will help open more opportunities. Additionally, many applicants with varied extracurriculars and volunteer or job experiences may stand out. The more scholarships you’re eligible for and apply for, the better the odds you have of receiving one.

What are the best ways to find and receive a scholarship?

There is no guarantee that you’ll receive a scholarship, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances while applying. One of the most important things to remember is that the scholarship committee wants to get to know you through the applications—you want to show why your college education is worth investing in. 

There are a few things that you can do to increase your chances, including: 

  • Start early and search year-round: No matter what stage in the college process you’re at, you should start looking for scholarships now. There are even scholarships that high school students can receive before senior year. Scholarship deadlines vary, so setting some time aside every few weeks to search and apply will open up more opportunities of securing a scholarship. 
  • Use the right search engine: Finding scholarships to apply for can be difficult, but with the right search engine you can narrow your search and find scholarships you’re eligible for. BigFuture’s scholarship search is a great resource to use.
  • Find a balance: You should apply for several scholarships—the more you apply for, the better your chances of receiving one. However, it’s important to use your time wisely. You should only apply for those you’re eligible for, based on the requirements. 
  • Research local scholarships: Local scholarships tend to have fewer applicants, meaning you may be more likely to get them. Your high school counselor or college financial aid department might have insight about where to find and apply for local scholarships. Be sure to talk to others in your community, and check with local businesses and organizations like banks and churches. 

How do I know a scholarship is legit? 

While plenty of legitimate scholarships are available, some fake scholarships are set up to scam students out of money or personal information. Using reliable search engines, like BigFuture, can help avoid this. Scholarships should always be free to apply. Some may ask for your bank account information after choosing you as a recipient, but they should not ask for this information as an application requirement. If you’re unsure, contact the organization or company providing the scholarship to ensure they are legit. 

Finding and applying to scholarships sounds like a lot of work—how can I make this process easier?

Because scholarships don’t need to be repaid, they can be an important part of making college affordable. However, we know that it might not always be feasible to spend a lot of time applying. There are a few things you can do to simplify the process and save time where possible. 

  • Start early: Prioritize getting two or three letters of recommendation, and write your essay/personal statement before you start searching to help save time.
  • Time management: Plan to spend a day or two a month searching and submitting applications with your prepared materials to avoid last-minute applications, missed deadlines, and stress.
  • Stay organized: Collecting and organizing your application materials and tracking due dates will help you stay on track and avoid missing out on opportunities. 
  • Reuse essays when possible: Many scholarship essay topics are similar, so editing one of your previously written essays to fit the scholarship you’re applying for can save you time.

With these tips and resources, you’ll be better prepared for scholarship applications and increase your chances of receiving scholarships to help cover your college costs. Check out your chance to earn $500 and $40,000 scholarships in monthly drawings offered by BigFuture to students who complete the steps to plan for college .

Related Articles

IEFA

How to write a scholarship essay

scholarships that require essays 2021

With the increased cost of college tuition, students often need to apply for grants and scholarships in order to pay their way through school.

There are scholarships and grants for everyone from recent graduates to first-generation college students – even if you’re still a high school student.

Most scholarships require more than just good test scores. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to win one of these awards, read on. The scholarship application process usually includes an essay question that the scholarship provider’s own committee will ask you to answer.

Scholarship applications can be stressful for students – especially international students. The worst part is that applicants don’t always know what they are doing wrong and how to fix it. This takes skill and preparation (and some good luck!).

Read this blog before you start writing – it will give you lots of tips that will help you write a great essay, so that your chances of winning the scholarship to attend college will increase dramatically!

scholarships that require essays 2021

Writing a Winning College Scholarship Essay

Great scholarship essays show the real person behind the application and this could be what gives you the edge over the competition (as long as you meet the other criteria for the scholarship).

Scholarship Essays

Scholarship essays are like college admission essays. They have a lot in common and they are similar in the way that you write them. Prospective students applying for scholarships are in competition with each other, as many will have good grades and great prospects. Your essay is a great chance to distinguish yourself from other applicants.

When applying for a scholarship, it is important to write an essay that the committee will notice. The committee will receive many, many versions of the same essay. All of these similar essays will blend together – in other words, you need to stand out by writing an attention-grabbing story in a unique voice.

These are some tips to think about when writing your essay:

Scholarships are not always based purely on grades, so it is important to mention what makes you strong outside of academics.

It is best to find a scholarship related to your academic or future career goals.

One way to make sure your essay meets the requirements of each scholarship competition is to do some research on which type of essay it requires.

How to write a winning scholarship essay – scholarship essay tips

It’s not enough just to know what you want to write about. You also need to meet any given requirements and develop a plan for researching the topic before starting on your essay.

Scholarship Essay Instructions

scholarships that require essays 2021

Before you start working on your essay, make sure to take a moment to read the instructions and fully comprehend what is required of you. If it’s not clear, then look over them one more time until you have all of the information that you need. Do not start writing until everything is clear in your mind. If you have any questions about the scholarship essay prompts, contact the scholarship committee and ask for instructions. This shows that you are serious about the essay prompt and will not make you look worse than if you did nothing at all.

Pay attention to the prompt and be sure you maintain focus on that

When reading the prompt, make sure to read it carefully several times and try to understand what is being asked. Scholarship essay prompts will typically ask a variety of similar themes, such as how receiving the scholarship or gaining your degree will change your life. A good way to start the essay would be figuring out which specific question the prompt is asking you.

You should also avoid adding anything unrelated to the prompt. You should be able to talk about the specific topic in-depth. Stay focused on the prompt when writing your essay.

If you can, choose a topic that you are interested in

You’ll create better work and be more expressive if you care about what you’re writing. You may get to choose the topic of your scholarship essay for some applications.

So if you have a choice, choose a topic that you are passionate about. This should make it easier to write your scholarship essay without having to do more work.

If the prompt is asking for your past, present or future goals and aspirations (or something else), it’s best to tie those into how receiving this scholarship will change what you’re able to do.

If you make your writing from your heart, it will be more meaningful.

Avoid Negative Topics

Don’t do essays that are about negative things. That’s not good to read or write.

Scholarship program administrators are most impressed with essays that inspire and give hope, shed light on overlooked problems, or tell stories of overcoming great obstacles.

Don’t be shy

Who are you? What makes you special? This is your chance to talk about what you want to say that you couldn’t say in other parts of the scholarship application essays. When you tell the story of your own life in a scholarship application or essay, it will seem more real to the people reading it.

Spelling and grammar are important

scholarships that require essays 2021

People notice mistakes in grammar. Even small mistakes can distract a reader from your message, and nailing the spelling and grammar in your scholarship essay shows your writing ability and attention to detail. This includes good sentence structure and a wide vocabulary throughout your entire essay.

Proofreading your essay is crucial to submitting an application that will be in with a chance of winning.

Stick to the word count

When you write a scholarship essay, the prompts usually tell you how many words (or characters) to use, so follow instructions and stick to the rules. You would be surprised how many applicants go over the word count, and despite submitting a well written scholarship essay, they make a bad first impression by sending something in that doesn’t meet the scholarship requirements.

You may not know what 250 words looks like. It’s hard to tell. As a general guide, you need to write 250 words for one typed page (double spaced). That means you need to write 500 words for two pages and so on. Microsoft Word and Google Docs both have functions to show you your word count.

You can’t go over the word or character limit. If you do, you may be disqualified. You do not need to write an essay that exactly hits the limit, but it is good to come close.

It’s easy to think that when you write more than the word limit, people will think you are working harder, have put in extra effort, and are therefore more deserving of the scholarship money. In truth, the people reading your essay care about how well you follow directions as much as they care about a well written essay.

For a great scholarship essay, do some research

What do you know about the organization awarding this scholarship? Look them up online. Learn about why they are offering the scholarship and their mission statement.

Learn about the award or scholarship provider’s mission and objectives. As you write your scholarship essay, think about the point of the company’s mission and what it is they are looking for in a successful candidate. Then share a story from your life that demonstrates how passionate you are for the organization or cause.

Many scholarship providers also showcase previous winning scholarship essays on their websites. You can see what a winning essay looks like and learn from their experience. Studying other scholarship essay examples will give you many ideas about what to write in your personal statement, how to create your essay’s introduction and a really good understanding of the scholarship essay format you should use.

Start the essay writing process early

Time management is key when applying for scholarships. Plan ahead to ensure you have the proper time available and be sure to check deadlines and requirements.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Give yourself plenty of time to come up with a thought-provoking essay. Take the time to brainstorm ideas, compile an outline, and edit your entry thoroughly just like you would for any assignment.

It is best to do your work before the deadline. That way you have time to make sure that it is good and you can fix anything if it needs to be fixed. When you finish writing the essay, leave a few days before you edit it. You’ll have a better chance of finding errors and places for improvement if you do not edit it right away.

Here are some scholarship essay tips:

Introduce the essay with a strong introduction or “hook.” Try to make your first sentence engaging enough to grab your reader’s attention.

Introduction, body, conclusion – a classic framework. Start with an introduction. The introduction should tell the readers what you are going to say in your essay. Write a body that tells about the main idea of your essay. The body should have many details, sentences, and paragraphs to support your argument. Finish by writing a conclusion that tells the reader what you talked about in the body of your

New ideas should always start new paragraphs. Paragraphs should be short and concise for easy reading!

Try to tie up any open threads and bring your essay to a conclusion with a personal statement.

Be truthful

The most memorable essays are written with the utmost authenticity and are often built around a series of events that detail how these experiences have impacted your life. Remember, you do not need to embellish or make up details to try to seem more deserving for the scholarship money.

Show, don’t tell

This is the most important tip for writing an essay. Instead of just explaining how you feel, try to paint a vivid picture through your words. For example: instead of saying that I’m really stressed at work and school, illustrate what stress looks like to you – late nights studying and forgetting to shower for days?

Keep it concise

Clear, specific and concise writing is one of the best tips for a solid scholarship essay. 

Providing a compelling and concise essay is challenging, but necessary. Employing simple language with specifics and vivid imagery will help you do just that.

Write about resilience

Scholarship essays are rigorous and require a lot of thought. Often, the essay will ask you to write about an important issue in your life that required you to be very resourceful when solving it, or a specific hardship you have overcome.

Many applicants make the mistake of writing more about their struggles with overcoming obstacles and not giving much insight into how they actually accomplished it.

One of the most important components for crafting a worthy scholarship essay is to focus on one event that has influenced or had an impact on your life. If you have experienced many different adversities throughout your life, it can be hard to narrow down which one to focus on.

However, by choosing a central theme you will be able to provide a more concise, coherent essay and will be able to tell the story of overcoming your obstacles in greater depth.

Use a professional tone, but also show who you really are

Instead of using overly colloquial language, focus on professionalism. But don’t be too formal – this is still your essay! Just keep readers interested by being yourself and sounding like you instead of trying to sound stuffy or formal.

Balance humility and pride

Your scholarship essay is the place to share your accomplishments and backstory, but don’t just list all of your virtues in an effort to prove that you deserve a scholarship. It’s important to strike a balance between being humble and proud of what you’ve accomplished.

Avoid these common errors

Now that you have a general sense of how to approach your essay, let’s review what we should avoid mentioning.

Generic inspirational quotes

By all means put quotes on social media. Or on your desk. But for a scholarship essay, you should not use them.

Instead, include advice or wisdom you’ve been given from the people who are important to you. Doing this will add a personal touch and give readers insight into what motivates you.

Platitudes, cliches and meaningless phrases

Be original. Don’t paint the same picture as everyone else when you’re applying for scholarships.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Platitudes are common phrases that people use all the time. For example, “Good things come to those who wait.”

Try not to use them in scholarship essays because you will sound like everyone else if you do.

Cliches are overused phrases or stories that no longer have any power or meaning. If you want to write a great scholarship essay, don’t use any clichés.

Swearing 

Sounds obvious, right? You’d never even think of doing this in a scholarship essay, would you? You’d be surprised at how many people actually do – and it can cost them the scholarship! 

Try to avoid any swear or curse words, even if you hear others use them frequently in mainstream media or TV shows. 

It’s unlikely that you will offend anyone, but be safe rather than sorry.

Use a thesaurus to find new exciting words and paint vivid imagery of your experience.

Txt spk and emoji

While you may be accustomed to using abbreviations and acronyms in daily conversations, keep them out of your scholarship essays.

The scholarship essay is one of the best places to showcase your writing skills, so it’s important that you write in a formal style unless otherwise directed.

Avoid using slang and informal language in your essay. Keep it professional and academic but also personal. A scholarship committee is looking for a special person with unique qualities.

The same goes for emoji. Keep them out of your scholarship essay! ;p

Trending topics

Don’t address a currently trend, controversial topic unless the essay prompt asks you to. A winning scholarship essay will be about you and your experience, not the latest trending topics. 

It’s ok if you touch on these ideas as part of your essay, but not as the main theme.

The most compelling essays often deal with personal subject matter rather than popular topics.

DO take a strong stance on causes that you care about and show how winning this scholarship award will help you continue fighting for them if appropriate, though. A critical thinker will stand behind something they can argue for convincingly.

Writing scholarship essays requires following the prompt and avoiding unrelated points. 

Photos, and fonts

Don’t make your scholarship essay a visual project. Keep it professional. You want people to read it without getting lost in all the pictures and fonts.

If you there are no formatting instructions, when uploading your essay to an application, use Times New Roman font and size 12.

If you copy-paste your essay into the text box on an application site, this will format your content for you.

Ensure that your writing follows all formatting requirements for headers and footers, margins, and single- or double-spacing.

Extreme statements

Scholarship essays should not only consist of extreme perspectives. Avoid unnecessary pessimism about the future and strong stances on irrelevant issues. 

If the prompt asks you about a problem facing the world today, you can answer by focusing on the hope for the future and the possibilities to overcome the issue. Many scholarship essays focus too much on the problem and not enough on the solution.

Criticism of other applicants

It is not okay to say that someone else – like another applicant – is less deserving of financial aid than you are. Scholarship committees really frown on this as a practice. You can tell the committee why you are deserving of the scholarship money without putting any other applicant down.

Your life story

Every scholarship essay needs to be focused and concise, so it is important to remember that you only have limited space. It can be tempting to write a lot about your life, but stay focused on the prompt given.

So while the story of your life may well be worth writing about, you probably can’t do it within the word limit set, and it almost certainly won’t meet the brief in full.  

You can choose to focus on one period of time, or one important event in your life that will allow you to write your essay and show a different perspective from all the other applicants. 

Essay Writing Process

Understanding how to write a scholarship essay can be difficult, but we’re here to give you some help.

Idea generation or brainstorming

Many students just dive straight into writing their essay. But if you want yours to really stand out, you should start thinking, planning and generating ideas before you begin writing.

Think about the essay prompt. Start to think of what you want to write about to address it fully.

To ensure that your idea fits with the prompt and communicates what you are trying to say, brainstorming is necessary. As you think of ideas, write them down as bullet points or notes on paper.

An outline is a useful tool to help you avoid structural mistakes, omission, repetition and fluff in your scholarship essay.

Your outline is like a complete answer to the essay prompt but without any of the detail.

As you write the full version of your essay you will have all the space you need to expand on what you’ve decided on in your outline.

The outline can help you structure your scholarship essay properly.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Your outline should allow you to see that you have answered the prompt, and done so in a logical order such as:

An introduction that sets out your ideas for the essay

Explanations that support the ideas you raised

A conclusion that summarises your points and wraps up the essay

Once you’ve drafted your article and outlined its key points, you can begin writing the piece for real. Be sure to follow your outline and check it for anything you may have missed while drafting.

Try to be succinct, avoid rambling on about unrelated topics and make your point quickly and clearly.

If the scholarship doesn’t mention a maximum essay length, a good rule of thumb is that your essay should be around one full page long.

Take 5 (or longer)

When you’ve completed a first draft of your essay, stop for a little while. Take a break by getting outside for some fresh air or going for a short walk. This will give you time to take in your own work and get some perspective on it.

When you return from your break, the essay will seem clearer in your mind than before. If possible, wait until the next day to come back to your essay. Continuing to edit it fresh in your mind will help you make any final revisions.

With a fresh set of eyes on your scholarship application essay you may notice things that you want to change, add or remove. Is there a better way to say something? Do you need to elaborate more on a certain part? Is there something that doesn’t make sense?

You also need to look out for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and typos.

When revising your essay, you should always ask yourself if there is a better way to express what you want to say. Are any of the sentences not necessary? Could they be shortened or rewritten? Is it clear how this section connects with another?

If you find that you’ve repeated the same words too often, you try to vary your language. It will make reading and understanding your essay easier for a reader who is not familiar with what you’re trying to say.

Tools such as Grammarly can help find errors in writing, so it’s a good idea to check your work there before submitting anything or sending off your application.

Once you’re happy with the content it’s time to format your essay by following the instructions provided in the brief.

If no specific instructions are given, then our advice is to use a standard 12 point font like Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Courier, or Georgia font.

Double spacing is a standard requirement for many scholarships.

It is also important to use a ‘Title Page’ and include the following information: name, address, year of study, current course(s), email address.

Ask someone to read your essay

It can be hard to be objective when reviewing your own work. That’s why you should ask someone else to read through it before you submit.

scholarships that require essays 2021

Ask them what they think about your writing, and if the essay presents all of the main points that were requested in a clear way.

If there are any gaps then ask them for ideas so that everything is well-balanced.

Ideally someone who has experience with reading essays would be the best person – someone like a teacher or counsellor. But really anyone like a friend or family member will do here because their perspective will be different than yours.

Take their advice and update your essay not submit your essay until you have made the requested changes.

This will give you an edge and help ensure greater success!

Don’t quit!

If you get tired, rest but don’t give up. Writing a scholarship essay is not an easy task, but if you break it down it is manageable. If you need more money to be able to afford to study abroad then winning some extra financial aid in the form of scholarships could make all the difference to your financial stability in college.

We hope that you’ve learned something new about how to write a scholarship essay in our article. Now it’s over to you…

Do you have any other scholarship essay tips? Let us know in the comments below!

Find your scholarship here .

Other useful posts:

How to write a scholarship application
Medicine scholarships: Medical scholarships for medical students

Posted in International Education , International Scholarships

'  data-srcset=

When I was a kid. A drunk driver hit the bus me with my family and other passenger’s was making journey with, while’ I was in the backseat. I have very few memories of the incident, but I do faintly recall seriously, but calming face as if I was gently lifted out of the vehicle. The paramedic held my hand as I was rushed to the hospital. I was in the hospital for several weeks, and that same paramedic came to visit me almost every day. During my stay, I also got to know the various doctors and nurses in the hospital on a personal level. I remember feeling anxiety about my condition, but not sadness or even fear. It seemed to me that those around me, particularly my family, were more fearful of what might happen to me than I was. I don’t believe it was innocence or ignorance, rather I trust in God and abilities of my doctors. It was as if my doctors and I had a silent bond. Now that I’m older, I fear death and sickness in a more intense way than I remember experiencing it as a child. My experience as a child sparked a keen interest in how we approach pediatric care, especially as it relates to our psychological and emotional support of children facing serious medical conditions. It was here that I experienced first-hand the power and compassion of medicine, not only in healing but also in bringing unlikely individuals together, such as adults and children in uncommon yet profound ways. And it was here that I began to developed interest of becoming a doctor. My interest sparked more even now I was recently admitted into university, I remember days back when I was asked to assist in a study one of my teacher during senior secondary school days, he was conducting on how children experience and process fear and the prospect of death. This teacher was not in the medical field; rather, his background is in cultural anthropology. I was very honored to be part of this project at such an early stage of my life. During the study, I discovered that children face death in extremely different ways than adults do. I found that children facing fatal illnesses are very aware of their condition, even when it hasn’t been fully explained to me, and on the whole I’m willing to fight the illnesses, but also more accepting of their potential fate than many adults facing similar diagnoses. I concluded our study by asking whether and to what extent this discovery should impact the type of care given to children in contrast to adults. I am eager to continue this sort of research as I pursue my medical career. The intersection of medicine, psychology and socialization or culture. (in this case, the social variables differentiating adults from children) is quite fascinating and is a field that is in need of better research. Although much headway has been made in this area in the past many years ago, I feel there is still a tendency in medicine to treat diseases the same way no matter who the patient is. I’m slowly learning that procedures and drugs are not always universally effective. Not only must we alter our care of patients depending upon these cultural and social factors, we may also need to alter our entire emotional and psychological approach to them as well. It is for this reason that I applied to All Saints University College of Medicine, as they has top programs for medicine and surgery in the academic subjects, as well as several renowned researchers delving into the social, generational and cultural questions in which I’m interested. My approach to medicine will be multidisciplinary, which is evidenced by the fact that I’m already prepared and decided from early childhood psychology and pre-med, with a minor in cultural anthropology. This is the type of extraordinary care that I received as a child—care that seemed to approach injuries with a much larger and deeper picture than that which pure medicine cannot offer, and it is this sort of care I want to provide for my future patients. But financial inadequate is becoming an impediment to the desire I have for society, I turned what might have been a debilitating event in my life and devastating motor accident—into the inspiration that has shaped my life since. I am careful and passionate. And while I know that the medical studies at All Saints University will likely be the second biggest challenge I will face in my life, I know that I am up for it. I am ready to be challenged and prove to myself what I’ve been telling myself since my Secondary School Days: I will be a medical doctor.

'  data-srcset=

Good luck with everything!

'  data-srcset=

Thanks a lot for helping me. This can prove to be so important for my career. I have been making these mistakes like using extreme statements and all and even used it in my last essay. Now, I got to know that these are wrong. I can’t be more thankful to you for such in-depth information.

Glad you found it useful, Blaze.

'  data-srcset=

What would be the best study university to study Early Childhood Education Curriculum development?

'  data-srcset=

That would depend based on various factors. Unfortunately we cannot provide personalized advice.

Join the conversation

  • International Student Loans

We work with leading providers of international student loan programs to provide students around the world with financial aid options to fund their education abroad.

Enter your information below to be shown the loan options that are available to you. Start searching today!

Financial Aid Blog

Subscribe to Our Feed

Recent posts.

  • Unlock a world of education with affordable study abroad programs
  • Finance for studying abroad: What you need to know
  • Finding financial aid: Your guide to scholarships, grants and student loans for international students
  • Explore Computing Scholarships for Computer Science Majors
  • How to Refinance a Student Loan: Options for International Borrowers

Recent Comments

  • Charmone Wallace on Funding to study abroad: How do you fund your study abroad program?
  • Charmone Wallace on Medicine scholarships: Medical scholarships for medical students
  • Charmone Wallace on Fully Funded Scholarships for International Students
  • January 2024
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • August 2010
  • January 2010
  • November 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • January 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • Budgeting Tips for International Students
  • Credit Cards
  • Financial Aid
  • Health Insurance
  • International Education
  • International Financial Aid News
  • International Scholarships
  • International student loan refinancing
  • Off campus employment
  • Scholarships
  • Study Abroad
  • Study Abroad Loans
  • Study in Canada
  • Study in Germany
  • Study in Spain
  • Study in the UK
  • Study in the USA
  • Uncategorized
  • Work in the USA
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

IEFA logo

PrepScholar

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 10 easiest scholarships to apply for.

Financial Aid

nostress-cc0

Scholarships are awesome resources if you're checking out different ways to pay for college. It's free money after all—what's not to love?

As it turns out, most scholarship programs have application processes that aren't exactly lovable. Students generally have to submit a lot of information about themselves: transcripts, GPAs, test scores, resumes, community service activities, and so on. There might even be a few essays and grade requirements thrown in as well. You don't want to complain—because, again, free money—but these applications sure are tedious when you're working on college apps, high school courses, and financial aid applications all at the same time.

The following easy scholarships have application processes that are a bit more manageable. Some ask you to write short essays, while others don't require any essays at all! The awards might not be as large as some other scholarships out there, but when the application process is so easy, you really don't have much to lose. I'll start off with some words of warning before getting into the good stuff: essay and no-essay scholarships that are so easy to apply for, you might end up applying to all of them!

Caveat: If a Scholarship Seems Too Good to Be True ...

body_caution_cc0

Unfortunately, there aren't too many legitimate "easy" scholarships out there. If a scholarship application sounds too good to be true, be cautious—you don't want to fall victim to a scholarship scam!

Here are some things to look out for:

  • A scholarship application that asks for personal information that isn't relevant to the award: Many top scholarship programs ask for personal information (transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, and even financial information for need-based scholarships); however, this info is all relevant to candidate evaluation. If you're ever uncomfortable providing personal info for a scholarship program, dig deeper. Can you verify that the program is legitimate? Does it have its own website, or can you only find info about it through a third party? Try Googling "[award name] scam" to see whether anything suspicious pops up.
  • A scholarship that asks you to make payments to enter or win: Scholarship programs are in the business of giving money to students, not taking it. A scholarship program is likely just a scam if the application asks you to make a payment—especially if it asks you to enter credit card information.

Now that we've got that out of the way, it's time to get to the good stuff: all the best easy essay and non-essay scholarships and how to win them!

Essay Scholarships

The scholarships in this section ask students to submit short essays with their applications. Even though you'll have to write an essay, the rest of the application (and the essay itself) should be easy and manageable for all these awards. In fact, most of these applications shouldn't take more than one to two hours to complete.

Bachus & Schanker, LLC Scholarship

This scholarship program is a bit different from most of the other awards included in this post—it's funded by a private law firm in Colorado. Students compete for a $2,000 award by writing an essay (at least 800 words) about the 7th Amendment and how it affects their lives. Scholarships are awarded twice a year, to be paid toward tuition for the upcoming semester.

  • Eligibility: High school seniors who have been accepted to a four-year university and university students with a minimum 3.0 GPA
  • Deadline:  July 30 (to win a scholarship for the fall semester) and November 30 (to win a scholarship for the spring semester)

Courage to Grow Scholarship

This $500 award is given out to one lucky student every month. To compete for the award, applicants must explain in 250 words why they think they deserve the scholarship, intended to support students who found “courage to forge ahead when sometimes it would be easier to give up.” Past recipients’ essays have discussed overcoming obstacles from bullying to breast cancer.

  • Eligibility: US high school juniors and seniors and college students with a minimum 2.5 GPA
  • Deadline: Last day of every month 

Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship

Odenza Marketing Group gives away two $500 scholarships each year, once in the spring and again in the fall. To compete for this award, applicants must like the Odenza Facebook page and write two short essays of about 500 words each. Each scholarship must have a clear thesis statement, offer supporting evidence in paragraph format, and be grammatically correct. In other words, these essays should follow the argumentative essay format you've learned in English class.

  • Eligibility: Current high school students (US or Canadian citizens) aged 16-25 or students who have at least one year of college remaining. Applicants must also have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
  • Deadline March 30 for spring, November 15 for fall

body_stopwatch_cc0

Some of these applications won't take you longer than a few minutes.

No-Essay Scholarships

When it comes to easy applications, you can't get much easier than the following scholarship programs. You'll still have to submit some information about yourself (and, in some instances, complete some brief activities or tasks), but you won't have to write any essays to qualify.

AFSA High School Scholarship

For this scholarship, all you need to do is complete an entry form and answer an eight-question quiz. Five $1 ,000 awards are given out each year. Winners are randomly selected by a computer-generated drawing. Your odds of winning are based on the total number of entries received. Essentially, it’s a scholarship raffle, and you get one ticket per “draw.”

  • Eligibility: Current high school seniors (US citizens or legal residents)
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

Too Cool to Pay for School Scholarship

This scholarship has one of the easiest applications out there: just fill out a few questions, and you're done! A $1,000 scholarship is awarded every three months. Winners are selected randomly.

  • Eligibility: Current high school, college, and graduate students studying in the US
  • Deadline: The last day of every March, June, September, and December

The Annual Haiku Society of America Haiku Award in honor of Harold G. Henderson

This scholarship program gives out three prizes of $200, $150, and $100 , but the application process is fun and easy. Students qualify by simply writing and submitting up to five original haikus. If you win, your haiku also gets published in an anthology and on the HSA website! Note: There is a small fee to apply, but the site is indeed reputable.

  • Eligibility: All students in grades 7-12
  • Deadline: Open June 1 - July 31

"No Essay" College Scholarship

This $2,000 award is given out monthly. To apply for this scholarship, submit an application that includes basic identifying information, your GPA, and your SAT/ACT scores. Winners are randomly selected, and you can submit a new application every month.

  • Eligibility: High school students, adults heading back to school, current college students, and anyone else looking to attend college or graduate school within the next year

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

Do you have a creative side and an eye for fashion? Students can compete for the grand prize of $10,000 (one each for the dress and tux categories) by designing and wearing prom outfits made out of duct tape. Check out the website for fun pictures of past winners!

Eight $500 prizes are given to runners-up (four for dresses and four for tuxes).  Applicants can enter as individuals or as part of a couple. Submissions that get the most votes win prizes, so be sure to recruit your friends to vote for you!

  • Eligibility: High school students in the US and Canada (excluding certain states and territories—refer to the official rules for details)
  • Deadline: The submission window is generally open from March through June, and winners are announced in July. Check the website for exact dates. 

U.S. Bank Student Union Scholarship

Multiple awards are available through this scholarship. To qualify, you'll need to create an account and complete learning modules about financial education. The more modules you complete, the more money you're eligible to earn. 

One first prize winner and one second prize winner are randomly selected during each of two entry periods. Winners can receive up to $20,000 , depending on how many learning modules they complete 

  • Eligibility: Current US undergraduate students
  • Deadline: Spring and fall of each year. Check website for more details.

Because College is Expensive Scholarship

This $500 scholarship is awarded to one student four times a year (March, June, September, and December) .If you want to enter, all you have to do is fill out the form on the Cedar Lending website.

  • Eligibility : High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; current college students; anyone else looking to attend college or grad school
  • Deadline : March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st. One winner is selected by the 15th of each month. 

3 Tips for Winning Easy Scholarships

Just because a scholarship is easy to apply for, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to win. Since these scholarship applications are so simple to complete, you'll probably have a lot of competition. Here are some strategies to help you submit your best applications possible:

#1: If you have to write an essay, you'll have a better shot at success if your views align with those of the organization awarding the scholarship. To prepare, do some research about the company or charity's mission statement. For instance, don't write an essay about how much you love fossil fuels if the scholarship is offered by an environmental organization! 

#2: Make sure your application is polished. You won't have the opportunity to make more than a first impression (remember, these apps are short and sweet!), so double-check for any grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.

#3: Last but not least, be sure that your application is complete and on time!

body-whats-next-cc0

What's Next?

These scholarships are excellent options if you want to churn out as many applications as possible. As you might've noticed, though, the award amounts are a bit underwhelming (though keep in mind that several smaller awards can be just as helpful as one big award!). Larger scholarships and grants are often available through colleges directly and applying for financial aid using the FAFSA .

You'll have to spend more time on your applications if you're gunning for a top scholarship, but the payoff can be more than worth it. To learn more about some of the best scholarships out there, check out our guides to the top scholarships for high school juniors and seniors .

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Get eBook: 5 Tips for 160+ Points

Francesca graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and scored in the 99th percentile on the SATs. She's worked with many students on SAT prep and college counseling, and loves helping students capitalize on their strengths.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

  • For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

scholarships that require essays 2021

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Duke University

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

scholarships that require essays 2021

34 No Essay Scholarships to Save Thousands on College

Do you know how to improve your profile for college applications.

See how your profile ranks among thousands of other students using CollegeVine. Calculate your chances at your dream schools and learn what areas you need to improve right now — it only takes 3 minutes and it's 100% free.

Show me what areas I need to improve

What’s Covered:

Are “no-essay” scholarships worth it, where to focus your scholarship search.

  • 34 No-Essay Scholarships  

Scholarships play a large role in many students’ plans for how to pay for college, but completing the applications for some scholarships is time-consuming—especially for students who are busy taking challenging courses and involved with extracurricular activities. Luckily, some scholarships are easier to apply for than others, like the no-essay scholarships listed below. 

No-essay scholarships are easier to apply for than other, more involved scholarships, so it doesn’t cost you much in time or effort to apply. However, because they’re easy to apply for, they receive a lot of applications, which means more competition and lower odds of winning. It is also less clear how no-essay scholarship recipients are selected without an essay to set your application apart.  

If you choose to apply for no-essay scholarships, just know that they are just a part of a strategy for winning awards to college and are best-suited as a supplement to local and more niche scholarships. If you don’t like the idea of writing an essay, look for a scholarship with an equivalent task, like making a video or creating a piece of art instead. 

Outside scholarships garner a lot of attention, but colleges and universities are actually the best place to look for scholarships—schools themselves grant $175 billion in scholarship money annually! It’s also worth noting that college awards are often larger than outside awards; 80% of external scholarships are less than $2,000, which looks great on paper but will only put a small dent in the cost of most colleges. 

You have the best chance of winning a merit-based scholarship from a college or university. While super-selective schools with applicants fighting for admission often don’t offer merit-based scholarships—for example, none of the Ivy League colleges do—less selective colleges are often anxious to attract strong applicants. This makes applying to a college where your profile is particularly strong a smart strategy for getting a merit scholarship .

34 No-Essay Scholarships 

1. “be bold” no-essay scholarship.

Amount: $25,000

Deadline: December 31 

Eligibility: Students of any education level, school, field of study, and GPA considered

This scholarship is for bold students who are determined to change the world one step at a time. No essay is required to win this eye-popping award. Instead, create a bold profile highlighting your earnestness, determination, and how you’re moving toward your goals for a chance to win.

2. Scholarships360 No-Essay Scholarship

Amount: $1,000

Deadline: September 30 

Eligibility: All students—including high school students, community college students, undergraduates, and graduate students

No essay is required to win this generous award. Simply sign up for Scholarship360—a scholarship newsletter—for your chance at $1,000 for college. 

3. $2,000 “No-Essay” College Scholarship

Amount: $2,000

Deadline: Monthly  

Eligibility: All high school and college students

The name says it all: no essay is required to receive this $2,000 college scholarship. Simply create an account for a chance to win this substantial award. A winner is chosen monthly and the money can be used to cover tuition, housing, books, or any other education-related expenses.

4. $2,000 Nitro Scholarship

Deadline: Monthly 

Eligibility: 

  • Age 17 or older
  • A parent with a child enrolled in an accredited college or university in the U.S. 
  • A student enrolled in an accredited college or university in the U.S. 
  • A parent with a high school senior in the U.S.
  • A high school senior located with the U.S. 
  • A student or a parent who has graduated from an accredited undergraduate school and is paying back debt from educational expenses

No essay is needed to win a $2,000 Nitro Scholarship. Applicants only need to complete a short application for this chance to win this award and to take a step to control the cost of college. 

5. The Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveaway

Eligibility: Legal U.S. residents in the contiguous U.S. and Washington, D.C., 18 years of age and older

This scholarship wants you to take control of your college finances so you can focus on your future. Entry is easy—just fill out a short online application. 

6. College Board “Complete Your FAFSA” Scholarships

Amount:   $500

Deadline: October through February 

Eligibility: Current high school seniors in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories

The College Board—the organization that administers the SAT—provides scholarships to students for simply filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The College Board will give out 500 awards every month from October through December and 100 awards in both January and February.

7. College Board “Complete Your Journey” Scholarships

Amount: $40,000

Deadline: February 

Complete the College Board’s six steps of college planning for your chance at one of 25 $40,000 scholarship opportunities. The program is open to students from all financial backgrounds, however, at least half of the scholarships will go to students from families who earn less than $60,000 annually. 

8. ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program

Amount: $10,000

Deadline: Quarterly 

Eligibility:   

  • Age 13 or older
  • U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident 
  • Attending or planning to attend college in the U.S.

No GPA, no essay, and no hassle! To enter for an opportunity to win one of these impressive awards, simply fill out an online application. In addition to the quarterly $10,000 scholarships, ScholarshipPoints also draws three $1,000 scholarships monthly.

9. Christian Connector Scholarship

Amount: $2,500

Deadline: May 31

Eligibility:  

  • Age 13 or older 
  • Must enroll for the first time as a full-time student at a Christ-centered Christian college, university, or Bible college

Sign up to receive information about Christian colleges—and for a chance at winning this handsome scholarship award for college. The scholarship is only open to students planning to attend a Christ-centered Christian college, university, or Bible college. The funds are sent directly to the winner’s school of choice. 

10. No Essay ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship

Amount: $2,222

Deadline: December 29

  • Age 16 or older 
  • Legal resident of the U.S. or its territories (Rhode Island and Michigan applicants are ineligible)
  • Enrolled in a qualified high school, college, or university in the U.S.

Sign up for ScholarshipOwl (a scholarship service) and you’re simultaneously registered for a chance to win a $2,222 award. Your odds of winning are about 1 in 140,000—not too bad considering there is no essay required and sign up is quick. 

11. CollegeXpress $10,000 Scholarship Contest

  • Legal U.S. resident 
  • Must enter a CollegeXpress member college as a full-time freshman, transfer, or graduate student for the fall term 

Just create a CollegeXpress profile for a chance at $10,000 to use at a CollegeXpress member college . Winners of this no-essay scholarship are selected at random. 

12. Annual Catholic College Scholarship

Amount: $1,500

  • Must enroll for the first time as a full-time student at a Catholic college

Sign up to receive information about Catholic colleges—and for a chance at winning this handsome scholarship award for college. The scholarship is only open to students planning to attend a Catholic college, university, or Bible college. The funds are sent directly to the winner’s school of choice. 

13. Discover Student Loans Scholarship Award 

Amount: $5,000

  • Resident of the U.S. or its territories
  • High school seniors, college students, students who’ve earned a General Education Development (GED), or parent/guardian of an aforementioned person

Sign up to receive emails that provide helpful college tips and useful resources and get entered to win one of 12 annual $5,000 awards. Complete a survey after registering for emails for an additional entry for the scholarship. 

scholarships that require essays 2021

Discover your chances at hundreds of schools

Our free chancing engine takes into account your history, background, test scores, and extracurricular activities to show you your real chances of admission—and how to improve them.

14. Lounge Lizard Web Design Scholarship  

Deadline: Semi-annually (spring and fall)

Eligibility: Attending an accredited school in the U.S. or accepted to an accredited school and set to begin within six months of application

Show off your creativity for a chance to win this no-essay scholarship. To enter, fill out a short application and either submit a web design or attach a link to a webpage. In addition to a scholarship, winners also receive a critique session with Lounge Lizard’s founder and CCO. 

15. Create-a-Greeting-Card Scholarship

Deadline: March 3

  • Age 14 or older 
  • Legal U.S. resident or international student with a student visa 
  • High school, college, or university student 

While you don’t need an essay to win this generous scholarship, you are required to submit an original photo, artwork, or computer graphic for use on the front of a greeting card. Entries are limited to one per person, so send in your best work! 

16. Frame My Future Scholarship Contest 

Amount: $6,000

Deadline: April 1

  • Legal U.S.resident
  • Planning to enroll at a U.S. college or university in the fall

Show how you frame your future through photography, illustration, painting, or mixed media art for a chance at this ample award. Although no essay is required, applicants are asked to submit a brief overview of their piece (no more than 500 characters). 

17. Annual Faith-Based College Scholarship

  • Must enroll for the first time as a full-time student at a faith-based college

Sign up to receive information about faith-based colleges and for a chance at winning this handsome scholarship award for college. The scholarship is only open to students planning to attend a faith-based college, university, or Bible college. The funds are sent directly to the winner’s school of choice. 

18. Sallie Mae $5,432 Sweepstakes

Amount: $5,432

Deadline: December 31

Entering for this scholarship is easy, all you need to do is complete an online registration for your chance at this $5,432 award. 

19. Ascent Scholarships 

Amount: Varies 

  • Age 18 or older 
  • Legal U.S. resident or DACA student
  • Enrolled at least half-time in a degree program or technical skills training program 

Ascent Scholarship giveaways are designed to help students cover school-related expenses such as tuition, books, rent, groceries, parking, and transportation. No essay is required, all you need to do is register for a chance to win one of these awards. 

20. The “No Sweat” Scholarship

  • Between 8th and 12th grade 

Create an account and complete a portfolio for your chance at this super scholarship which you can use for any educational purpose—from books to summer camp. The more complete your profile is, the better your odds of winning are. 

21. Too Cool to Pay for School Scholarship

  • U.S. residents, DACA and undocumented students, and international students currently studying in the U.S.
  • Current high school, college, and graduate students

Paying for school is stressful which is why this scholarship is intentionally low pressure. Complete the online registration to enter. Follow Access Scholarships on Instagram for an extra entry. You can use the scholarship for any educational expense—including tuition, textbooks, housing, and technology. 

22. Cappex Easy Money Scholarship

Eligibility: Current high school or college student 

No need to stress about your GPA or an essay when entering this scholarship contest. Simply answer a few simple questions for your chance at one of these awards. 

23. Scholarships4Moms 

Deadline: December 15

  • Age 18 or older
  • U.S. legal resident
  • Mother or expectant mother 
  • Enrolled in a college or university in the U.S. or will enroll in one within three months 

The Scholarships4Moms award is designed to help mothers meet their educational goals. Founded by a group of moms, who understand how busy moms are, signing up is quick and easy. All you need to do is complete a short entry form. 

24. College Survey Scholarship

Eligibility: College undergraduate or graduate student and undergraduate or graduate alumni who graduated within the last four years

All it takes to enter this running for this scholarship is to fill out a college survey on Niche, a ranking, and review website. Your responses are anonymous and are displayed on Niche to help other students to find the right college for them. 

25. Easy Scholarships

  • Age 25 years or younger
  • Living in the U.S. or Canada (or a citizen of either country but living abroad)

No GPA requirements or essays are required to participate in this scholarship contest. For a chance to win, you simply must sign up for a campaign, complete it, and take a photo to document your participation. Campaigns are quick and completed in under five minutes!  

26. SuperCollege Scholarship

Eligibility: High school, college, or graduate student, or adult planning to go back to school

Just fill out the application and answer a few simple questions about your college plans for the opportunity to win this award. You can use the scholarship to pay for any education-related expenses. For example, tuition, books, computers, or room and board.

27. Debt.com Scholarship For Aggressive Scholarship Applicants

Amount: $500

Deadline: Every other month 

Eligibility: Actively applying for scholarships

This scholarship rewards students with the drive to earn scholarships and the willingness to fight for financial independence. In order to win, you need to send confirmations from all of the scholarships you’ve applied to. Also, while there is no essay, you are required to submit a short biographical letter.

28. MyMozaic Monthly Scholarship Contest

Deadline: Every month 

Eligibility:

  • U.S. citizen or legal resident
  • Enrolled in high school or college in the U.S.

Simply create a profile at MyMozaic.com and answer a few simple questions—like your graduation year, your GPA, and the major(s) you’re interested in—for the opportunity to win one of these monthly, no-essay scholarships. 

29. WayUp Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship

Deadline: Jun 1 

Eligibility: Current college student

Create a profile at WayUp—a jobsite for college students and recent college graduates—for a  chance of winning a $1,000 scholarship. The stronger your profile and the more internships and jobs you apply for, the better your odds are to receive an award.  

30. College Ave Scholarship Monthly Sweepstakes

  • U.S. citizen or permanent resident 
  • Enrolled in high school or a post-secondary educational institution or are the parent or legal guardian of a person enrolled in a high school or a post-secondary educational institution 

Earning this $1,000 simply requires filling out a very short entry and a little luck. Winners are chosen monthly!  

31. Give Me Liberty Easy Scholarship

  • U.S. citizen 
  • High school senior or enrolled in an accredited institution in the U.S.

The intention of this scholarship is to provide every student with an equal opportunity to experience freedom from the burden of tuition and loans. Recipients are selected through a lottery which gives every applicant the same chance of winning—regardless of their academic performance, extracurricular achievements, and essay writing skills. 

32. Because College is Expensive Scholarship

Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, along with current college students and anyone else looking to attend college or graduate school

If you’re planning to attend college you’ll want to look into this scholarship—all it takes is completing a short application to enter for a chance to win. Only one entry per quarter is allowed. 

33. Return 2 College Scholarship Program

Deadline: January 31

  • U.S. citizen or legal resident 
  • Starting a program of higher education—either undergraduate or graduate—within the next 12 months or are currently full or part-time students 

While this scholarship doesn’t require an essay it does ask you to compose three sentences answering the question why are you getting your degree? Have a lot to say? Perfect, more than one entry is allowed, but more than a dozen are discouraged. 

34. Project Yellow Light Create a Billboard Scholarship   

Deadline: March 1

  • Legal U.S. residents 
  • High school juniors and seniors, along with undergraduate and graduate students 

Design a billboard to promote safe driving to a broad audience and draw attention to this important topic. In addition to a scholarship, winners may see their design grace a billboard or used on the web and other digital platforms. 

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

scholarships that require essays 2021

Login or sign up to be automatically entered into our next $10,000 scholarship giveaway

Get Started

  • College Search
  • College Search Map
  • Graduate Programs
  • Featured Colleges
  • Scholarship Search
  • Lists & Rankings
  • User Resources

Articles & Advice

  • All Categories
  • Ask the Experts
  • Campus Visits
  • Catholic Colleges and Universities
  • Christian Colleges and Universities
  • College Admission
  • College Athletics
  • College Diversity
  • Counselors and Consultants
  • Education and Teaching
  • Financial Aid
  • Graduate School
  • Health and Medicine
  • International Students
  • Internships and Careers
  • Majors and Academics
  • Performing and Visual Arts
  • Public Colleges and Universities
  • Science and Engineering
  • Student Life
  • Transfer Students
  • Why CollegeXpress
  • $10,000 Scholarship
  • CollegeXpress Store
  • Corporate Website
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • CA and EU Privacy Policy

Articles & Advice > Financial Aid > Articles

Excited blonde female holding fan of $100 bills and clenching other fist

The Ultimate List of Easy Scholarships to Apply for Now

No long essays. No recommendation letters. Just lots of scholarships that are easy to apply to and practically anyone can win. Updated for 2024!

by CollegeXpress

Last Updated: Apr 29, 2024

Originally Posted: Jan 22, 2020

These are the easiest-to-win college scholarships out there right now. Most take only a couple minutes to enter, with super simple applications and minimal writing. Awards that require 500+ word essays, letters of recommendation, intense projects, etc. are not included. We’re talking  easy  scholarships ,  people! Many of the scholarships are open to anyone ,  and most winners are chosen totally at random.

Now, before you dive into this list, remember: your scholarship search shouldn’t end here! There are  so many scholarships out there. Also, just because a scholarship isn’t advertised as “easy” doesn’t mean applying for it is hard. It can take a lot of time to find all the awards that fit you and fill out those applications, but it’s so worth it in the end. So enjoy this ultimate (and up-to-date!) list of easy college scholarships—and apply to as many as you can. Yes, they get a lot of entries because they’re so easy to apply to, but you have nothing to lose by trying. After all, somebody has to win these awards. Why not you?

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship Contest

Amount:  $10,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: May 1 How to win:  Of course we need to include our  $10,000 Scholarship Contest . All you have to do is  register for free  on CollegeXpress to be entered—and the prize is  $10,000 . Ten. Thousand. Dollars. For filling out a form. We know we’re biased, but it doesn’t get much better than that! This scholarship is open to incoming college freshmen, graduate students, and transfer students at participating institutions each year. If you’ve registered with CollegeXpress, you’re already entered! (And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?!)

10 Words or Less Scholarship

Amount:  $500 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: April 15 How to win: For the 10 Words or Less Scholarship , you just need to explain why you should get this award in 10 words or fewer. They even let you post it as a comment on their Facebook page, for cryin’ out loud. You’re also required to “like” their Facebook page. In addition, you need to be between the ages of 14–25 and attending college in the fall.

1 st Financial Bank Financial Goals Scholarship

Amount: $2,000 Awarded: Monthly Deadline: Last day of each month How to win: This is a monthly scholarship opportunity sponsored by 1 st Financial Bank and is open to US residents who are 18 or older and planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in a college degree program. This is a random drawing, but it does require you to submit a short essay of 500 words or fewer on pursuing your educational and financial goals. 

Americanism Essay Contest

Amount: Up to $1,500 Awarded:  Annually Deadline:  December 1 How to win:  Every year, the Fleet Reserve Association awards the Americanism Essay Contest scholarship based on a single patriotic theme. They do require an essay, but it’s only 350 words. Last year’s theme was “What Freedom of Speech Means to Me.” In addition to the $1,500 grand prize, there are awards for first, second, and third place ($1,000, $750, and $500, respectively). This scholarship is open to students in grades 7–12.

Ascent Shining Stars Scholarship

Amount: $1,000  Awarded:  Monthly Deadline: First day of the month How to win:  Like many of the scholarships you’ll find on this list, most of the process to enter the Ascent scholarship sweepstakes involves filling out a form and following them on social media. Just complete the short form with your contact information, school, and a few other questions to create an account on their partner website, Kaleidoscope, and log in to finalize your entry. You also have to follow Ascent on one social media platform and tag them in a comment with the hashtag #AscentSponsored, plus be at least 18 years old to enter.

Barbizon’s $100,000 College Tuition Scholarship

Amount: $100,000 Awarded: Once every four years Deadline: December 31, 2024 How to win: As an effort to assist students outside of the classroom, Barbizon Modeling and Acting awards the College Tuition Scholarship to one lucky winner to make their college dreams a reality. Applicants have a full two years to get entries every time the new scholarship cycle opens. The most recent cycle opened in January of 2023 and will be closing in December of 2024, with winners announced sometime the following year. All students have to do to enter is complete the application, and the winner will be chosen by random drawing. 

“Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship

Amount: $25,000+ Awarded: Annually Deadline: March 1 How to win: The  “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship offers $25,000 to bold students. Bold, by their definition, means earnest, determined, and moving. To win, you simply have to build your platform on the website to showcase your goals and achievements. The bolder your profile, the higher the chance you have to win. Although you can only enter once, the earlier in the year you do so, the better your chance to win. 

CampusReel Student-Led Virtual Tours

Amount: $2,000 Awarded: Annually Deadline: December 31 How to win:  CampusReel is all about encouraging students to get to know schools through campus tours, even if they can't make it to campus in person. Applicants just have to make a free account on CampusReel's website and watch one student-led virtual tour to enter. This opportunity is a win-win! Enter a great scholarship opportunity  and learn more about potential colleges to apply to. 

College Is Power Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: May 31 How to win:  Whether you’re a full- or part-time student, whether you’re going to school online or in person, you could snag the College Is Power Scholarship (CIP). You need to be at least 17 years old and a US citizen, and you need to be attending school within the next 12 months. The only application requirements include a short form and a 150-word statement about your primary goal for going to school.

Christian College EDGE Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: May 31 How to win:  Just create an account with this Christian college search site to be entered into the Christian College EDGE Scholarship . You’ll then have a chance to get information from Christian colleges and universities. It’ll enter you in their drawing and help you get recruited by those schools! This is different from their $5,000 Christian College Scholarship Drawing; see below.

Christian College Scholarship Drawing

Amount: $5,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: May 31 How to win:  You need to complete the registration form for the Christian College Connector to be entered into their Christian College Scholarship Drawing . Then winners are chosen at random, but they must be planning to enroll as full-time, first-year college students at a “Christ-centered Christian college or Bible college” within 16 months of winning.

CollegeXpress $250 Refer-a-Friend Contest

Amount: $250 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  For every person who creates a free CollegeXpress account using your unique referral link, you get one entry in our monthly $250 Refer-a-Friend Contest . Winners are then chosen at random. There’s no limit to how many entries you can get—or how many times you can enter. (We’ve had people win more than once!) Just make sure your referrals complete their free registration so you can earn entries; only sharing or clicking the link doesn't count.

CollegeXpress Easy One-Question Scholarships

Amount: Varies Awarded: Monthly Deadline: Last day of the month How to win: New and current registered users on CollegeXpress just have to answer one question to enter this monthly scholarship contest. That's it! The question changes month to month; for example, in previous months, we’ve asked, "What is a good book you'd recommend to a friend for the summer?" and "What is your favorite subject in school?" Check out our Easy Scholarship Winners 2024 blog to see winners from each month this year and the current month's opportunity. 

CollegeXpress Scholarship for Students of Color

Amount: $1,500 (plus $500 donated to a charity of your choice) Awarded: Quarterly Deadlines: March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31 How to win: If you're a POC student who's planning to enroll in college in the fall, you're eligible for the CollegeXpress Scholarship for Students of Color . To apply, just create a free CX account (or log back in) and submit your answer to this question in one sentence: What is your dream career to pursue after high school? The winner will be chosen randomly, and finalists will be contacted via email.

Courage to Grow Scholarship

Amount:  $500 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  The monthly Courage to Grow Scholarship is awarded to high school juniors, seniors, and college students with a minimum 2.5 GPA. And the only thing you need to do to win is to submit a short 250-word statement about why you deserve the money.

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest

Amount:  $10,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: March 1 How to win:  You’re already Snapchatting and Instagramming beautiful shots. Put your skills to work by creating a winning greeting card image for the  Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest ! It could snag you $10,000, which is almost as good as getting a bajillion likes. To apply for this scholarship, you also need to be a US citizen and at least 14 years old.

Discover ®  Student Loans Scholarship Award

Amount:  $5,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of each month How to win:  Sign up to receive handy college money tips from Discover (you know, the credit card people) and you’re entered to win the monthly Discover® Student Loans Scholarship Award ! Plus, you can earn bonus entries by sharing the giveaway on social media. One winner will be chosen at random each month, but participants may only enter once per year for the overall one-year sweepstakes period. You also need to be a high school or college student at least 16 years old, and you have to go to an eligible college or university (although parents of eligible students can also enter on their behalf).

Doodle for Google

Amount: Up to $55,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: March 14 How to win:  Who knew your doodles could earn you tons of scholarship money and money for your school,  plus  get you featured on Google for a day? The Doodle for Google contest is open to all US students from kindergarten to seniors in high school. This year’s theme is “I show kindness by…” You have to include the Google logo, but you can make your doodle using any medium (hand drawn, painted, using software, etc.). The grand prize is a $55,000 scholarship, and the organization will award your school or a charity $50,000 in resources. There are also four national prizes of $5,000—still a lot of money for college!   

DoSomething.org Easy Scholarships

Amount:  Up to $22,000 Awarded:  Varies Deadline:  Varies How to win:  Okay, this isn’t a particular scholarship. That’s because DoSomething.org offers  a lot  of easy scholarships . And they move pretty quickly, with many lasting only a month. But, man, they are fun, creative, and fast. You typically sign up, complete a simple task, and upload a picture proving you did it. Then the winners are chosen at random. No essay, GPA, etc. The best part? These scholarships help you do some good in the world! So check the easy scholarships page at DoSomething.org to see what’s new.

Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway

Amount:  Up to $100,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: January 15 How to win:  To enter Dr Pepper’s Tuition Giveaway  scholarship contest, you need to do a few things. First, describe how you’ll change the world in 350 characters or fewer. Next, get your friends to vote for your entry. If you get 50 or more votes, you’ll need to create an inspiring video. Then comes the crazy part: If you’re a finalist, you’ll compete during a Big Ten, SEC, PAC-12, or ACC football championship game. Yup, it doesn’t get much bigger than that—but neither does the prize: up to $100,000 in tuition money. Talk about the big show. 

Equal Opportunity No-Essay Scholarship

Amount: $500 Awarded: Annually Deadline: March 31 How to win:   As a small way to help create a more equal playing field for disadvantaged students, the Equal Opportunity scholarship supports two motivated high school, undergraduate, or graduate students who want to improve their lives and the lives of the people around them. Just complete an application and you're entered. Students from any field of study who have a 2.0 GPA or higher are eligible to apply.

Forget Your Student Debt No-Essay Grant

Amount: $500 to multiple winners Awarded: Annually to all winners in December Deadline: The first day of each month (rolling deadlines until December 1) How to win: Bold.org offers anyone with student loan payments the  Forget Your Student Debt No-Essay Grant to cancel some of their college debt. The only requirement is to be a student carrying student debt. That’s it! Much like the other scholarships offered by Bold.org, the sooner you apply in the year, the better chance you have to win.

HeadSetPlus.com College Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: December 31 How to win: All you have to do is record a short video talking about who you are, what you’ve achieved, why college is important, and what motivates you. Yeah, that seems like a lot, but since you need to fit it into a video that’s no longer than five minutes, you’ll fly through “applying” for the HeadSetPlus.com College Scholarship ! You need to be at least 16 years old and a high school senior or current college or grad student with a minimum 3.0 GPA to enter.

keep going forward No-Essay Scholarships

Amount: $1,500 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: April 28, August 31, October 30 How to win: The organization keepgoingforward.org sets out to increase opportunities and foster connection by fundraising for disadvantaged youth, advocating for sustainable travel, and amplifying other philanthropic organizations. Students can apply for all three scholarships throughout the year, as there are no set requirements for grade level or academic field. In fact, one of the scholarships doesn't even require applicants to be current students, as long as they are applying for the money with the intent to move forward with something new in life.

Let Grow: Think for Yourself Scholarship

Amount:  Up to $5,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: April 30 How to win:  Okay, the  Let Grow: Think for Yourself Scholarship   does require an essay, but they give you nine options, it only has to be between 500-800 words, and it encourages you to speak your mind. What’s easier than sharing your opinion? For instance, one of your options is, “Please write a thank-you note to a jerk you listened to… and learned something from (although perhaps you didn’t think so at the time.” There are a lot of fun places to go with that. And even if you don’t win the big $5,000, three people are chosen for $1,000 runner-up scholarships.

Make Me Laugh Scholarship

Amount:  $1,500 Awarded: Annually Deadline: August 31 How to win:  What if you could win money just by making someone laugh? Well, you can with the Make Me Laugh Scholarship ! Unigo sponsors a $1,500 scholarship where all you have to do is describe a story (in 250 words or fewer) about a funny or embarrassing incident in your life to make them laugh. We all have plenty of stories that come to mind… As long as you’re at least 14 years old, get going on this one!  

New Mexico Legislative Lottery Scholarship

Amount:  Varies  Awarded:  Varies Deadline:  Varies How to win:  If you graduated from a New Mexico high school, you’re continuing your education in New Mexico, and you earned at least a 2.5 GPA your first semester in college, you’ve got New Mexico Legislative Lottery Scholarship in the bag.  There isn’t even an application!  You just need to contact your college or university and ask them about it. It’s that easy. Really!

Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition

Amount:  $100 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: March 27 How to win:  $100 may not seem like much against your college tuition payments, but every little bit helps, and the  Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition is a pretty fun and fast scholarship. High school students in any grade can submit up to three haikus. A panel of judges will then select six winning poems each year.

Nitro Monthly Scholarship

Amount:  $2,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  Nitro is another college search website that gives away annual scholarships every month . Just complete a short entry form about which college you’ll be attending and when you anticipate graduating. This application even allows parents to enter for their children. As long as you're at least 17 years old, you should apply! 

No Essay CollegeVine Scholarship

Amount:  $2,000 Awarded: Annually Deadline: March 31 How to win:  All high school students have to do to enter for a chance to win this award is create a free CollegeVine account and complete their profile. That's all you have to do! After that, the winner of the scholarship will be chosen based on a lottery system and you'll notified via email if you are the lucky recipient.

No Essay College Scholarship™

Amount:  $2,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  Just create a free profile with Niche to enter their  No Essay College Scholarship™ . And if you already have one, all you need to do is log in each month for a chance to win! One winner is chosen at random every month. The contest is open to all high school and college students (though there are other eligibility requirements). The money can be applied toward any education-related expenses.  

Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship

Amount:  $500 Awarded:  Twice a year Deadline: March and November How to win:  Okay, this might not seem like the simplest scholarship in the world because you technically have to write  two  essays. But they both only call for a maximum of 500 words. So you could write 250 for each prompt—of course, you’d need to really knock them out of the park. The first essay is about where you would go to further your career, and the second is about why you deserve to win the Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship . You also need to be between 16–25 and have at least a 2.5 GPA. Oh, and you need to like their Facebook page too, but that’s easy enough. This scholarship is awarded twice a year in the spring and fall.

Sallie Mae $2,000 Scholarship Sweepstakes

Amount: $2,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win: Sallie Mae offers a monthly $2,000 Scholarship Sweepstakes that both students and parents can enter each month. This contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or any US Territory who are age 17 or older at the time of entry. To learn more about the rules and policies for this award, you can view their eligibility page here . 

ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Giveaways

Amount: $10,000 and $2,500 Awarded:  Quarterly and monthly Deadline:  Varies How to win:  The “points” in ScholarshipPoints come from completing activities like taking surveys, reading emails, and playing games. Then you can use those points to enter scholarship drawings and improve your chances of winning. Pretty sweet deal, right? Well, in addition to all that pointy goodness, they randomly choose a registered user for a $2,500 scholarship each month and  $10,000 each quarter. Yes, please!

Scholarships 4 Moms

Amount:  $10,000 Awarded:  Five times a year Deadline: Varies (multiple drawings throughout the year) How to win:  Are you or are you about to become a mother? You could win $10,000 for educational purposes with  Scholarships 4 Moms , and all you need to do is register on their site. It’s quick, easy, and free—which is good because goodness knows you have your hands full if you’re a mom! You also need to be 18 years or older and a US citizen.

School Survey Sweepstakes

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  Niche gathers reviews for all kinds of schools, from K-12 institutions to colleges and universities. They reward students, parents, and recent alumni for leaving those reviews by offering a $1,000 School Survey Sweepstakes . All you have to do is leave a (legit!) review to be entered. And you know you have lots of feelings about your school anyway.

School Band and Orchestra Magazine Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded: Annually to 10 winners Deadline: March 31 How to win:  Do you play in your high school band or orchestra? Can you write 250 words about a music-related essay prompt? (You totally can.) Then you should apply for the School Band and Orchestra  Magazine Scholarship . Sure, learning how to play the clarinet wasn’t easy—but applying for this scholarship is.

ServiceScape Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline:  November 30 How to win:  The ServiceScape Scholarship  contest is open to students who are attending or who will attend an accredited college, university, or trade school. Applicants should fill out the application form and submit a super-short statement (no more than 300 words) on the following topic: "How does writing impact today's world?"

Student-View Scholarship

Amount: Up to $10,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: April 23 How to win:  No essay. No GPA or test scores. No application, even. All you need to do is complete a 15–25-minute online survey about colleges in your area. Then winners are chosen at random for the Student-View Scholarship . Yes, that’s "winners"— plural . In addition to the $10,000 top prize, two $1,000, and five $500 scholarships are handed out. In terms of scholarships awarded at random, those are pretty good odds!

Tallo Scholarships

Amount:  Varies Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Varies How to win:  Tallo is a website that aims to help students network with colleges and employers. To enter the Tallo Scholarship Contests , simply create a profile on their website, go to "Opportunities" and search for "Tallo" under "Organization Name." Several opportunities will be listed, including easy monthly scholarships and their $1,000 Invite-a-Friend Scholarship. Just follow the instructions and answer the questions to be entered!

The $1,000 SuperCollege Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  Okay, here’s how to enter the $1,000 SuperCollege Scholarship : Fill out their online application. Hit “Submit.” End of instructions. Yup—it’s that easy. It’s open to high school seniors, college students, grad students, and adult learners, and winners are chosen at random.

UNIGO $10K Scholarship

Amount:  $10,000 Awarded:  Annually Deadline: December 31 How to win: For the Unigo 10K Scholarship , you just need to submit an online written response (in 250 words or fewer) to this prompt: Would you rather be smart, funny, or rich? Why? You also need to be a legal resident of the US, at least 14 years old when you apply, and enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution. 

You Deserve It! Scholarship

Amount:  $1,000 Awarded:  Monthly Deadline:  Last day of the month How to win:  The You Deserve It! Scholarship  only requires you to register on a website to enter. Plus, it’s kind of a meta award. It’s from Scholarship Owl, and creating an account with them also helps you apply to a lot of other scholarships with a single form, so you don’t need to complete a bunch of separate scholarship applications!

Related: Easy No–Essay Scholarships You Need to Know About Right Now

We’ll keep adding to this list as we discover more easy scholarships. (If you have any that we missed, let us know on Twitter  @ CollegeXpress  so we can make this the best and most up-to-date list of easy scholarships anywhere!) Reminder:  Always double-check the scholarship rules and regulations before starting an application. Some of these awards move pretty fast, particularly the monthly scholarships and things like eligibility requirements or deadlines might change.

Find even more scholarships you're eligible for on CollegeXpress using our Scholarship Search tool !

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Tags: college scholarships easy scholarships money for college no essay scholarships scholarship opportunities scholarships

Join our community of over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Rayan Hamdan

Rayan Hamdan

High School Student

I joined CollegeXpress just a few months ago. I had been struggling with severe anxiety, causing me to not be able to tour schools and make sure a college would be perfect for me. I came across CollegeXpress one day when I was searching for colleges online, and it completely changed the game. I was easily able to choose colleges that would suit me, and I also entered a few giveaways! Thank you so much!

Ana Sophia Garcia-Cubas Assemat

Ana Sophia Garcia-Cubas Assemat

$10,000 Scholarship Winner, 2020

CollegeXpress has been an instrumental resource for my scholarship search and has given me the opportunity to try my best so I can graduate from college debt-free.

Lexie Knutson

Lexie Knutson

High School Class of 2021

This whole website has helped me overcome the attitude I had before. I was scared to even approach the thought of college because it was so much. I knew it wasn’t just a few easy steps, and I panicked mostly, instead of actually trying. Without realizing it, CollegeXpress did exactly what I usually do when I panic, which is take it one step at a time. With college I forget that because it’s more than just a small to-do list, but this website was really helpful and overall amazing. So thank you!

Sonny Harris

College Student

For the entire year before college, I spent a lot of time deeply considering what major I wanted to go into and how to fund my higher education. After a lot of research, I came across CollegeXpress, which helped me ultimately find a ton of scholarships for which I could apply—and some of which I received! If it weren’t for CollegeXpress, I may not have found those scholarships as they didn't appear on any other scholarship search forum. Additionally, I learned more about the options I had been considering for my major through CollegeXpress’s resources. In the end, I chose to major in Computer Science, as it seemed best suited to me and the careers in the field seemed enjoyable, and I've never been more excited to move into my future! Ultimately, I want to thank CollegeXpress for offering their services. I received enough financial aid in scholarships to fund my entire freshman year of college and even got some money refunded which I used to purchase a new laptop, and I bought all of the books I needed for the semester!

Melanie Kajy

Melanie Kajy

CollegeXpress has helped me tremendously during my senior year of high school. I started off using the college search to find more information about the universities I was interested in. Just this tool alone gave me so much information about a particular school. It was my one-stop shop to learn about college. I was able to find information about college tuition, school rank, majors, and so much more that I can't list it all. The college search tool has helped me narrow down which college I want to attend, and it made a stressful process surprisingly not so stressful. I then moved to the scholarship search tool to find scholarships to apply for because I can't afford to pay for tuition myself. The search tool helped me find scholarships that I was eligible for. The tool gave me all the information I could ever need about a particular scholarship that was being offered. The CollegeXpress scholarship search tool is so much better than other tools offered, like the Chegg scholarship search. Thanks to CollegeXpress, I was able to apply to tons of scholarships in a relatively easy way!

  •   How to Minimize the Impact Student Loans Have on Your Future
  •   Over 60 April Scholarship Opportunities to Apply For
  •   Over 50 March Scholarship Opportunities to Apply For
  •   Over 45 February Scholarship Opportunities to Apply For
  •   Over 55 January Scholarship Opportunities to Apply For

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Centre College

Danville, KY

Oklahoma Baptist University

Shawnee, OK

University of Akron

Washington State University

Pullman, WA

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

Personalize your experience on CollegeXpress.

With this information, we'll display content relevant to your interests. By subscribing, you agree to receive CollegeXpress emails and to make your information available to colleges, scholarship programs, and other companies that have relevant/related offers.

Already have an account?

Log in to be directly connected to

Not a CollegeXpress user?

Don't want to register.

Provide your information below to connect with

scholarships that require essays 2021

  • Search All Scholarships
  • Exclusive Scholarships
  • Easy Scholarships to Apply For
  • No Essay Scholarships
  • Scholarships for HS Juniors
  • Scholarships for HS Seniors
  • Scholarships for College Students
  • Scholarships for Grad Students
  • Scholarships for Women
  • Scholarships for Black Students
  • Scholarships
  • Student Loans
  • College Admissions
  • Financial Aid
  • Scholarship Winners
  • Scholarship Providers

Student-centric advice and objective recommendations

Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. Our goal is to help you navigate the very big decisions related to higher ed with objective information and expert advice. Each piece of content on the site is original, based on extensive research, and reviewed by multiple editors, including a subject matter expert. This ensures that all of our content is up-to-date, useful, accurate, and thorough.

Our reviews and recommendations are based on extensive research, testing, and feedback. We may receive commission from links on our website, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our marketing partners don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. You can find a complete list of our partners here .

Top 51 Easy Scholarships✅ to Apply For in May 2024

scholarships that require essays 2021

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Learn about our editorial policies

scholarships that require essays 2021

Gabriel Jimenez-Ekman is a content editor and writer at Scholarships360. He has managed communications and written content for a diverse array of organizations, including a farmer’s market, a concert venue, a student farm, an environmental NGO, and a PR agency. Gabriel graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in sociology.

Scholarships are one of the best ways for students to pay for college. While many scholarships require extensive applications and essays, others are more straightforward and easy to apply for . While easy scholarships shouldn’t be the only scholarships you apply for, they are a useful part of your scholarship search strategy.

You can apply to easy scholarships quickly, as they have few eligibility requirements and require only a brief essay (if they require any essay at all). Easy scholarships are often offered on a monthly basis, which means you have multiple opportunities to apply.

Why choose Scholarships360

We helped over 4 million students find scholarships in 2023

We've spent over 4,000 hours reviewing 3,000 scholarship programs

13+ years of experience helping students make smart education decisions

The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:

  • The scholarship requires a fee to apply
  • The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
  • The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
  • Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
  • The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
  • The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
  • The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
  • There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
  • The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
  • There is no available contact information

If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!

* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system. ** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements. ***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.

Scholarships360 is recommended by

scholarships that require essays 2021

RECENT SCHOLARSHIPS360 WINNERS

scholarships that require essays 2021

Danielle Emretane

Winner of the Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship

scholarships that require essays 2021

Fiorella Ruiz

Winner of the "Commencing at Community College" Scholarship

scholarships that require essays 2021

Jack Furman

Winner of the “Tuition Solution” STEM Scholarship

scholarships that require essays 2021

Morgan Breitschuh

Winner of the “Follow Your Own Path” Scholarship

scholarships that require essays 2021

Connor Godoy

Winner of the “Commencing at Community College Scholarship”

scholarships that require essays 2021

Kyamani Atterbury

Winner of the “Outstanding Undergraduate” Scholarship

$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship

$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Scholarships360

The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high… Show More

The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high school student who hopes to go to college, a graduate student who’s in a master’s program, or an adult learner who wants to return to school, you are eligible for our no essay scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to students who get the most out of Scholarships360 scholarships and content. You will be a strong applicant if you apply to scholarships with the Scholarships360 platform. Finalists for this scholarship will be interviewed about their process for funding their education. Show Less

$2,000 Sallie Mae Scholarship

$2,000 Sallie Mae Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae will award $2,000 each month to eligible entrants. No essay or account sign-ups, just a simple scholarship for those seeking help paying for…

Sallie Mae will award $2,000 each month to eligible entrants. No essay or account sign-ups, just a simple scholarship for those seeking help paying for school.

$40,000 Build a College List Scholarship

$40,000 Build a College List Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by The College Board

Create a college list with six schools you're considering - no minimum GPA or essay required!

Niche $25,000 “No Essay” Scholarship

Niche $25,000 “No Essay” Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Niche

Easy scholarship open to all high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year!

$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship

$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Bold.org

Open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by CollegeXpress

Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

$1,000 Appily Easy College Money Scholarship

$1,000 Appily Easy College Money Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Appily

This easy scholarship from Appily is open to U.S. high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, 2027) and college transfer students. One scholarship will be… Show More

This easy scholarship from Appily is open to U.S. high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, 2027) and college transfer students. One scholarship will be awarded each month. Show Less

$5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship

$5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Christian Connector

Students applying to the $5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship must be current high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, or 2027) interested in attending a Christian…

Students applying to the $5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship must be current high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, or 2027) interested in attending a Christian university or college.

$2,000 No Essay CollegeVine Scholarship

$2,000 No Essay CollegeVine Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by CollegeVine

Easy scholarship open to current high school students and college applicants. A free CollegeVine account with a completed chancing profile required to enter.

$2,000 Niche “No Essay” College Scholarship

$2,000 Niche “No Essay” College Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.

ScholarshipOwl $50,000 No Essay Scholarship

ScholarshipOwl $50,000 No Essay Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by ScholarshipOwl

Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, and graduate students. Each month, 4 winners will be selected to earn $1,000 each. In December… Show More

Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, and graduate students. Each month, 4 winners will be selected to earn $1,000 each. In December 2023, there will be 2 additional winners earning $1,000 each. Applicant must be a resident of any of the 50 United States, District of Columbia or US Territories except for Rhode Island and Michigan. Applicant also must be 16 years of age or older and either be enrolled now, or will be enrolled within three months of registration in the Scholarship Sweepstakes, in a qualified high school, college or university within the United States. Show Less

$2,500 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship

$2,500 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by ScholarshipPoints

Easy $2,500 scholarship from ScholarshipPoints open to all students.

Unigo $10,000 Scholarship

Unigo $10,000 Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Unigo

This easy scholarship is open to all high school students who are at least 14 years of age. To apply, students must respond to the… Show More

This easy scholarship is open to all high school students who are at least 14 years of age. To apply, students must respond to the following essay prompt in 250 words (or less): "Would you rather be smart, funny or rich? Why?" On or about March 31, 2025, a qualified panel of judges will select one (1) potential winner based on the criteria of writing ability (25%), creativity (25%), originality (25%), and overall excellence (25%). Show Less

US Bank Student Scholarship

US Bank Student Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by U.S. Bank

The US Bank Student Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship opportunity for U.S. residents aged 17 or older who have been accepted to or are enrolled… Show More

The US Bank Student Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship opportunity for U.S. residents aged 17 or older who have been accepted to or are enrolled in a post-secondary institution to receive help funding their education. Each year, the scholarship awards up to $20,000 to multiple incoming and current undergraduate students who complete some of the U.S. Bank's "financial education lesson" modules. Each module takes approximately 1-2 minutes to complete, and the more that students complete, the more money they become eligible to earn. Applicants who complete 25+, 50+, 100+, and 200+ modules are eligible to receive $2500, $5000, $10,000, and $20,000, respectively. If this scholarship sounds like a fit for you, keep on reading for more application details. Show Less

Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship

Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship

Are you a big fan of The Walking Dead, or maybe Z Nation? Ever thought about what you would do in the case of a… Show More

Are you a big fan of The Walking Dead, or maybe Z Nation? Ever thought about what you would do in the case of a zombie apocalypse? If so, we may have the perfect opportunity for you: the Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship! Each year, this scholarship awards $2,000 to the applicant who, in 250 words or less, best describes their escape plan if there were a zombie outbreak at their school. The scholarship is offered by Unigo in hopes of helping some creative, zombie-obsessed students pay off some of their postsecondary education. If you’ve been inspired by the zombie shows and movies from the past few decades and have come up with a plan of your own, we encourage you to apply to the Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship! It’s due exactly when you’d expect: on Halloween. Show Less

Morgan Levine Dolan Community Service Scholarship

Morgan Levine Dolan Community Service Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Are you a college-bound high school senior or current post-secondary student from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania? Further, do you have a passion… Show More

Are you a college-bound high school senior or current post-secondary student from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania? Further, do you have a passion for (and prior experiences with) either community service or playing sports? If so, consider applying for the Morgan Levine Dolan Community Service Scholarship! Each year, the scholarship awards $5,000 each to five current or incoming post-secondary students with a history of either playing sports or volunteering in their local community. To apply, interested students must submit an essay detailing how earning this scholarship will help them fulfill their future goals. If you're from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania and love either community service or sports, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

$2,000 Annual Catholic College Scholarship

$2,000 Annual Catholic College Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by The Christian Connector

Are you a current high school student interested in attending a Catholic college or university? If so, consider applying for the Annual Catholic College Scholarship!… Show More

Are you a current high school student interested in attending a Catholic college or university? If so, consider applying for the Annual Catholic College Scholarship! In order to apply, you simply need to fill out a form with some simple information about yourself, your high school, and your college plans. You will then be entered into a scholarship drawing with the opportunity to win up to $2,000. The scholarship is offered by The Christian Connector, a "one-stop-shop” for receiving free information from Catholic/Christian colleges and Bible colleges.   If you’re a high school student with plans of attending a Catholic college, we encourage you to apply to the Annual Catholic College Scholarship! Show Less

$2,000 Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship

$2,000 Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Are you a current high school student interested in attending a Protestant, faith-based college or university? If so, consider applying for the Annual Protestant Faith… Show More

Are you a current high school student interested in attending a Protestant, faith-based college or university? If so, consider applying for the Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship! In order to apply, you simply need to fill out a form with some simple information about yourself, your high school, and your college plans. You will then be entered in a scholarship drawing with the opportunity to win up to $2,000. The scholarship is offered by The Christian Connector, a "one-stop-shop” for receiving free information from Catholic/Christian colleges and Bible colleges.   If you’re a high school student with plans of attending a Protestant, faith-based college, we encourage you to apply to the Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship! Show Less

$2,000 CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship

$2,000 CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by CampusReel

Easy scholarship program open to all students who watch a student-led virtual college tour

CollegeXpress Breakfast Battle Scholarship

CollegeXpress Breakfast Battle Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

The CollegeXpress Breakfast Battle Scholarship is an easy scholarship from CollegeXpress open to students who are 13+ and a legal resident of the 50 U.S.… Show More

The CollegeXpress Breakfast Battle Scholarship is an easy scholarship from CollegeXpress open to students who are 13+ and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. or D.C. A winner will be randomly chosen from among the applicants. If you're eligible, we encourage you to apply! To enter, simply apply on CollegeXpress and answer the following question: Which do you prefer, pancakes or waffles? Show Less

Top 10 easy scholarships overall

We pick our easy scholarships by finding trustworthy organizations who offer big rewards and have been offering their scholarships for a long period of time. As there are many easy scholarship scams, we have put each of these scholarships through a strict vetting process. Apply with confidence to the following top easy scholarships:

  • $10,000 No Essay Scholarship – With a high award and simple sign-up process that matches you with vetted scholarships, our 10k no essay scholarship is our #1 choice for easy scholarships! Open to high schoolers, college students, and grad students
  • $2k Sallie Mae Easy Scholarship – Easy scholarship open to high school upperclassmen, college students, and grad students
  • $40,000 Big Future Scholarship – Easy scholarship for students who make a 3-entry college list
  • Niche $25k No Essay – Easy scholarship open to high schoolers, college students, and grad students
  • $25k “Be Bold” Scholarship – Easy scholarship open to high schoolers, college students, and grad students
  • $10k College Xpress Scholarship – Easy scholarship open to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors
  • $1k Appily Easy Money Scholarship – Open to high school students and transfer college students. Awarded every month
  • $5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship – Open to high school students planning on attending a Christian college or university
  • Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship – For the student looking for an exciting easy scholarship, you must write a 250-word plan for what you’d do in a zombie apocalypse to win this $2k award. Open to all high school and college students
  • CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship – $2k scholarship for students of any grade level. You are entered if you watch one of their virtual college tours

https://www.tiktok.com/@scholarships360/video/7356976001299254574

Top 3 easy scholarships for high schoolers

  • $40,000 Big Future Scholarship – Easy scholarship open to high school sophomores and juniors

Top 3 easy scholarships for grad students

Types of easy scholarships.

There are several different types of easy scholarships to apply to. Here’s what you should know about the most common types of easy scholarships.

No essay scholarships tend to be some of the easiest options when it comes to applying for scholarship money. Applicants usually just fill out some information about themselves, such as their grade level, GPA , contact information, current school, and occasionally their financial need, such as their EFC , and are entered into the competition.

While these scholarships are easy to apply for, they also give applicants less of an opportunity to stand out as an individual. So, if no essay scholarships are part of your scholarship strategy, you should apply to many in order to increase your chances, and be sure to apply to other opportunities as well.

Short essay

Short essay scholarships are not as involved as in-depth opportunities like Posse and Questbridge , but they do give students a chance to use their own voice to appeal to the selection committee. Remember, a short essay is a great opportunity to say a lot with few words. Make sure you have a strong opening sentence , and be sure to check out our guides on writing 250 word  essays to help.

Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes are some of the easiest scholarships to apply to. Winners are chosen at random and contacted through the avenues they filled out on the application. However, because these are the easiest types of scholarships, they are also the ones that receive the most applicants. That means each applicant has a lower opportunity of winning.

Sweepstakes can be great if you win, but the chances of winning are low. Make sure you keep your eye out for scholarship scams when you apply. Although we vet all of our easy scholarships, some sites may post fraudulent ones that do not actually offer awards, or collect information to scam applicants.

Microscholarships

Micro scholarships, such as the scholarships offered on raise.me , offer money for college for things you may already be doing. With raise.me you can earn scholarships for such simple things as completing the FAFSA, uploading your course catalogue, taking the SAT (no matter the score), and more. Only certain colleges accept these scholarships, but be sure to look into it and see if a school you’re considering is on the list.

Institutional scholarships

Many colleges automatically consider students for a wide range of scholarships when they review applications. For example, Kenyon’s Distinguished Academic Scholarship does not require any additional application and can fund $15,000 per year of your education. Talk about an easy scholarship! Since there is no additional application for these scholarships, the best way to apply to opportunities like this is to apply to a wide range of safety schools where your GPA and test scores are above the average admitted student, as well as schools that are known to give strong merit and need-based aid.

Government grants

Although they are not strictly scholarships, government grants like the Pell Grant and state-based grants like the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) are some of the easiest ways to earn money for your education. The difference between these grants and other scholarships is that if you qualify, you will automatically receive them! There is no competition or review board. You don’t have to spend time perfecting your application. This makes them easier and more reliable than any kind of scholarship!

Tips for students applying to easy scholarships

Apply early and often.

The best strategy for applying to easy scholarships is to cast a wide net. You’re less likely to win any given easy scholarship, because the application is “easy” and there are more applicants. 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 to easy scholarships is great, but you should make sure to spend a good amount of time on more involved applications too. You have a much better chance of winning scholarship money with a well-crafted application to an opportunity that suits you than a random drawing, which is how many easy scholarships pick 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 ring for scholarship money without taking too much time on your applications. But keep in mind that each opportunity you apply for will request your contact information. Most of the time, you will be signing up for a mailing list with each application you submit. You might end up getting monthly, weekly, or even daily email from the organization offering the scholarship.

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 manage the influx of mail you will begin to receive if you apply to a lot of easy scholarships.

Consider no essay scholarships

If you’re in the market for easy scholarships, don’t neglect our list of no essay scholarships for college. Our easy scholarships involve little in the way of application materials, but some of them have a short essay or response. These no essay scholarships don’t require any response on your end, and you can easily sit down and apply to many of them.

Be wary of scholarship scams

There are a great many scholarship scams out there, but they are especially common among easy scholarships. Remember to do some investigation before you send off your application to any organization. You should never submit personal information that could be used for identity theft, and never pay an application fee to enter a contest. For more information on the matter, check out our article on how to avoid scholarship scams .

Expert Perspective

Will geiger.

Scholarships360 Co-Founder

Former Admissions Officer

scholarships that require essays 2021

Don’t forget financial aid

One way to pay for college that’s even simpler than easy scholarships is through financial aid like institutional aid, FAFSA funds such as the Pell Grant , and other federal and state grants. Remember, if you are not filling out the FAFSA , you are potentially giving up free money for your higher education. Unlike a scholarship application, the FAFSA does not require essays or personal statements. The application process only takes you and your parents’ financial information such as tax returns and information about assets.

Downsides to easy scholarships

The biggest drawback of easy scholarship opportunities is that many students can apply for them. They are basically like a sweepstakes with free entry, which means that they will get many more applicants than more complex scholarships.

This means that your chances of winning are lower than scholarships with essays and other specific criteria. Many of these scholarships are more similar to a contest than a true scholarship competition based on merit or talent. You may also be opting into receiving marketing materials and offerings from the scholarship providers, so be aware of that if you are asked to opt-in!

Additional scholarship categories

At the end of the day, the easiest scholarship to win is the one you are best qualified for! Let us help you find the perfect scholarship fit with lists tailored to your interests and strengths:

  • Scholarships by state
  • Top scholarships for Black students
  • Top STEM scholarships
  • Top scholarships for students with average grades
  • Top scholarships for high school seniors
  • Top scholarships for women
  • Top writing and essay scholarships
  • Scholarships that don’t require an essay

Frequently asked questions

What are some of the easiest scholarships, what is the lowest gpa to get a scholarship, are easy scholarships legit, are there easy scholarships for grad students, are easy scholarships available all year, are easy scholarships available more than once a year, are these easy scholarships need-based, are easy scholarships renewable, are easy scholarships a waste of time.

Join for exclusive scholarships, personalized matching, and application tracking. 0% Spam, 100% Free.

3 reasons to join scholarships360

  • Automatic entry to our $10,000 No-Essay Scholarship
  • Personalized matching to thousands of vetted scholarships
  • Quick apply for scholarships exclusive to our platform

By the way...Scholarships360 is 100% free!

18 Essay-Free Scholarships to Apply for in 2020-2021

Scholarships are a fantastic way to save money on your college tuition and avoid taking on too much  student debt. But, let’s face it, the process of applying for scholarships can be time-consuming and, sometimes you just want something a little easier.

The good news is that easy scholarships–in particular, scholarships without essays–do exist. Some require as little effort as simply entering your name and email address (a scholarship “sweepstakes”), while other scholarships without essays require you to submit something else (like a short video, social media post, or illustration) rather than an essay. These second group of scholarships rewards effort and creativity. 

Avoiding Scholarship Scams

5 sweepstakes-style scholarships with no essays, 3 easy scholarships with short answers, 10 creative, essay-free scholarships, ready to apply for your own scholarships without essays, it’s important to keep in mind two things about the easiest scholarships without essays:.

  • Your chances of winning a scholarship award are much lower than with traditional scholarships. This is because often way more people apply for these easier scholarships. 
  • You run the risk of being spammed with loads of emails. In fact, many scholarship sweepstakes are created with the sole idea of getting your email address in mind. We therefore recommend using easy scholarship sweepstakes as a secondary option for paying for college. Consider using the majority of your time applying for scholarships with essays that you find on reputable scholarship sites.

And if you’re mostly worried about saving time, consider using Going Merry to apply for scholarship bundles , which combine multiple scholarships with the same essay prompts into one application. Sign up for Going Merry today to begin applying.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some easy, no essay scholarships are actually scams.  Follow the tips below to avoid getting scammed.

Scam Tip #1: Say “No” to Upfront Fees!

A scholarship shouldn’t cost anything at all to apply for (except postage). Be wary of any company or scholarship provider who requires you to pay an upfront fee in order to apply. Chances are they have nothing to offer you!

Scam Tip #2: Do The Paperwork Yourself

Some scammers will try and lure you in by telling you that they’ll take care of all the scholarship paperwork for you, including answering all the questions. You can just sit back, relax, and wait for the money to start rolling in. It almost seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? We hate to break it to you, but that’s because it is. Doing your own applications will save you loads of trouble!

(Psst – You can, however, save on some of the paperwork and the repetitive form filling by using Going Merry , which auto-fills your scholarship forms with information from your profile. You’ll still need to answer any scholarship application-specific questions yourself though!)

Scam Tip #3: Guaranteed Scholarships Don’t Exist

If scholarships were guaranteed, student loans would be a thing of the past. Avoid any company claiming to offer you a guaranteed scholarship. It’s a guaranteed scam.

Scam Tip #4: Avoid Dodgy Offers

If you receive an email from an unknown and unprofessional-looking company claiming to offer an amazing scholarship if you enter personal information on their site, it’s best to avoid it. If you’re unsure, simply do a quick Google Search and see if others have reported it as a scam before , and talk to your guidance counselor to see if he or she has information or experience working with the company.

Scam Tip #5: Do Your Research!

Doing a quick search (on Google or snopes.com ) can save you tons of trouble in the end.  Unfortunately, easy scholarships are too good to be true a lot of the time.

Student with computer and breakfast

Get matched to scholarships

See how much money you qualify for. Personalized matches . Click below to get started.

Match me to scholarships

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here’s our list of 27 scholarships without essays:

These are scholarships that require almost no effort.

1. Going Merry Seasonal Scholarships ( Spring, Summer )

Amount: $1000 per year (one $250 winner each season)

Provider : Going Merry

When you create a free profile on Going Merry, you’re automatically matched with thousands of scholarship opportunities, including the Going Merry No Essay Scholarship, offered four times a year in the Spring , Summer , Fall , and Winter . Simply click “Start application,” and then “Submit application” to apply. It’s that easy!

Bonus: When you first register, we’ll prompt you to apply for our bundle of four no-essay, seasonal scholarships for the next year. This way, you won’t even have to think about submitting a new application each season. It’s our way of welcoming you to our platform! Sign up today to take advantage.

2. Christian College Scholarship

Amount: $2,500

Provider: The Christian Connector Inc

If you’re planning on attending a two- or four-year Christian college, you’re eligible to enter the drawing for this $2,500 Christian College Scholarship . Simply fill out a short online survey and you’re good to go!

Loving these scholarships, but need help applying for your government financial aid? We can help you fill out your FAFSA and state aid.

3. AFSA High School Senior Contest

Amount: $2,000

Provider: AFSA Scholarships

If you’re ready for an extra $2,000, simply fill out the online entry form on the AFSA website and be registered to win one of 10 prizes. The AFSA High School Senior Contest is open to high school seniors during the school year and deadlines change on a yearly basis, so head to the scholarship website for the most up-to-date information.

4. AFSA Second Chance Scholarship

Amount: $1,000

If you didn’t have the luck of winning the AFSA High School Senior Contest, try your luck again after graduation with the AFSA Second Chance Scholarship . This $1,000 award is awarded to five high school graduates during the summer months. Deadlines change on a yearly basis, so check out the scholarship website for the most up-to-date information.

5. Scholarship4Moms

Amount: $10,000

Provider: Scholarships4Moms

The Scholarship4Moms scholarship and its organization was created by a group of mothers who wanted to help bring financial relief to moms who are seeking to further their education. Simply register with your first name, last name, and phone number, and you’ll be entered to win!

Want more scholarships? Get 20 new scholarships delivered to your inbox each week.

These are scholarships that don’t require essays (you know, those longer 500-word type ordeals), but  do  require you to answer a few questions or to write a short piece (e.g. letter, caption, tweet).

6. C.I.P. Scholarship

Provider: College is Power

While the C.I.P Scholarship technically has an essay, it’s only a short 150 words, so we’re adding it in! To apply, just fill out the super short application form and write a mini-essay about the goals you have for your university education.

7. $5,000 Course Hero Scholarships

Amount: $5,000

Provider: Course Hero

In order to win one of the $5,000 Course Hero Scholarships , simply answer a short prompt in 150 words or less, such as “How do you prepare and study to feel confident for your final exams?” If you have more than one college class you’d like to review, you can improve your chances by leaving as many reviews as you’d like!

8. The Customized Girl Annual Scholarship

Provider: Customized Girl

Amount: $500

Submit: An Instagram post

Customized Girl prints bold statements on customized shirts. Naturally, they know an eye-catching quote when they see one. To apply to the Customized Girl Annual Scholarship , post your statement as a caption on Instagram to be chosen as one of two winners, and your statement may be featured on a customized shirt! Check out past winners on the scholarship page for inspiration.

These are scholarships that require you to submit videos, drawings, business plans, etc. instead of essays. Get creative!

9. Two Ten Higher Education Footwear Design Scholarship

Provider: Two Ten Footwear Foundation

Amount: Up to $3,000

Submit: Three design drawings

Sneakerheads can show-off their inner hypebeast/hypebae for th e Two Ten Higher Education Footwear Design Scholarship ! Students studying design with a focus on footwear are encouraged to apply. Provide three design drawings from your portfolio for consideration.

10. MUD Makeup Scholarship

Provider: Beauty Changes Lives, Make-up Designory (MUD)

Submit: A video, a storyboard, or an essay

This glam scholarship allows you to avoid an essay by providing submission options! Students pursuing beauty and wellness careers can apply to win one of 5 prizes from Make-up Designory (MUD). You can ignore the essay and choose between a video or storyboard submission. For the MUD Makeup Scholarship , you need to be a student attending an accredited Cosmetology and/or esthetics school with MUD makeup in their program.

11. Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship

Provider: The Gallery Collection

Amount: $10,000 (+$1,000 prize for the school)

Submit: An original photo, art, work, or graphic design

If you have a knack for art and sentiment, apply for the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship with your original art. You can use all art forms. Just upload an example as a JPEG (.jpg) for the application. Students 14 years or older are eligible to send their ideas.

12. Axon Optic’s ‘Migraine Story’ Scholarship

Provider: Axon Optics

Submit: A video, an image, or an essay

Share your story of dealing with migraines or light sensitivity. All full-time students of accredited two- or four-year American universities may apply. Choose from a video (less than 1 minute in length) or an image (photo, drawing, etc.). To qualify for the Axon Optic’s ‘Migraine Story’ Scholarship , the submission must be posted on at least one of the following social media platforms: YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

13. #YouAreWelcomeHere Scholarship

Provider: U.S. Higher Education (Led by Temple University)

Amount: At least 50% of tuitio n

Submit: A video or an essay

First-year international students at participating American universities can cut down the cost of education with the #YouAreWelcomeHere Scholarship . The #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign gained nationwide support in creating a scholarship awarding two students per university. The video submission must express ideas of advancing intercultural learning. Check the list of participating universities on the campaign’s scholarship page .

14. “Create Real Impact” Contest

Provider: Impact Teen Drivers

Amount: $500- $1,50 0

Submit: A video, music, creative writing, or graphic design

Students between 14-22 years old may apply to the “Create Real Impact” Contest . The contest seeks original work about a solution and strategy regarding reckless and distracted driving. Choose either video, music, creative writing, or artwork. There are many submission options and contest categories, so make sure to visit the scholarship page for details!

15. GoSkills Scholarship

Provider: GoSkills

Submit: An application and business plan

Calling future girl bosses: Here is your time to debut your online business ambitions. The GoSkills Scholarship (Fall) and (Spring) is open to female high school and college students. There are open-ended questions on the application, but it’s more like a friendly conversation. The questions ask you about your concerns and your role models. Besides the application, you need to provide a link to your business plan (GoSkills provides instructions for your business plan right above the area for the link). Try your hand at mapping a business plan to be your own boss in the future.

16. GloFX Scholarship

Provider: GloFX

Submit: A 3-minute video, a PowerPoint, a PDF,  your own creative measure, or an essay

GloFX wants to hear from students like you with your own creative project. Simply answer their prompt in the format of your choice. The prompt: “Every person has failed at some point in his or her life, and dealing with the outcome is rarely an enjoyable experience. However, failure is how we learn, and it allows us to see our mistakes and make changes. Describe a time in your life you tried your best and still failed. How did this shape your thinking moving forward?” The GloFX Scholarship encourages applicants to post the project on their own social media accounts (this is optional, not required). Applicants must be a current or incoming student at a university in the United States.

17. Live Bearded Academic Scholarship

Provider: Live Bearded

Submit: A video

The Live Bearded team is focused on lending a hand to those building their future through higher education. While the company Live Bearded focuses on grooming products for men, their Live Bearded Academic Scholarship opportunity is open to males, females, high school students, college students, undergraduate, and graduate students. Send a 90-second video sharing your goals, facts about yourself, and why you deserve the scholarship. Upload your video to a social media platform, fill out your application with a link to your video, and you’re good to go!

18. HeadSetPlus.Com College Scholarship

Provider: HeadSetPlus.Com

HeadSetPlus.Com wants to help you pay for college with the HeadSetPlus.Com College Scholarship …no essay needed! Be creative and create a video with a maximum length of five minutes detailing why you deserve the scholarship and what inspired you to pursue a degree in your field.

Student on phone looking for scholarships without essays

You can find and apply for scholarships without essays right on our website. You can request letters of recommendation, upload your resume, and apply for scholarships. Sign up for free today .

  • Recent Posts

Brittany Mailhot

  • 7 Outstanding Oregon Scholarships for 2021 - November 6, 2020
  • Great Scholarships for Students in Ohio for 2021 - November 4, 2020
  • 38 Weird Scholarships for Unique Students in 2023 - August 2, 2020

Ready to find scholarships that are a match for you?

IMAGES

  1. Learn How to Write a Truly Impressive Scholarship Essay!

    scholarships that require essays 2021

  2. How to Write Winning Scholarship Essays

    scholarships that require essays 2021

  3. Top 13 Scholarships With Essays for International Students

    scholarships that require essays 2021

  4. How to Write a Scholarship Essay

    scholarships that require essays 2021

  5. The Best Winning Scholarship Essay Examples & Format I Leverage Edu

    scholarships that require essays 2021

  6. FREE 7+ Sample Scholarship Essay Templates in PDF

    scholarships that require essays 2021

VIDEO

  1. Fully-funded scholarships for international students 2021 (Commonwealth Scholarship UK)

  2. Norway Scholarships in 2023 Without IELTS

  3. University of Palermo Application process 2024, Scholarship Italy, No IELTS, No Fees , BS, MS, PhD

  4. How To Write Perfect Scholarship Essays

  5. Top 30 Need Based Scholarships #hecscholarship #shortvideo #scholarship

  6. Siit scholarship Application process 2024, Fully funded scholarship Sirindhorn Institute Thailand

COMMENTS

  1. Top 64 Writing & Essay Scholarships in May 2024

    Blacks at Microsoft Scholarship - For high school seniors pursuing a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, computer information systems, or a business field. Worth up to $20,000. Horatio Alger Undergraduate Scholarships - For high school students with high financial need, worth up to $49,000.

  2. Essay Scholarships

    The Virginia Zank Scholarship for Writing Studies is offered to students at Missouri Valley College. Applicants must have an ACT score of 21 or higher (and/or SAT Critical Reading and Math score of 976 or higher) and high school GPA 3.0. Submit a 500-word essay describing your relationship to writing.

  3. The Top Essay Scholarships for Students

    Texas History Essay Contest. Deadline: 1/31/24. Award Amount: $2,000 - $4,000 The Texas History Essay Contest is open to graduating high school seniors. To enter, you must submit a 1500 - to 2000 - word essay that reflects your research and study of Texas history and its relevance to the development of Texas.

  4. The Ultimate List of Writing Scholarships in 2024 • Apply Today

    Students who are Muslim or active members of the Muslim community may apply for the Islamic Scholarship Fund. The ISF awards multiple scholarships each year ranging from $3,000-$10,000, though the amounts and number of recipients will vary. Students must submit applications including essay questions, work samples, and letters of recommendation ...

  5. 30 Great Essay Scholarships

    Three essay scholarships worth $1,000, $1,500, and $2,500 are available. Entrants must craft a patriotic essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words about the meaningful ways diversity betters American life. Essays with a proper MLA- or Chicago-style citation bibliography are due on June 30th. Scholarship Website. 4.

  6. Essay Scholarships

    Help cover the cost of college without writing a single essay! Niche is giving one student $25,000 to help pay for tuition, housing, books and other college expenses — no essay required! High school seniors will also be eligible to receive acceptances (and scholarships!) from our Direct Admissions partner colleges.

  7. Scholarships for The Class of 2021

    Deadline: 4/30/2021. Award Amount: $25,000. Build a profile at Bold.org to showcase your goals, achievements, and drive. The $25,000 "Be Bold" Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile. To us, boldest does not mean "best", or "most accomplished".

  8. How to Write Winning Scholarship Essays

    2 Define the Audience for the Scholarship Essay. 3 Brainstorm Before Writing Scholarship Essays. 4 Choose the Right Topic to Cover. 5 Structuring Winning Scholarship Essays. 5.1 Writing the Scholarship Essay First Draft. 5.2 Refining First Drafts into Winning Scholarship Essays. 6 Get an Outside Opinion.

  9. College Scholarships

    Keep in mind that scholarships that do not require essays can be more competitive, or have additional guidelines to ensure the right students apply. If you're having difficulty finding an essay-free scholarship, check out our " Scholarships by Type " section for easy scholarships or video scholarships , where applicants produce short multimedia ...

  10. How to Find and Apply for Scholarships

    Scholarships usually require an application and are often awarded to students based on a combination of factors including merit. Merit scholarships tend to have specific requirements and are awarded to applicants based on certain skills and accomplishments and may not be based on financial need. ... Many scholarship essay topics are similar, so ...

  11. Scholarship Essays

    The Multi-Use Scholarship Essay. Many scholarships require an essay. The majority of them will provide an essay subject (s) and most will only allow a limited number of characters or words per entry. Gather all of these scholarships in one place and compare them. Make a list of the scholarship providers to whom you might be able to submit the ...

  12. How to write a scholarship essay

    As a general guide, you need to write 250 words for one typed page (double spaced). That means you need to write 500 words for two pages and so on. Microsoft Word and Google Docs both have functions to show you your word count. You can't go over the word or character limit.

  13. 31 Top Scholarships for High School Sophomores and Freshmen

    US high school students under the age of 20 can apply to receive a maximum scholarship of $25,000. Students must first compete in their local oratorical contests and deliver a prepared speech on a particular topic. Winners will then advance to the national competition. Prizes: 1st place: $25,000. 2nd place: $22,500.

  14. The 10 Easiest Scholarships to Apply For

    Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship. Odenza Marketing Group gives away two $500 scholarships each year, once in the spring and again in the fall. To compete for this award, applicants must like the Odenza Facebook page and write two short essays of about 500 words each. Each scholarship must have a clear thesis statement, offer supporting ...

  15. 34 No Essay Scholarships to Save Thousands on College

    1. "Be Bold" No-Essay Scholarship. Amount: $25,000. Deadline: December 31. Eligibility: Students of any education level, school, field of study, and GPA considered. This scholarship is for bold students who are determined to change the world one step at a time. No essay is required to win this eye-popping award.

  16. The Ultimate List of Easy Scholarships

    No Essay College Scholarship™ Amount: $2,000 Awarded: Monthly Deadline: Last day of the month How to win: Just create a free profile with Niche to enter their No Essay College Scholarship™. And if you already have one, all you need to do is log in each month for a chance to win! One winner is chosen at random every month.

  17. How To Find Scholarships With No Essay Requirements (With Examples

    Niche offers two monthly, no essay scholarship awards. The first is a $1,000 award, eligible only to college students and alumni who have graduated within the last four years. It can be completed by taking their official survey before the deadline at the end of each month. The second is a $2,000 award, eligible to high school and college ...

  18. No Essay Scholarships

    Many scholarship programs offered online may not require an essay. Niche, ScholarshipPoints, ScholarshipOwl and more don't require an essay. They may only ask you to fill out an online form and that's it! As they say in hockey, "if you don't shoot, you don't score". 8 Scholarships Without Essays You Should Apply for in 2021. Check ...

  19. Top 51 Easy Scholarships to Apply For in May 2024

    Niche $25k No Essay - Easy scholarship open to high schoolers, college students, and grad students. $25k "Be Bold" Scholarship - Easy scholarship open to high schoolers, college students, and grad students. $10k College Xpress Scholarship - Easy scholarship open to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

  20. 18 Scholarships Without Essays

    These are scholarships that don't require essays (you know, those longer 500-word type ordeals), but do require you to answer a few questions or to write a short piece (e.g. letter, caption, tweet). 6. C.I.P. Scholarship. Amount: $1,000. Provider: College is Power.

  21. No-Essay College Scholarships

    Considering that there are many scholarships that require essays, we wanted to highlight scholarships without them. Skip Navigation. ... Thank you for your interest in Edvisors' 2020-2021 Guide to Filing the FAFSA. Please complete the form below to access your free copy. ... This $25,000 award does not require an essay, and it is open to high ...

  22. Home

    Scholarships and Recognition; PSAT 10 Testing Rules; PSAT 8/9. PSAT 8/9 Home; PSAT 8/9 Test Dates; What's on the PSAT 8/9? Preparing for the PSAT 8/9; Taking the PSAT 8/9 ... College Board provides everything you need to prepare. Get Ready for Test Day Educators: Learn about the SAT Suite. The SAT Suite of Assessments is an integrated system of ...

  23. No Essay Scholarships

    Niche $2,000 No Essay Scholarship. Amount $2,000. Deadline May 31, 2024. The $2,000 No Essay Scholarship is open to high school student all the way up to, and including, graduate school students. Scholarship Details $2,000 No Essay Scholarship for tuition and any other college-related expenses No essay requirement.