Scholarship Tigers–Students Helping Each Other Find Money for College

There are many scholarships that one can find not based on GPA, but on other factors.

Many people avoid scholarships that involve writing, but these are the ones that often don’t require a high GPA or any GPA.

Let’s explore a few.

1. https://www.unigo.com/scholarships/our-scholarships

Unigo Monthly Scholarships

Unigo offer a scholarship each month. Here are a few:

Unigo $10K Scholarship

$5,000 Education Matters Scholarship

$1,500 Top Ten List

and the famous scholarship for October (often found on List of Weird Scholarships) is the

$2,000 Zombie Apocalypse, D: Oct 31, 2024.

https://www.unigo.com/scholarships/our-scholarships/zombie-apocalypse-scholarship

Here is the prompt: “Imagine that your high school or college has been overrun with zombies. Your math professor, the cafeteria ladies, and even your best friend have all joined the walking dead. Flesh out a plan to avoid the zombies, including where you’d hide and the top-five things you’d bring to stay alive.” (250 words or less)

You can apply with Essay or Video (this is a new option).

You can click on See Past Winners and see how some students wrote poems, song parodies, or fiction to show their creativity and won.

If you are a TSU student, you can use the services of the AARC Writing Center to brainstorm ideas, write a draft, and then have a writing consultant look over your draft and give you suggestions.

https://www.unigo.com/scholarships

You can explore the Unigo Scholarship Database separated by such categories as Major, Types of Scholarships (such as Mental Health, For Women, For Adopted Children, etc), Company Offered Awards, Merit Based, For Minority Students, and more.

2. https://www.genkellyscholarship.com/apply

$1,000 Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship, D: Dec 31, 2024

Offered twice a year, this scholarship is open to 9^th-12^th grade high school, college, or graduate students including adult students.

From webpage:

“In 250 words or less, please submit an essay on one of the following:

1. Why do you deserve to win this scholarship? -OR-
2. Describe your academic or career goals. -OR-
3. Any topic of your choice. Feel free to re-use an essay that you wrote in class, for college admission or another scholarship competition.”

Notice, you could try out for different Unigo scholarships, choose which one you think is the best, and submit it for this essay.

This scholarship is not tied to GPA.

3. https://www.collegeispower.com/scholarship.cfm

$1,000 College is Power (CIP) Scholarship, D: Dec 31, 2024

Eligibility: “Students age 17 years or older who plan to start a program of higher education within the next 12 months or who are currently enrolled in a program of higher education.

Applicants may be full- or part-time students and attend a campus-based or online program. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.”

Question: Short Statement. In 150 words or fewer, please answer: “What is your primary goal for going to school?”

4. https://www.moolahspot.com/scholarship/

$1,000 The MoolahSPOT Scholarship, D: Dec 31, 2024

Eligibility: “Any student at least 16 years or older who plans to attend, or is currently attending, college or graduate school. Students may be of any nationality and reside in any country. Students may study any major or plan to enter any career field at any accredited college or graduate school. Although applicants can be from any country, all applications must be completed in English.”

Prompt: “Short Essay

In 400 words or less, please submit an essay on one of the following:

1. Why do you deserve to win this scholarship? -OR-

2. What is your academic or career goal? -OR-

3. Describe what is most important to you and why. -OR-

4. Any topic of your choice.

In fact, it’s okay to re-use an essay that you wrote in class, for college admission or for another scholarship competition.”

https://www.moolahspot.com/index.cfm

MoolahSPOT has a scholarship database that I briefly tried out, and it comes back with some good results.

If there are “No Essay” scholarships, these are often contests; I would suggest entering these with a Gmail or Yahoo email account strictly used for those purposes.

5. https://www.return2college.com/awardprogram.cfm

$1,000 Return to College (R2C) Scholarship, D: Jan 31, 2025

Eligibility

“Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents who are starting a program of higher education (college or graduate school) within the next 12 months or are currently full- or part-time students. Applicants must be age 17 years or older. There is no maximum age limit.”

Prompt: Three (3) sentence essay. In three sentences or less, please answer: “Why are you getting your degree?”

The page mentions you can enter more than once, but cautions to use “common sense” and don’t apply more than 12 times.

Scholarship Search Engines to Find More and Interesting Finds

1. https://jlvcollegecounseling.com/scholarships/

Jessica maintains this great scholarship database, and I find many of the scholarships I mention on this blog from the link above.

2. https://scholarshipamerica.org/students/browse-scholarships/

Scholarship Search engine brought to you by Scholarship America

3. https://www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/training/find-scholarships.aspx

U.S. Department of Labor’s Free Scholarship search tool

4. https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/scholarships

“Find and apply for as many scholarships as you can—it’s free money for college or career school,” article found on the official Federal Student Aid website

5. https://www.usnews.com/education/scholarships/search

U.S. News Scholarship Finder

6. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/scholarship-directory

BigFuture Scholarship Directory

Sept 30 is the deadline for the $10,000 Tide Scholarship

https://tide.com/en-us/our-commitment/back-to-school

$10,000 Tide Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

Tide (and its parent company, Proctor and Gamble) are giving away 150 $10,000 scholarships. You do have to create an account and answer various questions to improve your chances, but no GPA is required.

When entering contests such as these, I highly recommend establishing an email address that you keep strictly for scholarships or contests.

Think of your TSU email address as a business email. Only use your TSU email address for school-related purposes or if a scholarship requires you to “authenticate” yourself. (This is mostly done by you having a legitimate college email address).

How to Avoid Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams

In order to avoid financial aid and scholarship scams, you can read this article from the Federal Trade Commission: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scholarship-and-financial-aid-scams

Making Choices: Applying for Sept 30 Deadline Scholarships

If you go down and read some earlier Scholarship Tigers blog entries, you will see several scholarships with a September 30, 2024, deadline.

Up to $100,000 Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway, D: Sept 30, 2024

Up to $2,000 Direct Textbook Essay Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

$3,000 Sttark “You Can’t Label People, but You Can Label Products” Essay & Label Design Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

$1,000 Creative BioLabs Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

$8,000 Regions Riding Forward Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024 for the Quarter 3 contest; Dec 31, 2024 for the Quarter 4 contest

$500 Courage to Grow Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024 and Monthly

$1,500 Shout It Out Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

While today is Wednesday, September 25, you can still review several of the scholarships and then determine if you will try to submit something by the deadline.

Here are some simple guidelines:

1) It is better to submit than not submit at all. Your entry may not be the best, but you may still win and stand out. If you doubt yourself, then by submitting, you have won!

2) If you have time, you can make an appointment in the AARC Writing Center at TSU if you are a Tennessee State University student, faculty, staff, or alumni (details below) to help you brainstorm ideas or have a writing consultant review what you have written and give you suggestions on how to improve it.

On Elearn, you can learn about other tutoring possibilities to have others look over your scholarship entry.

3) If you have very little time because midterm week is upon us, you can schedule 5-, 10-, or 25-minute sessions for yourself where you look over or write toward a scholarship.

Scheduling time in the Writing Center just so that you focus on writing your scholarship essay or entry is another way to reserve time.

The Pomodoro Technique suggests setting aside 25 minutes to work on a task and then taking a 5-minute break. The Wikipedia article gives a good breakdown of how you can use this simple technique to help you get things done: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique

I have used the Pomodoro Technique in 25-minute or 10-minute intervals to write blog entries for the Scholarship Tigers blog.

Writing Help at the AARC Writing Center at TSU for Scholarships or Any Writing Concern

As a Tennessee State University student or faculty/staff member, if you need help with scholarship applications, essays, or any other writing concern, know that the Academic Achievement and Retention Writing Center at Tennessee State University is here for you!

Fall 2024 hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm, 615.963.5102.

For online scheduling: http://mywco.com/tnstate

If you already have an account, log in and make an appointment.

If you don’t have an account, register for an account by clicking on “Register an Account” next to FIRST VISIT? and schedule your appointment!

For help with any writing concern including resumes, applications, or essays for scholarships or internships, you can sign up for any available writing consultant (Ms. Rhonda Kavan, Dr. Shiloh Carol, Ms. Lori Danley, Mr. Michael Turner).

If you need help with finding scholarships, you can choose Mr. Michael Turner or Ms. Lori Danley.

Post written by Michael Turner, the Scholarship specialist. You can reach Mr. Turner at mjturner@tnstate.edu.

Possible $25,700 in Scholarship Opportunities

1. https://www.scarlettfoundation.org/students/

$2,500 to $15,000 Scarlett Family Foundation Scholarship, D: Dec. 15, 2024

General Criteria:

✓ Graduating high school senior, an individual who obtained a GED by June 1, or a college freshman, sophomore, or junior

✓ Demonstrate financial need via 1040 tax return

✓Receive a minimum score of 21 on the ACT and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher

✓ Enroll full-time in Fall 2025

✓ Pursue a Business or STEM degree at a 4-year, non-profit college or university: https://www.scarlettfoundation.org/students/eligible-majors-for-scholarship/  

✓ Graduate from any high school in Middle Tennessee’s 40 counties—refer to the FAQ under Application to see a list of eligible counties–

Scholarship Frequently Asked Questions

2. https://www.murrellscholarshipfund.com/

Robert N. Murrell Oratorical Contest, Application and Abstract Due by Sept 27, 2024

First Place: $700

Second Place: $500

Third Place: $300

Prizes will be awarded for two categories: Freshman and Upperclassman (30 or more completed hours). This oratorical contest is only open to TSU students. 

3. https://my.reviewr.com/s2/site/bobsfromskechersdesignscholarship

$10,000 Bobs From Skechers Paws For A Cause Design Scholarship 2024, D: Oct 31, 2024

Selected criteria from webpage:

“The BOBS from Skechers Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship will offer:

• A $10,000 college scholarship from the Skechers Foundation for the 2025/2026 academic year
• Your designed print produced on BOBS from Skechers shoes sold in the United States in 2025
• Three individual virtual mentoring sessions with Skechers corporate leadership and/or design team
• A $200 gift card for Skechers product at Skechers retail stores or skechers.com
• A pair of BOBS from Skechers shoes
• If a local animal welfare organization of your choice meets the criteria of our donation partner, we will endeavor to make a donation in your area

Writing Help at the AARC Writing Center at TSU for Scholarships or Any Writing Concern

As a Tennessee State University student or faculty/staff member, if you need help with scholarship applications, essays, or any other writing concern, know that the Academic Achievement and Retention Writing Center at Tennessee State University is here for you!

Fall 2024 hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm, 615.963.5102.

For online scheduling: http://mywco.com/tnstate

If you already have an account, log in and make an appointment.

If you don’t have an account, register for an account by clicking on “Register an Account” next to FIRST VISIT? and schedule your appointment!

For help with any writing concern including resumes, applications, or essays for scholarships or internships, you can sign up for any available writing consultant (Ms. Rhonda Kavan, Dr. Shiloh Carol, Ms. Lori Danley, Mr. Michael Turner)

If you need help with finding scholarships, you can choose Ms. Lori Danley or Mr. Michael Turner.

Post written by Michael Turner, the Scholarship specialist. You can reach Mr. Turner at mjturner@tnstate.edu.

$106,000 in Scholarship Opportunities with Sept 30, 2024 Deadlines

1. https://www.directtextbook.com/scholarship

Up to $2,000 Direct Textbook Essay Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

Selected information from webpage:

Open to currently enrolled High School Seniors, College or Postgraduate students in the US.”

Four Cash Prizes

• $2,000 to first place.

• $500 to second place.

• $100 to third place.

• $484.92 to fourth place

“Submit an original essay of 500 words or fewer on the prompt: “Beyond the Classroom: How Education Shapes My Future-Self and the World Around Me”

2. https://www.sttark.com/scholarship/labels-scholarship

$3,000 Sttark “You Can’t Label People, but You Can Label Products” Essay & Label Design Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

“Description: Scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors and current undergraduate and graduate students who are U.S. citizens. Applicant must submit an essay on the following prompt: ‘You can’t label people, but you can label products.’”

Description comes from JLV College Counseling Scholarship Saturday page, where more scholarships like this one can be found: https://jlvcollegecounseling.com/2024/08/31/scholarship-saturday-august-31-2024/

3. https://www.creative-biolabs.com/scholarship-program.html

$1,000 Creative BioLabs Scholarship, D: Sept 30, 2024

“Description: Scholarship is open to students worldwide who are current undergraduate or graduate students studying in a science related field. Applicant must have a cumulative average grade of a B (3.0 GPA).”

Description comes from JLV College Counseling Scholarship Saturday page, where more scholarships like this one can be found: https://jlvcollegecounseling.com/2024/08/31/scholarship-saturday-august-31-2024/

4. https://www.drpepper.com/tuition/

Up to $100,000 Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway, D: Sept 30, 2024

Selected criteria form the webpage:

College students between the ages of 18 and 24.

You will create a Pepper Perks account, fill out an application, and then create a video “that helps us get to know you. Tell us about your academic goals, professional aspirations, or even personal dreams.

Your video will be judged on the four following criteria: career goals, need for tuition assistance, impact of tuition assistance, and overall presentation quality and delivery. It must be 60 seconds or less and in MP4, MOV, WMV format.

Be passionate, be creative, be you.”

And if you are not confident in making the video, we can help you find resources on campus to improve how you create your video.

Writing Help at the AARC Writing Center at TSU for Scholarships or Any Writing Concern

As a Tennessee State University student or faculty/staff member, if you need help with scholarship applications, essays, or any other writing concern, know that the Academic Achievement and Retention Writing Center at Tennessee State University is here for you!

Fall 2024 hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm, 615.963.5102.

For online scheduling: http://mywco.com/tnstate

If you already have an account, log in and make an appointment.

If you don’t have an account, register for an account by clicking on “Register an Account” next to FIRST VISIT? and schedule your appointment!

For help with any writing concern including resumes, applications, or essays for scholarships or internships, you can sign up for any available writing tutor (Ms. Rhonda Kavan, Dr. Shiloh Carol, Ms. Lori Danley, Mr. Michael Turner)

If you need help with finding scholarships, you can choose Mr. Michael Turner or Ms. Lori Danley.

Post written by Michael Turner, the Scholarship specialist. You can reach Mr. Turner at mjturner@tnstate.edu.