Scholarship search
All you need is an email address to use sites like Fastweb, Cappex and Unigo. But once you provide it, scholarship listings aren鈥檛 the only things you鈥檒l receive.
鈥�(You) are going to get a lot of spam,鈥� says Monica Matthews, creator of the
Don鈥檛 let a barrage of emails deter you from signing up 鈥� or sticking with 鈥� a scholarship
You don鈥檛 have to repay scholarships, making them the best way to pay for college. You can win private awards before you even know where you鈥檒l go to college. And giving a scholarship site some basic data can simplify your search by identifying potential matches.
Here鈥檚 how to use these tools to get more than just marketing emails.
DECIDE WHETHER TO OPT OUT
Scholarship sites let you opt out of email communications. But you may not want to unsubscribe from everything.
Fastweb, which has helped students find scholarships since 1995, lets you pick specific communications when you register. That way, you鈥檒l receive messages about award deadlines but not part-time jobs, for example.
鈥淥ur aim is to keep students informed,鈥� says Kathryn Knight Randolph, Fastweb鈥檚 associate content editor.
Other scholarship sites may feature more general communication preference choices. Even then, deleting messages as they arrive can make more sense than opting out altogether.
鈥淟et it come in and at least take a quick glance,鈥� says Marianne Ragins, publisher of ScholarshipWorkshop.com. 鈥淪ometimes, it might be something good.鈥�
But even if you opt out of emails, personal information like your address or phone number can still be sold to third parties. Look for an opt-in addressing this when you register and check the
CREATE A DEDICATED EMAIL
Providing an email is the price of doing business with many scholarship search engines.
鈥淥ur service is free,鈥� Randolph says. 鈥淲ith that comes working with advertisers and people who want to market to students.鈥�
That doesn鈥檛 mean you have to give them your primary email address.
Instead, create an email account solely for scholarship mail. It will keep marketers from your main inbox and help you track your applications.
Matthews recommends using 鈥渟omething clean鈥� for your scholarship email, like your first and last name with an additional number, symbol or dash if needed.
Be sure to check this account鈥檚 spam folder. Important messages like acceptance notices from scholarship providers could end up there by accident.
USE A SITE THAT DOESN鈥橳 REQUIRE REGISTRATION
The scholarship sites that don鈥檛 require an email are unlikely to save your results or send you reminders, but you鈥檒l avoid marketing messages.
To see if you prefer to not share your email, try sites such as CareerOneStop from the U.S. Department of Labor and the College Board鈥檚 Scholarship Search. Ideally, you鈥檒l use both kinds of sites, registered and not, and multiple scholarship search engines.
鈥淔ive is a good place to start,鈥� says Kristina Ellis, creator of CollegeNinja.com. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to get too overwhelmed.鈥�
Avoid
EVALUATE AWARDS WISELY
Some scholarships may be more likely to lead to spam 鈥� or be outright scams.
Never pay for awards. And be wary of applications that require information like a Social Security number, says Shauna Grant, financial aid director at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
鈥淚f it feels invasive, put the brakes on,鈥� Grant says.
Ragins says to know what you鈥檙e getting into if you enter sweepstakes, for example. These scholarships may not be scams 鈥� you can win money 鈥� but their primary goal is collecting information to sell.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e not prepared to have your name put in a marketing bucket, then don鈥檛 do it,鈥� she says.
DON鈥橳 RELY ON
Scholarship search sites are a great way to find awards, but they shouldn鈥檛 be your only strategy. Consider the following tactics as well:
鈥� LOOK LOCALLY. Visit your high school guidance
鈥� GOOGLE IT. Use searches that include your interests, potential majors, year in school and other details.
鈥� READ SCHOLARSHIP BOOKS. Check your library for recent editions of titles like 鈥淭he Ultimate Scholarship Book鈥� and 鈥淪cholarships, Grants & Prizes.鈥�
This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance
RELATED LINKS:
NerdWallet: How to Pay for College: 8 Expert-Approved Tips http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-how-to-pay-college
CareerOneStop https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx
College Board Scholarship Search https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
Ryan Lane Of Nerdwallet, The Associated Press
