Is ScholarshipPoints Legit: An Honest Review - MoneyPantry (2023)

FAQs

How trustworthy is ScholarshipPoints? ›

ScholarshipPoints is completely legit. We have awarded more than $1 million in scholarships since 2006. At ScholarshipPoints, we help students pay for college by awarding scholarships on a monthly and quarterly basis. Our winner's wall has an up-to-date list of students who have been awarded scholarships.

The ScholarshipPoints membership program gives students the opportunity to earn points by completing activities, such as taking surveys, reading blog posts, and checking out our preferred partners. Each point is a potential entry in a scholarship drawing. Members "spend" their points to enter drawings.

ScholarshipPoints.com is definitely a scam. It sends you to do all these crap surveys and never gives you any points. So are many of the other ones like Unigo and Niche. It's very disappointing to see so many of these data mining pieces of crap floating around on this subreddit.

The Scholarship sites typically have two models: 1. They charge students a fee to register and gain access to scholarship data or 2. They provide scholarship information for free but then sell the students data to Colleges and other marketers for a fee.

What is this? 7% or 1 in 8 students are likely to receive a scholarship. Only 0.2% of students receive upwards of $25,000 in scholarships. 5% of students in bachelor programs got enough of scholarships to cover 100% of costs.

Private scholarships may be sent directly to your college account or directly to you in the form of a check or direct deposit into your bank account. If you win a scholarship and you're not sure how you'll receive the money—just ask. Your college expects you to tell them about any private scholarship money you've won.

Winning a scholarship depends as much on luck as on skill. Increase your chances of winning by applying for as many as possible. (But don't apply if you aren't eligible.) Smaller scholarships and essay contests are easier to win because they are less popular.

Do not pay for information, to apply for the scholarship, or to receive the scholarship. You should never have to give money to apply for or receive a scholarship. Always use reputable sources for your search. Many phony websites are set up to trick you into providing personal or financial information.

Do most legitimate scholarship programs charge a fee to apply? ›

Most legitimate scholarship sponsors do not require an application fee. Other fees. If you must pay money to get information about an award, apply for the award, or receive the award, it might be a scam.

That depends on the scholarship. The money might go directly to your college, where it will be applied to any tuition, fees, or other amounts you owe, and then any leftover funds given to you. Or it might be sent directly to you in a check.

Yes, no essay scholarships are a real thing! Some might ask you to volunteer or fill out a survey or make a short video -- others may just ask for your name. The important thing is that you don't have to push out a million different essays to qualify for financial aid.

Be cautious of where you find these no essay scholarships - as they may be scholarship scams - and considering applying to legitimate scholarships from reputable scholarship search sites, such as Scholarships.com.

If you've received scholarship funds that are greater than your cost of tuition and fees, oftentimes your college or university will send you a refund for the leftover money. Depending upon the terms of your scholarship, you can use these funds for another education-related expense.

Applications will very likely ask for your contact info, like your email address or phone number. They may also ask for your street address as well as the school you plan to attend.

Usually, the answer is no.

Student loans, unlike grants and scholarships, are borrowed money that must be paid back with interest. Scholarships are considered free money because there are no expectations for repayment. However, there may be some contingencies that come along with these awards.

Some scholarship committees only consider applicants whose GPA meets a certain threshold. Minimum requirements range from around 2.0 on the lower end to 3.75 or higher for competitive academic scholarships. Generally speaking, a 3.0 GPA or higher will give you a decent shot at qualifying for a variety of scholarships.

What is the #1 way to increase your chances for a scholarship? ›

Apply as early as possible

Everyone always waits until the last minute when applying for scholarships but take our advice and apply early. It gives you more time to prepare and get the application just right, you'll be less stressed and this way you won't miss any deadlines.

Scholarship providers usually only start reviewing applications once the deadline passes. They then usually choose a winner within 3 months of the deadline. If you've won, they'll contact you by phone or email, and explain to you how you'll receive your scholarship prize money.

Similarly, the National Scholarship Providers Association reported that an estimated $100 million in scholarships go unused each year as well because of a lack of applicants, according to Forbes.

The average scholarship is worth $7,400. Only 0.2% of students got $25,000 or more in scholarships per year. The NCAA awards more than $2.9 billion in athletics scholarships annually. 48% of students receive federal scholarships.

However, scholarships do come with their disadvantages. Since for some scholarships you don't apply, they might be based on merit, you won't always know if you'll get the scholarship in advance. Normally since they're given based on high achieving merits, they're in demand and are given to fewer people.

After scholarship deadlines, it often takes one to three months before a scholarship winner is announced. This is due to the time it takes to go through scholarship applications.

Example Answer:

With the $1,000 available in this scholarship, I could pay to rent or buy my textbooks for two semesters, since some books are not available to rent. Any money I may have left after that would go toward necessary school supplies, like a new graphing calculator I know I will need for my physics class.

Don't use words like “finally”, “in sum” or “in conclusion”. Don't repeat or sum up in any way. Don't start too many sentences with the word “I”. Don't tell the reader explicitly, “I am a unique and interesting person.” Instead, let the reader glean this from your unique and interesting essay.

We're here with good news – there are scholarships without any GPA requirements. Stay focused on funding your education and check out these No GPA scholarship opportunities to help pay for college.

Can you copy and paste essays for scholarships? ›

Yes, but make sure your essay directly addresses the prompt, respects the word count, and demonstrates the organization's values. If you plan ahead, you can save time by writing one scholarship essay for multiple prompts with similar questions.

They may also ask for your street address as well as the school you plan to attend. If you do win a scholarship, it's likely they will ask for further information from you, specifically as it relates to sending your prize money.

Scholarships are financial aid awards designed to help students pay for an undergraduate or graduate degree. Sometimes a scholarship is a one-time check. Other school scholarships are renewable and provide money for students each semester or school year.

If an application asks for money, walk away. Don't give out bank or credit card information. Any financial data you provide should come from IRS or FAFSA data. Legitimate providers do not ask for bank information.

If you've received scholarship funds that are greater than your cost of tuition and fees, oftentimes your college or university will send you a refund for the leftover money. Depending upon the terms of your scholarship, you can use these funds for another education-related expense.

Award Information

The $2,000 No Essay Scholarship is an easy scholarship with no essay required! The scholarship can be used to cover tuition, housing, books, or any education-related expenses.

Odds of Winning a Scholarship

Only about 1 in 8 college students wins a scholarship, and the average amount used to pay for college is about $4,200 a year. Very few students win $25,000 or more in scholarships each year (only about 0.1%). Among the students who win scholarships, 97% win $2,500 or less.

How rare is it to get a scholarship? ›

7% of students are likely to receive a scholarship. Only 1.5% of students will receive a full scholarship. $8.8 billion was awarded in need-based scholarships. White students have a 14.2% chance of getting a scholarship, while minority students have 11.2%.

Many scholarships require a transcript to verify your GPA. What is a transcript? It's a complete record of all of your academic achievements.