Grants, Scholarships, and MORE

This web page was updated May 2025

We have heard the requests for a list of scholarships without essays. We know that scholarships with no essay requirement would be great. However, the scholarship with no essay is a hard-to-find scholarship. There are plenty of scholarship essay contests. It can be SO VERY FRUSTRATING to write scholarship essay after essay and then be denied ANY scholarship. We would like to see more scholarships that would somehow award the money based on some other requirement than an essay.  However, it seems that a majority of college grants and scholarships require some type of essay. It is understandable how the sponsors of college scholarships for students would want to know more about the applicant through the use of an essay. After all, the sponsors want to know if the applicant has the ability to take that money and succeed.

YouTube Video:  How to Find College Grants and Scholarships is a short six-minute video that gives you an overall look at where to find college grants and scholarships. If you have no idea on where to start to find financial aid, then this video will give you a good idea on how to go about finding free money in the form of financial aid, grants, and scholarships for college or trade schools for a variety of groups of people such as nursing students, single moms, women, traditional students, non-traditional students, and just about any U.S. Citizen seeking scholarships with the least amount of eligibility requirements.

PLEASE NOTE: BE CAREFUL:

The "$500 Because College is Expensive Scholarship"

Sponsor: Cedar Education Lending, LLC.

Eligibility: "It's no secret that college is expensive. It's also no secret that applying to scholarships is often a time-consuming and stressful process. For these reasons, we created the "Because College Is Expensive" $500 scholarship. Keep reading for the details! The $500 “Because College is Expensive” Scholarship is open to high school sophomores and above, college students, and graduate school students."

The winner is determined by RANDOM DRAWING.

Money: "We are giving out four $500 awards, ending quarterly (March, June, September & December!)."

Contact: https://cedaredlending.com/scholarship/

"Entries Accepted January 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025."

Student-View Scholarship (No Essay)

Sponsor: Student Insights.

Eligibility Requirements: “This contest is open to high school seniors residing in all 50 US states and planning to attend college or career school after completing high school.”

"To enter the contest, entrants must complete and submit the online application survey. No essay or purchase is necessary."

Money: Student Insights will award the following prizes:

One (1) individual prize, consisting of a $10,000 scholarship.
Two (2) individual prizes, consisting of $1,000 each.
Three (3) individual prizes, consisting of $500 each.


"Simply complete a 15-25 minute online survey about local colleges. You will then be automatically entered into a random drawing for a scholarship award."

Contact: https://www.student-view.com/

https://www.student-view.com/ScholarshipWmap.html

Bold.org Scholarships

According to Bold.org's mission statement, Bold.org believes in fighting student debt. The average student today will graduate more than $30,000 in debt and is far less likely to start small businesses, seek the highest impact careers, buy homes, or start families. At Bold.org, we believe that’s a problem worth solving. The world is full of incredible people who are an opportunity away from making a huge positive impact. By enabling anyone and any company to create targeted scholarships, fellowships, and grants, Bold.org unlocks that opportunity. Students around the country are taking on huge amounts of debt to get access to the education they want and need. By enabling students to fund their education through exclusive funding opportunities, Bold.org broadens access to that education in an affordable and sustainable way.

My very basic, simple, interpretation of Bold.org is that they provide their own funding for MANY scholarships. However, they provide opportunities for organizations who want to fund scholarships, to go ahead and team up with Bold.org. Organizations are able to provide the funds while Bold.org is able to provide valuable financial and technical help for organizations that want to provide scholarships as easily as possible.

There is no question that Bold.org provides MANY "no essay" scholarships that make it "easy" for students to apply for these scholarships. However, there are a number of scholarships listed on Bold.org's listing of scholarships that are funded by other organizations and those organizations have limitations on who can apply for those specific scholarships.


Having said all of that, Bold.org is a GREAT source for finding scholarships.

https://bold.org/scholarships/ takes you to a web page that provides a list of a couple thousand scholarships. On this page, you are able to limit scholarships by state, major, or academic year.

https://bold.org/scholarships/by-type/no-essay-scholarships/ is a list of what a majority of students would be scholarships with "EASY" application requirements. That is requirements with NO ESSAY as a requirement. The scholarships listed on this specific web page are, basically, where the student fills in a form and waits to see if their application is randomly pulled from the drawing.

Here are some examples of scholarships presented/funded by Bold.org. They have MANY more of scholarships, that they fund, that can be found by accessing their website.


The $25,000 Be Bold No Essay Scholarship

Sponsor: Bold.org.

Many of Bold.org scholarships has this warning about application deadlines: "Rolling Deadline. This scholarship has rolling monthly application deadlines. Students applying earlier will have a greater chance of winning. It'll be awarded on December 1, 2025." When accessing this scholarship information in January 2025, the application deadline is February 1, 2025. However, the scholarship is awarded in December of 2025. Like Bold.org's warning says: "Furthermore, this scholarship will be similar to the many easy scholarships available on Bold.org in that it will favor students who apply earlier—who are bold and seize the day without procrastinating."

Eligibility Requirements: "The $25,000 "Be Bold" Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile. To us, boldest does not mean best, or most accomplished.

Bold means being:

Earnest

Determined

Moving

The scholarship will be awarded to the student whose profile is most bold, according to these characteristics."

PLEASE visit their website for MORE information that is needed to apply for this scholarship.

Money: $25,000. (Twenty Five Thousand Dollars)

Website: https://bold.org/scholarships/the-be-bold-no-essay-scholarship/




No Essay Community Scholarship

Sponsor: Bold.org

Eligibility Requirements: "This scholarship is for students who recognize the value of a strong community and are always on the lookout for ways to help their friends and strengthen their community. It will be awarded to a student who has invited many friends to join Bold.org. To invite a friend, visit your Invite Friends page on the Bold.org dashboard to copy your unique invite code and text it to your friends. For each friend who creates a profile, your chances of winning the Community Scholarship go up. Students at any education level, school, field of study, and GPA will be considered." Money: $5,000.

Rolling Deadline. "This scholarship has rolling monthly application deadlines. Students applying earlier will have a greater chance of winning. It'll be awarded on December 1, 2025."


Contact: https://bold.org/scholarships/bold-org-no-essay-community-scholarship/

Knoji Corporate Responsibility and Brand Values Scholarship (VIDEO)

Sponsor: Knoji.

Eligibility: "Create a short TikTok or YouTube video (less than five minutes, preferably around 2-3 minutes) to share your favorite brand, their values, and how they’re making a positive impact. Describe the brand, who they are, and what they’re all about. Maybe you’ll even inspire other people to check them out!"

In your video, you must answer the following:

• Identify the brand, where they're located, and what products or services they provide.
• How is this brand making a difference? What are their brand values?
• Why is this brand's mission is meaningful to you personally? If possible, share a story or personal anecdote that illustrates this.
• Why should other people buy from this brand?"
  

Money: $1,500.

Contact: https://knoji.com/scholarship/

NICHE.com Scholarships

Sponsor: NICHE

$2,000 “NO ESSAY” MONTHLY Scholarship is open to all current students and those planning to enroll within 12 months. There are more requirements presented at their website.

"The $2,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is an easy scholarship with no essay required! The scholarship can be used to cover tuition, housing, books, or any education-related expenses. The monthly winner will be determined by random drawing and then contacted directly and announced in Niche's e-newsletter and on the Scholarship Winners page. You can apply once each month, with a new winner selected every month."

NICHE will list more scholarships with different application requirements at https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarships/

https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarship/no-essay-scholarship/

Sallie Mae Fund Scholarship Program (No Essay)

Sponsor: The Sallie Mae Fund

We have modified this listing a number of times because Sallie Mae has made a number of changes to their website and information over the years.

Over the years, scholarships provided by Sallie Mae seem to come and go. The thing to keep in mind is that apparently Sallie Mae will provide some scholarships, but you need to keep checking their website or organization in some way. As of this writing, the main web page to contact for scholarship information is: https://www.salliemae.com/. The information per web page seems to change all too often. My advice to you is to look at different web pages at the Sallie Mae website.

HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT, LET ME START HERE:

As of 2025, Sallie Mae continues to offer the $2,000 NO-ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP BY SALLIE SWEEPSTAKES. The official rules are at this web page: https://46610517.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/46610517/2K-scholarship/2K-No-Essay-Scholarship-by-Sallie-Sweepstakes-Official-Rules.p

I strongly advise you to PLEASE read the rules in order to understand what is going on with this scholarship. I will copy and paste some of the information, here:

"There will be fourteen (14) Grand Prizes available to be won. Each Entry Period there will be one (1) Grand Prize awarded, which will consist of $2,000.00, which will be in the form of a check made payable directly to the accredited post-secondary institution of higher education located within the United States attended by the parents child or student. Total value of all prizes available to be won: $28,000.00. There is a limit of one (1) prize per person/household. Odds of winning a prize will depend upon the total number of entries received for each Entry Period."

The CHART listing the 14 different entry periods is located on the official rules web page/PDF. Each time period represents a $2,000 scholarship.


There have been a couple of things that have continued over the years with Sallie Mae:

Occasionally, Sallie Mae will provide scholarships, BUT they change.

Sallie Mae has added a free scholarship search service. You may need to register.


As of 2025, Sallie Mae continues to offer the $2,000 NO-ESSAY SCHOLARSHIP BY SALLIE SWEEPSTAKES. The official rules are at this web page: https://46610517.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/46610517/2K-scholarship/2K-No-Essay-Scholarship-by-Sallie-Sweepstakes-Official-Rules.p



"How does the Sallie $2,000 scholarship work? Our $2,000 scholarship is a fast and easy way for you to enter to win free money for college. There’s no essay required, and all you have to do is provide some basic information about yourself. Enter now!*" https://www.sallie.com/scholarships/no-essay


It appears that Sallie Mae has a web page that features a directory/listing of scholarships: https://www.sallie.com/scholarships/scholly


There is some VERY GOOD information about scholarships and about searching for scholarships at this website. Sallie Mae is a very well-respected educational source.


Here are some web pages that you may want to view on the Sallie Mae website.

https://www.salliemae.com/

https://www.salliemae.com/college-planning/

https://46610517.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/46610517/2K-scholarship/2K-No-Essay-Scholarship-by-Sallie-Sweepstakes-Official-Rules.p

https://www.sallie.com/scholarships/no-essay

https://www.sallie.com/scholarships/scholly

Scholarships for Moms: We were hesitant to list this specific scholarship for a while because we just did not know if it was legitimate. However, this scholarship has been around a while and looks credible to list this scholarship for mothers, single or married.

Sponsor: FreeCollegeScholarships, LLC.

"Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and must be permanent residents of the United States. You agree that you are currently enrolled, or will be enrolled within the next 3 months, in a college or university in the United States. Applicants for the scholarships4moms.net promotion must be a parent to one or more children. You may also be expecting one or more children at the time of entry. Documentation of requirements must be produced upon request." Apparently there is NO scholarship essay so the winner is picked through a random drawing. The award is for ten thousand dollars. More information is located at http://scholarships4moms.net/scholarship-application-for-moms

Scholarships for Moms provided a Scholarship for Dads. HOWEVER, as of 2018, their website says that Scholarships for Dads is NO LONGER available. The eligibility requirements for Scholarships for Dads were practically the same as for Scholarships for Moms, EXCEPT that you had to be a DAD. We will keep this Scholarships for Dads listed on our website for now. Maybe it will be funded at a later date.

Sponsor: is Free College Scholarship, LLC.

Money: $10,000

Do Something.org Scholarships

Sponsor: Dosomething.org.

Basically, you earn the right to win a scholarship by volunteering to do something through community service. There are different “campaigns” that offer a variety of money. There is a lot of money to be awarded. PLEASE visit the website for MORE information. Applicants must be between 13 and 25 years old. This is for U.S. and Canadian citizens. A random drawing is part of the selection process.

"HOW IT WORKS

1. Sign up for a campaign.
2. Complete the campaign (some take 5 minutes or less!).
3. Upload a photo to show you completed the campaign."

Money: varies, but many scholarships are worth $2,000.

Contact: https://www.dosomething.org/us/about/easy-scholarships 

 

Create Real Impact Contest / Scholarship

Sponsor: Impact Teen Drivers.

This is another one of those scholarship opportunities that really needs you to view their website and variety of web pages. It appears that the contest has changed some from some years ago.

PLEASE visit https://www.createrealimpact.com/#intro and read this page, as well, as look at the information on the variety of other web pages that they offer.

Eligibility: "open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia between the ages of 14 and 22 years. Entrants must be enrolled as full-time students in an accredited educational institution (secondary [middle/high] school, trade school, college, or university)."

The Eligibility of the Video and Graphic Design Category is: "The awards in this category are open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia of DACA recipients between the ages of 14 and 22 years. Entrants must be enrolled as full-time students in an accredited educational institution (secondary middle/high school, trade school, college, or university). CRI Contest awards in the category of High School Campaign are open to high schools who are registered with the US Department of Education and are physically located in the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia."


"The Create Real Impact Contest calls on students, ages 14-22, to showcase their positive solutions and strategies to stop the #1 killer of young people–car crashes caused by reckless and distracted driving.

Students submit one entry into one of two categories: Video or Graphic Design. Get local community champions involved, such as your local first responder agencies and elected officials, for another chance to win in the Community Champions Bonus Points category.

The High School Campaign invites schools, classrooms, or student groups to showcase creative SOLUTIONS to the very real problem of distracted driving.  Create a 30-second PSA video, design graphics, and post on social media platforms to empower your community to help put a stop to reckless and distracted driving!"

It appears that the design of this organization is to bring attention to positive solutions and strategies. There appears an opportunity for communities and organizations to receive money through the video and graphic designs. However, with the Video and Graphic Design Contest/Category that "Individual students may enter one :30 video PSA OR one Graphic Design into the Create Real Impact Contest for a chance to win and educational grant for themselves."

There is A LOT going on with this Create Real Impact Contest.

Please visit their website and view the different web pages.

https://www.createrealimpact.com/#intro

https://www.createrealimpact.com/#faqs

https://www.createrealimpact.com/#rules