Scholarships for College Students

College Scholarship FAQs

Do most college students get scholarships?

The good news is, yes, most college students do get some scholarships. According to Sallie Mae’s most recent “How America Pays for College” report, 56% of students used scholarship awards to pay for part of their college costs — on average, about 16% of their expenses.

But just because only half of students used scholarships, it doesn’t mean the other half of students can’t get them. In fact, three-fourths of those students never applied for any scholarships.

Why? They probably think that their academic achievement isn’t enough to win a scholarship. But not all scholarships require a 4.0+ GPA or that you be an elite athlete.

So if you want your fair share of the scholarships available, make sure you spend some time seeking out the awards you do qualify for.

What are the easiest scholarships to get?

What makes for an “easy scholarship” to get depends on a few factors, including what you care about and where your strengths lie. Some scholarships are very easy to apply for — just fill out a form. But they may also have a lot of competition.

Other scholarships require you to meet certain requirements, including a minimum GPA threshold, relatively high SAT scores, generally good academic performance, and time spent on extracurricular activities such as sports, community service, etc. Others require an essay or other These scholarships weed out some of your potential competition, but you may also not qualify for some. You can find a selection of easy to apply for scholarships (no essay requirements in sight) here.

Still other scholarships are aimed at narrower groups of students — that can include anything from visual artists, members of certain religious or ethnic groups, or even people who are very tall or fly drones as a hobby. You’ll qualify to apply for fewer of these scholarships, but if you meet the criteria, you have a much better chance of actually winning it.

Check out this partial list of oddball scholarships to see the potential variety of awards available to you.

What is the best website for college scholarships?

There are no shortage of places on the web where you can find student scholarship information — but especially for easy-application scholarships, you want to make sure they’re legit. (Most are, but there are exceptions.)

You already have a lot on your plate getting ready for college, so we’ve got an extensive database of scholarships of all kinds: essay, no essay, local and regional scholarships, awards for students pursuing specific careers or who belong to certain minority groups. Whatever kind of scholarship you’re looking for, we’ve got a few!

How do you get a full ride scholarship?

Full-ride scholarships exist — but they’re very competitive. Roughly 1% of undergraduate students manage to snag one, and typically, they’re extraordinary students and/or athletes or have some other remarkable achievement under their belts.

If you’re an excellent student (or student-athlete) it’s worth applying for these kinds of scholarships. Just make sure you have a Plan B. Even incredible students don’t always manage to win full-ride awards.

Of course, you can graduate college debt-free even without a full-ride scholarship. The key is getting a lot of smaller scholarships to fill the tuition gap between your financial aid awards (grants, work-study, etc.) and the cost of attending your school.

For most college students, that means applying for a lot of smaller scholarships so you can maximize your chances of winning some of them. Getting a $1,000 award here, $500 there, a textbook stipend from a local civic group, etc., eventually adds up to some serious money you can put toward your college expenses. And every dollar you can pay now, is a dollar you don’t have to borrow as part of a student loan later.

Are scholarships only available to full-time students?

You don’t have to be enrolled full-time to win scholarships, but it helps. Virtually every scholarship opportunity is open to full-time students; only some accept applicants who are part-time students.

If your enrollment status may change — say, you’re planning to transfer, or switch to part-time status partway through the academic year — double check that you’ll still be eligible for any scholarship you’re applying for. The last thing you want is to win a scholarship and then end up giving half of it back because you no longer qualify.

Am I eligible to apply for the Nitro Scholarship?

One scholarship that almost any college student — current, prospective, or recently graduated — can apply for is ours. (And so can their parents!)

The Nitro No-Essay scholarship is open to anyone who is a student (aged 17 or older) currently enrolled in an accredited U.S. high school, college or university; a graduate of a U.S. undergraduate school who is currently paying back a student loan; a parent of any of the above enrolled students; or a parent of a recent graduate who is paying back a parent loan for their child’s education.

The award provides $2k in scholarship funds with a rolling application deadline every month.

Apart from scholarships, how can I pay for my education?

Scholarships are a great way to get (relatively) easy money for your college education, but it’s not your only option. You can get a significant amount of financial aid from student loans, state and federal grants, school grants, college work-study and more.

But to do that, you have to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Filling out the FAFSA automatically qualifies you for consideration for a ton of different kinds of aid. But true talk: It’s not a fun form to fill out. To make it easier, check out our guide to filling out the FAFSA.

A FAFSA application covers the application for federal and most state aid as well as some school-based aid. But it doesn’t cover all options. You should still check with your school’s financial aid office to see if there are other opportunities you should explore. They may know about local organizations or school-based grants and scholarships that are also available.