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 ...
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
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
- Deadline: Last day of every month
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!
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.
