These are the easiest-to-win college scholarships out there right now. Most take only a couple of minutes to enter, with super simple applications and minimal writing. Awards that require 500+ word essays, letters of recommendation, intense projects, etc. are not included. We’re talking easy scholarships, people! Many of the scholarships are open to anyone, and most winners are chosen totally at random.
Now, before you dive into this list, remember: your scholarship search shouldn’t end here! There are so many scholarships out there. Also, just because a scholarship isn’t advertised as “easy” doesn’t mean applying for it is hard. It can take a lot of time to find all the awards that fit you and fill out those applications, but it’s so worth it in the end. So enjoy this ultimate (and up-to-date!) list of easy college scholarships—and apply to as many as you can. Yes, they get a lot of entries because they’re so easy to apply to, but you have nothing to lose by trying. After all, somebody has to win these awards. Why not you?
Before you start applying for these easy scholarships...
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CollegeXpress Easy One-Question Scholarships
Amount: Up to $2,500
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: New and already registered users on CollegeXpress just have to answer one question to enter this monthly scholarship contest. That's it! The question changes month to month; for example, in previous months, we’ve asked, "What's a good book you'd recommend to a friend for the summer?" and "What is your favorite subject in school?" Check out our easy scholarship winners blog to see winners from each month this year and learn about the current month's opportunity.
CollegeXpress Scholarship for Students of Color
Amount: $1,500 (plus $500 donated to a charity of your choice)
Awarded: Quarterly
Deadlines: March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31
How to win: If you're a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color (BIPOC) student who's a US citizen and 13 years or older, you're eligible for the CollegeXpress Scholarship for Students of Color. To apply, just create a free CX account (or log back in) and answer this question: What's one word you would use to describe a great leader? The winner will be chosen randomly every quarter, and finalists will be contacted via email.
CollegeXpress Scholarship for First-Generation Students
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Quarterly
Deadlines: March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31
How to win: Here's another easy scholarship contest for registered users of CollegeXpress! To win the CollegeXpress Scholarship for First-Generation Students, you must be a US citizen who's 13 years or older and the first person in your family to attend (or planning to attend) college. Just complete your free CX account or log back in and tell us: What is one thing you’re most excited to learn about in college? One winner is chosen randomly every quarter, with finalists contacted via email.
10 Words or Less Scholarship
Amount: $500
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: April 15
How to win: For the 10 Words or Less Scholarship, you just need to explain why you should get this award in 10 words or fewer, and you only have post it as a comment on their Facebook page. You’re also required to “like” their Facebook page or your entry won't be counted. Lastly, you need to be between the ages of 14–25 and planning to attend college in the fall.
1st Financial Bank Financial Goals Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of each month
How to win: This is a monthly scholarship opportunity sponsored by 1st Financial Bank and is open to US residents who are 18 or older and planning to enroll or are currently enrolled in a college degree program. This is a random drawing, but it does require you to submit a short essay of 500 words or fewer on pursuing your educational and financial goals.
Americanism Essay Contest
Amount: Up to $1,500
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: December 1
How to win: Every year, the Fleet Reserve Association awards the Americanism Essay Contest scholarship based on a single patriotic theme. They do require a short essay, but it’s only 350 words. Last year’s theme was “What Would Service of Our Countery Mean to Me.” In addition to the $1,500 grand prize, there are awards for first, second, and third place ($1,000, $750, and $500, respectively). This scholarship is open to students in grades 7–12.
Ascent No-Essay Scholarships
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: First day of the month
How to win: Like many of the scholarships you’ll find on this list, most of the process to enter the Ascent scholarship sweepstakes involves filling out a form and following them on social media. Just complete the short form with your contact information, school, and a few other questions to create an account on their partner website, Kaleidoscope, and log in to finalize your entry. You also have to follow Ascent on one social media platform and tag them in a comment with the hashtag #AscentSponsored, plus be at least 18 years old to enter.
Barbizon’s $100,000 College Tuition Scholarship
Amount: $10,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: December 31
How to win: As an effort to assist students outside the classroom, Barbizon Modeling and Acting awards the College Tuition Scholarship to one lucky winner to make their college dreams a reality. Applicants have all year to get entries in, with the most recent cycle opening in January of 2025 and closing in December, with winners announced sometime the following year. All students have to do to enter is complete the application, and the winner will be chosen by random drawing.
“Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Amount: $25,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: February 1
How to win: The “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship offers $25,000 to bold students. Bold, by their definition, means earnest, determined, and moving. To win, you simply have to build your platform on the website to showcase your goals and achievements. The bolder your profile, the higher the chance you have to win. Although you can only enter once, the earlier in the year you do so, the better your chance to win.
CampusReel Student-Led Virtual Tours
Amount: $2,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: December 31
How to win: CampusReel is all about encouraging students to get to know schools through campus tours, even if they can't make it to campus in person. Applicants just have to make a free account on CampusReel's website and watch one student-led virtual tour to enter. This opportunity is a win-win! Enter a great scholarship opportunity and learn more about potential colleges to apply to.
College Is Power Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: May 31
How to win: Whether you’re a full- or part-time student, whether you’re going to school online or in person, you could snag the College Is Power Scholarship (CIP). You need to be at least 17 years old and a US citizen, and you need to be attending school within the next 12 months. The only application requirements include a short form and a 150-word statement about your primary goal for going to school.
Christian College EDGE Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: May 31
How to win: Just create an account with this Christian college search site to be entered into the Christian College EDGE Scholarship. You’ll then have a chance to get information from Christian colleges and universities. It’ll enter you in their drawing and help you get recruited by those schools! This is different from their $5,000 Christian College Scholarship Drawing; see below.
Christian College Scholarship Drawing
Amount: $5,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: May 31
How to win: You need to complete the registration form for the Christian College Connector to be entered into their Christian College Scholarship Drawing. Then winners are chosen randomly, but they must be planning to enroll as full-time, first-year college students at a “Christ-centered Christian college or Bible college” within 16 months of winning.
Courage to Grow Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March 31
How to win: The Courage to Grow Scholarship is awarded to high school juniors, seniors, and college students with a minimum 2.5 GPA. And the only thing you need to do to win is to submit a short 250-word statement about why you deserve the money. The scholarship has previously been awarded monthly, but the first deadline for 2025 is in March.
Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest
Amount: $10,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March 3
How to win: You’re already Snapchatting and Instagramming beautiful shots. Put your skills to work by creating a winning greeting card image for the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest! It could snag you $10,000, which is almost as good as getting a bajillion likes. To apply for this scholarship, you also need to be a US citizen and at least 14 years old.
Doodle for Google
Amount: Up to $55,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March 14
How to win: Who knew your doodles could earn you tons of scholarship money and money for your school, plus get you featured on Google for a day? The Doodle for Google contest is open to all US students from kindergarten to seniors in high school. This year’s theme is “I show kindness by…” You have to include the Google logo, but you can make your doodle using any medium (hand drawn, painted, using software, etc.). The grand prize is a $55,000 scholarship, and the organization will award your school $50,000 in technology resources. There are also four national prizes of $5,000—still a lot of money for college!
DoSomething.org Easy Scholarships
Amount: Up to $2,500
Awarded: Varies
Deadline: January 31 and February 28 (For current featured scholarships)
How to win: Okay, this isn’t a particular scholarship. That’s because DoSomething.org offers a lot of easy scholarships. And they move pretty quickly, with many lasting only a month. But, man, they are fun, creative, and fast. You typically sign up, complete a simple task, and upload a picture proving you did it. Then the winners are chosen at random. No essay, GPA, etc. The best part? These scholarships help you do some good in the world! So check the easy scholarships page at DoSomething.org to see what’s new.
Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway
Amount: Up to $100,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: January 20
How to win: To enter Dr Pepper’s Tuition Giveaway scholarship contest, you need to do a few things. First, describe how you’ll change the world in 350 characters or fewer. Next, get your friends to vote for your entry. If you get 50 or more votes, you’ll need to create an inspiring video. Then comes the crazy part: If you’re a finalist, you’ll compete during a Big Ten, SEC, PAC-12, or ACC football championship game. Yup, it doesn’t get much bigger than that—but neither does the prize: up to $100,000 in tuition money. Talk about the big show.
Equal Opportunity No-Essay Scholarship
Amount: $500
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March
How to win: As a small way to help create an equal playing field for disadvantaged students, the Equal Opportunity scholarship supports two motivated high school, undergraduate, or graduate students who want to improve their lives and the lives of the people around them. Just complete an application and you're entered. Students from any field of study with a 2.0 GPA or higher are eligible to apply.
Bold.org No-Essay Scholarships
Amount: Up to $10,000
Awarded: Varies
Deadline: Varies
How to win: Bold.org features so many no-essay and easy scholarships to apply for that you could spend a whole day just on their website and still walk away with some good money! Whether you're a fan of SZA or K-Pop, interested in helping your community, or trying to earn as many Bold points as possible, there's an opportunity out there for all students to win a lot of money for college. Many scholarships have upcoming deadlines on February 1, so get applying today!
No-Essay Scholarships from keepgoingforward.org
Amount: $1,000; $500; $1,500 (amounts correspond with deadlines below)
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: April 28, August 31, October 30
How to win: The organization keepgoingforward.org sets out to increase opportunities and foster connection by fundraising for disadvantaged youth, advocating for sustainable travel, and amplifying other philanthropic organizations. Students can apply for all three scholarships throughout the year, as there are no set requirements for grade level or academic field. In fact, one of the scholarships doesn't even require applicants to be current students, as long as they are applying for the money with the intent to move forward with something new in life.
Let Grow: Think for Yourself Scholarship
Amount: Up to $5,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: April 30
How to win: Okay, the Let Grow: Think for Yourself Scholarship does require a short essay—but they give you five options, it only has to be between 600-800 words, and it encourages you to speak your mind. What’s easier than sharing your opinion and personal experiences? For instance, one of your options is, “Write about a time you chose or unexpectedly had to do something new and important on your own. How did that experience change you and why did being independent matter?” There are a lot of fun places to go with that. And even if you don’t win the big $5,000, three people are chosen for $1,000 runner-up scholarships.
Make Me Laugh Scholarship
Amount: $1,500
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: August 31
How to win: What if you could win money just by making someone laugh? Well, you can with the Make Me Laugh Scholarship! Unigo sponsors a $1,500 scholarship where all you have to do is describe a story (in 250 words or fewer) about a funny or embarrassing incident in your life to make them laugh. We all have plenty of stories that come to mind… As long as you’re at least 14 years old, get going on this one!
New Mexico Legislative Lottery Scholarship
Amount: Varies
Awarded: Varies
Deadline: Varies
How to win: If you graduated from a New Mexico high school, you’re continuing your education in New Mexico, and you earned at least a 2.5 GPA your first semester in college, you’ve got the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship in the bag. There isn’t even an application! You just need to contact your college or university and ask them about it. It’s that easy to go to college in New Mexico tuition free. Really!
Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition
Amount: $250
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March 30
How to win: $250 may not seem like much against your college tuition payments in comparison to some of these other awards, but every little bit helps, and the Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition is a pretty fun and fast scholarship. High school students in any grade can submit up to three haikus. A panel of judges then select six winning poems each year.
Sallie Monthly Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: Sallie is another scholarship and financial aid website that gives away scholarships every month throughout the year. Just complete a short entry form about which college you’ll be attending and when you anticipate graduating. This application even allows parents to enter for their children. As long as you're at least 17 years old, you should apply!
No Essay CollegeVine Scholarship
Amount: $2,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: March 31
How to win: All high school students have to do to enter for a chance to win this award is create a free CollegeVine account and complete their profile. That's all you have to do! After that, the winner of the scholarship will be chosen based on a lottery system and you'll notified via email if you are the lucky recipient.
No Essay College Scholarship™
Amount: $2,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: Just create a free profile with Niche to enter their No Essay College Scholarship™. And if you already have one, all you need to do is log in each month for a chance to win! One winner is chosen at random every month. The contest is open to all high school and college students (though there are other eligibility requirements). The money can be applied toward any education-related expenses.
Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship
Amount: $500
Awarded: Twice a year
Deadline: March and November
How to win: Okay, this might not seem like the simplest scholarship in the world because you technically have to write two essays. But they both only call for a maximum of 500 words. So you could write 250 for each prompt—of course, you’d need to really knock them out of the park. The first essay is about where you would go to further your career, and the second is about why you deserve to win the Odenza Marketing Group Scholarship. You also need to be between 16–25 and have at least a 2.5 GPA. Oh, and you need to like their Facebook page too, but that’s easy enough. This scholarship is awarded twice a year in the spring and fall.
Edvisors Scholarship Giveaways
Amount: $10,000 and $2,500
Awarded: Quarterly and monthly
Deadline: Varies
How to win: All you have to do for Edvisors multiple monthly scholarships is fill out short forms about who you are as a student. Students who are 17 or older have the chance to win $1,000 or $2,500 each month by entering two featured scholarship opportunities. And students who are 18 or older, can apply for a $2,500 Student Loan Relief scholarship to help pay down loans they already have in their name.
Scholarships 4 Moms
Amount: $10,000
Awarded: Five times a year
Deadline: February 15 (current deadline)
How to win: Are you or are you about to become a mother? You could win $10,000 for educational purposes with Scholarships 4 Moms, and all you need to do is register on their site. It’s quick, easy, and free—which is good because goodness knows you have your hands full if you’re a mom! You also need to be 18 years or older and a US citizen.
Niche School Survey Sweepstakes
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: Niche gathers reviews for all kinds of schools, from K-12 institutions to colleges and universities. They reward students, parents, and recent alumni for leaving those reviews by offering a $1,000 School Survey Sweepstakes. All you have to do is leave a (legit!) review to be entered. And you know you have lots of feelings about your school anyway.
ServiceScape Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: November 30
How to win: The ServiceScape Scholarship contest is open to students who are attending or who will attend an accredited college, university, or trade school. Applicants should fill out the application form and submit a super-short statement (no more than 300 words) on the following topic: "How does writing impact today's world?"
Student-View Scholarship
Amount: Up to $10,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: April 23
How to win: No essay. No GPA or test scores. No application, even. All you need to do is complete a 15–25-minute online survey about colleges in your area. Students fill out the surveys based on their state of residence, so please note that students from Washington, DC, are welcome to choose either the Maryland or Virginia survey. Then winners are chosen at random for the Student-View Scholarship. Yes, that’s "winners"—plural. In addition to the $10,000 top prize, two $1,000, and five $500 scholarships are handed out. In terms of scholarships awarded at random, those are pretty good odds!
Tallo Scholarships
Amount: Varies
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Varies
How to win: Tallo is a website that aims to help students network with colleges and employers. To enter the Tallo Scholarship Contests, simply create a profile on their website, go to "Opportunities" and search for "Tallo" under "Organization Name." Several opportunities will be listed, including easy monthly scholarships and their $1,000 Invite-a-Friend Scholarship. Just follow the instructions and answer the questions to be entered!
The $1,000 SuperCollege Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: Okay, here’s how to enter the $1,000 SuperCollege Scholarship: Fill out their online application. Hit “Submit.” End of instructions. Yup—it’s that easy. It’s open to high school seniors, college students, grad students, and adult learners, and winners are chosen at random.
UNIGO $10K Scholarship
Amount: $10,000
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: December 31
How to win: For the Unigo 10K Scholarship, you just need to submit an online written response (in 250 words or fewer) to this prompt: Would you rather be smart, funny, or rich? Why? You also need to be a legal resident of the US, at least 14 years old when you apply, and enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution.
I Have a Dream Scholarship
Amount: $1,500
Awarded: Annually
Deadline: January 31
How to win: Also from Unigo, the I Have a Dream Scholarship asks student applicants a really simple question "We want to know… what do you dream about?" Whether you choose to talk about the weird dream you had the other night or your hopes for the future, you only have to answer in 250 words or fewer to be eligible for this easy scholarship. You must be a legal US resident who's 14 or older. The winner will be contacted no later than April 30th.
You Deserve It! Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Awarded: Monthly
Deadline: Last day of the month
How to win: The You Deserve It! Scholarship only requires you to register on a website to enter. Plus, it’s kind of a meta award. It’s from Scholarship Owl, and creating an account with them also helps you apply to a lot of other scholarships with a single form, so you don’t need to complete a bunch of separate scholarship applications!
Related: Easy No-Essay Scholarships You Need to Know About Right Now
We’ll keep adding to this list as we discover more easy scholarships. (If you have any that we missed, let us know through our Contact Us form so we can make this the best and most up-to-date list of easy scholarships anywhere!) Reminder: Always double-check the scholarship rules and regulations before starting an application. Some of these awards move pretty fast—particularly the monthly scholarships—and things like eligibility requirements or deadlines might change.
Find even more scholarships you're eligible for on CollegeXpress using our Scholarship Search tool!
