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Frequently Asked Questions
Please take a look at the list of questions we have listed below and click the appropriate one for a quick answer to your inquiry. These are some of the most common questions we receive, but if the solution to your problem is not listed below, please feel free to email us with your question.
What is Scholarships.com?
Scholarships.com is a free scholarship
search website that helps students locate scholarship
opportunities. College education is a big ticket item. Many
parents and students are unsure of how to find money to foot
the tuition bill. Frequently, they are also unaware of the many
resources at their fingertips - literally. All of the services
at Scholarships.com are free: we encourage you to take advantage
of our scholarship database, use our college search tool, and
read through our helpful articles. Don’t delay - begin funding
your college career today!
Do I have to register to view the scholarship opportunities
in your database?
Yes. It is the only way we will be able to direct the most relevant
scholarship opportunities to you. Registering also allows you
to store your search results and revisit the scholarships you
wish to pursue when you return. If you don’t already have an
email address of your own, contact your internet service provider
to find out how to create one or visit a site such as Hotmail.com
or Yahoo.com where you can create an email account for free.
Why can't I create an account for a second child using the same
email address?
When you create an account, your email address serves as a unique
user ID; therefore, each user must have a separate email address.
In order to create another profile, you will need to enter a
different email address. If you require assistance doing this,
contact your internet service provider for more information.
You may also register for a new email address at one of the
many free web-mail services such as Hotmail.com or Yahoo.com.
I lost my password - how can I log in?
At the upper-right corner of our homepage, click on the "Login" page and you will find a Forgot Your Password?
link beneath where you would normally sign in. Click on the link, and you will be taken to a page where
you can submit your email address to retrieve your password.
Once you have entered your email address in this field and clicked
on the "Submit" button, your password will be sent to that address.
To ensure this and other valuable information from Scholarships.com
makes it to your inbox, be sure to "white list" Scholarships.com
with your ISP and/or email filters. Please click
here for more information.
How do I go about changing my password?
To change your password, go to www.scholarships.com/login.aspx
and log in using your current email address and password. Once
you have logged in, click on the "Profile" tab at the top of
the page to view the summary of your profile information. You
will see a link in the top section (the "Student Information"
section) of this page that reads "Change Your Password?". Click
on that link, and you will be taken to a page where you may
enter your new password. Once you have done so, click the "Continue"
button at the bottom of the page. From now on, you will be able
to log in at Scholarships.com using your new password.
I recently changed my email address. How do I update this information
in my Scholarships.com profile?
Log in using your current/recent email address - the one you
used to create your Scholarships.com profile. Click on the "Profile"
tab near the top of your screen. This will allow you to view
your entire profile. To change your email address or make any
other changes, simply select the "Edit This Section" text link
in the upper-right corner of the appropriate section on that
page.
What is my scholarship ID? My security key?
A scholarship ID is a unique number assigned to a specific scholarship that is used by scholarship providers to log in and review/edit their scholarship listing. If you are offering a scholarship that is listed on Scholarships.com and need your scholarship ID, please contact us here with the full name of the scholarship in question.
If you are a student looking for financial aid, you don’t need a scholarship ID or security key. When you create an account, your email address serves as your unique user ID. To log in to your personal account at Scholarships.com, click on "Login" (located on the top right of the main Scholarships.com page) and enter your email address and password. If you have already created a profile at Scholarships.com, but have forgotten your password, click here to request it.
Why do you need my personal information?
At Scholarships.com, we want to provide you with the most relevant
opportunities and, in order to accomplish this, we need to have
certain personal information. The information you provide helps
us find the best scholarship matches for you. Ultimately, this
process will save you a great deal of time as you will only
receive scholarship opportunities for which you qualify.
What is the difference between the scholarships in your database
and those listed on other sites?
Whereas many sites rent an outdated list of scholarships they
know little about, our database contains scholarships submitted
by the providers themselves. At Scholarships.com, we create
and foster a relationship with the providers of scholarships
listed in our database and offer them the ability to manage
their listings with free online access. We update and add scholarships
to our database constantly and regularly review them, checking
for errors and soliciting updated information when necessary.
If a scholarship is discontinued or assistance is required of
our staff, we are typically notified by the scholarship provider,
in which case we respond promptly and appropriately. Our methods
ensure the best experience for all involved and an accurate
database of scholarships with the most current information possible.
How can I be sure that the scholarship offers listed on Scholarships.com
are not scams?
Scholarships.com’s staff reviews and approves each scholarship
offer submitted to our database and many steps are employed
to make sure the more insincere offers are not posted. The URL
of each scholarship is investigated, and we never allow a scholarship
to be listed in our database unless we are confident the award
being offered is legitimate. If it is discovered that an award
in our database is of a questionable origin or intent, we immediately
deactivate that listing until such time as we are able to confirm
it is, in fact, a legitimate award. If this cannot be confirmed,
the award is permanently removed from our database.
I noticed the NACAC and NSPA icons at the bottom of your page.
What do these organizations do and what is your association
with them?
NACAC: The National Association for College
Admission Counseling (NACAC), founded in 1937, is an organization
of professionals from around the world dedicated to serving
students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education.
The Seal of Approval program is designed to help students and
families make choices about the growing number of available
admission counseling resources as they consider options beyond
secondary school. The Seal of Approval is solely awarded to
products and services that meet the NACAC Mission Statement
and NACAC standards of utility, accessibility and integrity.
Granting the Seal of Approval does not indicate NACAC’s exclusive
approval of one program, product or service over another. A
review panel of association members carefully evaluates each
application as a part of the Seal of Approval process. For more
information about NACAC, please visit
http://www.nacacnet.org
NSPA: The National Scholarship Providers Association
(NSPA) is an organization that supports scholarship providers.
Since 1999, NSPA has grown to include over 150 organizational
members, with 220 individuals, from across North America. NSPA's
members are diverse and include small and large private foundations,
community foundations, public charities, two and four-year colleges,
universities, associations, government agencies, and organizations
that offer services to scholarship providers. Together, the
NSPA membership awards over $450,000,000 in scholarships to
more than 200,000 students each year.
Does Scholarships.com have scholarship opportunities available
for average students?
Yes. We provide information about scholarship offers available
to all students, regardless of GPA or test scores. Many of these
scholarships offer rewards that are as lucrative as merit scholarships.
Essay and community service scholarships are a great place to
begin because many do not include transcript submission among application
criteria.
I'm a grad student - is it too late to get a scholarship?
No, in fact, you're in luck. A good amount of the scholarships listed
in our database are available only to graduate students. We
understand that graduate students often need financial assistance
to continue their education. Conduct a free
scholarship search for more information.
Is there any way that a parent can get information, and be able
to view and share it with their child?
A parent may complete a Scholarships.com profile for his or
her high school aged child. Complete the profile with your child's
information, then answer "yes" to the question, "Are you a parent
conducting this scholarship search for your child?" You can
then review a list of scholarship opportunities generated based
on the information you provided about your child. If you plan
to share the account with your child, you can even mark scholarships
as favorites so he or she knows where to look first.
If I receive a scholarship, will I get a check or does the money
go to the school?
Whether the money goes to you or to the school at which you
have enrolled/plan to enroll is entirely up to the scholarship
provider. For an answer to this question, you will have to contact
the provider directly.
Does Scholarships.com offer scholarships for students who do
not live in the United States?
Most scholarships listed in our database are awarded to students
attending schools located in the United States. However, if
you are a student from a country outside of the United States
and plan to study at a college or university in the U.S., or
if you are a U.S. citizen who plans to study abroad, a number
of the scholarships listed on our website may be available to
you depending on your particular situation. In general, U.S.
citizenship or enrollment at a college in the United States
or Canada will be required. While less common, some scholarships
also exist for students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent
residents, as well as students who plan to attend college outside
the United States.
If you are enrolled at a school in the United States but planning
to study abroad, in many cases, you will be able to apply your
regular financial aid towards a study abroad program as long
as the program is sponsored by your school. There are also many
scholarships specifically intended for study abroad. Individual
scholarships and study abroad programs may have different rules,
however, so check the rules for each award before applying.
Are there scholarships or financial aid available to undocumented students?
Yes, some scholarships do exist for students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, but the majority of financial aid that is available is going to require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency in the United States. Please conduct a free scholarship search to find out which of the aforementioned scholarships you or your student might qualify for.
I’m a scholarship provider, and I have a scholarship offer that
I want to list on your site. How do I submit my scholarship?
Listing your scholarship is easy to do. Just select the List Your Scholarship link at the top of the Scholarships.com homepage.
This link will take you to an online form. Once there, select
the blue "Submit a Scholarship" link (the other blue button,
"Update a Scholarship" is for when you return to review and/or
edit your scholarship listing). Now you can begin the scholarship
submission process. Just fill out the entry form provided and
give a detailed description of your scholarship. Please be sure
to be as thorough as possible and don’t hesitate to contact
us via email if you have any questions. At the bottom of the
form is a section where you can designate qualifications that
a student must meet in order to view your scholarship. It is
very important that you select all the appropriate criteria
so that we can properly filter the information and ensure that
only qualified students will be made aware of your scholarship
when they conduct a scholarship
search at Scholarships.com.
The scholarship offers listed on Scholarships.com do not have
years associated with the deadlines. How do I know what year
the scholarship is for and if I should still apply?
Most of the scholarships in our database are renewed annually.
Students who miss the deadline for the current year can still
apply for next year’s scholarship offer. The provider of the
scholarship and the staff at Scholarships.com update the information
from each scholarship regularly, so if a scholarship does happen
to get discontinued, it is removed from the database.
If the deadline for a scholarship offer has passed, why hasn’t
it been removed?
The short answer mirrors the answer to the one above- scholarships
are typically renewed annually. If it's too late for this year,
you might be able to apply next year. Read through the details
of the scholarship. If the scholarship provider won’t accept
applications for next year before a certain date, record information
about the scholarship, and return to it at a later date.
Do I have to be currently enrolled in a university before I
begin applying for scholarships?
No, you don’t have to be officially enrolled in a university
to begin your quest for scholarships. However, you should begin
applying. If you do receive a scholarship, the sponsor is likely
to ask for eligibility verification. This may include, among
other things, proof of college enrollment.
Why is my disability, ethnicity and/or other characteristic
not listed as a profile option?
Scholarships.com strives to acknowledge the uniqueness of each
user, but the large quantity of characteristics, attributes
and circumstances can occasionally make doing so difficult.
To simplify the profile creation process, we list only those
traits specifically named in the scholarships listed in our
database. If the option you are searching for is not listed,
you may want to select one that is more general or one closest
to your preference.
How can I remember whether I've inquired about a scholarship
I found on Scholarships.com?
To keep track of the scholarships for which you have applied
or inquired, we recommend creating a spreadsheet or other document
with relevant information for each award, then saving it on
your computer. You can also use tools on our website to supplement
your organization system. For example, you may choose to mark
the scholarships for which you plan to apply as favorites then
remove them from your list once you are finished applying. If
you have questions about your application status for a specific
scholarship, we recommend first reviewing the rules for that
award then contacting the provider directly if necessary.
I file my own taxes, but I heard I still need my parents taxes.
I wanted to know if it is possible to get a scholarship if I
don't have my parents information available?
It depends on the scholarship. Awards that don't include financial
need in their criteria typically will not require you to submit
tax records, but you will need to provide this information for
many need-based scholarships. While not every scholarship will
ask for tax information from you and your parents, you will
need your parents' taxes to complete the FAFSA (unless you meet
the criteria for "independent status" listed on the application)
and a number of scholarships require you to do this to apply.
Read the rules for the scholarships you're interested in and
if you cannot obtain your parents' tax information or have further
questions, you may want to contact the provider directly.