I’m overwhelmed trying to figure out where to apply for scholarships without running into scam sites. Does anyone know reliable places to find scholarships? I really don’t want to take on a ton of debt, and it feels like everything online is sketchy or leads nowhere.
I feel you. I’m going to a super expensive school ($153k without transfer credits), and I’ve been grinding on scholarships. I didn’t know scam sites existed until I fell into some! Stay away from Bold—they use a point system to unlock “exclusive” scholarships, which feels shady. My school uses ScholarshipUniverse, which filters out fake stuff. FastWeb is another good one.
Your best bet is local scholarships. Try searching ‘[Your area] scholarships’ online, and look for niche scholarships based on your situation (low income, POC, specific interests, etc.). Stay away from no-essay ones—they’re like winning the lottery.
If a scholarship is easy to apply for, the competition is insane because everyone wants free money. Focus on ones that take effort. Write your essays in a Google Doc so you can tweak them for other applications. It makes the process less repetitive. Good luck! You’ve got this!
The national ones are super hard to win because of the competition. Your best shot is applying for local scholarships that require essays. Fewer people go for those.
I felt this post in my soul .
I did a basic Google search for high school scholarships to help you. Most of these require effort, like essays, rather than no-essay ones, which are more like a lottery. Putting in work gives you a better chance.
Here’s a list I found: https://www.collegebound.org/high-school-scholarships.html. Another one I’ve used is this: https://thescholarshipsystem.com/blog-for-students-families/summer-scholarships-apply-before-end-of-summer/.
If these don’t help, ask your guidance counselor. They can point you to scholarships that fit your situation. Good luck keeping your debt low!