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Top 22 Easy Scholarships to Apply For in May 2023

By Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University. Full Bio
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Edited by
Gabriel Jimenez-Ekman is a content editor and writer at Scholarships360. He has managed communications and written content for a diverse array of organizations, including a farmer’s market, a concert venue, a student farm, an environmental NGO, and a PR agency. Gabriel graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in sociology. Full Bio
Gabriel Jimenez-Ekman
Updated: June 1st, 2023

Scholarships are one of the best ways for students to pay for college. While many scholarships require extensive applications and essays, others are more straightforward and easy to apply for. While easy scholarships shouldn’t be the only scholarships you apply for, they are a useful part of your scholarship search strategy.

You can apply to easy scholarships quickly, as they have few eligibility requirements and require only a brief essay (if they require any essay at all). Easy scholarships are often offered on a monthly basis, which means you have multiple opportunities to apply.

Jump ahead to:

Keep on reading to learn everything you need to find and win easy scholarships this year!

Top easy scholarships in 2023

$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship

  • Eligibility:Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, and graduate students
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay

  • Eligibility: High school, college, community college and graduate students
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

Niche $15,000 No Essay Scholarship

  • Eligibility: All high school, college, and graduate students
  • Amount: $15,000
  • Deadline: June 29, 2023

$2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship

  • Eligibility:  High school and college students
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023
  • Eligibility: High school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
  • Amount: $25,000
  • Deadline: July 1, 2023

$40,000 BigFuture Scholarships

  • Eligibility: Open to US-Based high school students in the classes of 2024 and 2025 — no essay, minimum GPA, test score, or citizenship requirements.
  • Amount: Up to $40,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Open to all high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Deadline: May 1, 2024

School’s Out Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Easy scholarship open to all high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.
  • Amount: $1,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

$2,500 June ScholarshipPoints Scholarship

  • Eligibility: High school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
  • Amount: $2,500
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

$5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Students must be a current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending a Christian university or college.
  • Amount: $5,000
  • Deadline: May 31, 2024

$2,000 CampusReel Virtual Tour Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: June 30, 2023

Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending a Protestant university or college.
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: May 31, 2024

Annual Catholic College Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Current high school freshman, sophomore, or juniors interested in attending a Catholic university or college.
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: May 31, 2024

Shining Stars Scholarship

  • Eligibility: No essay scholarship open to students who are at least 18 years of age
  • Amount: $1,000
  • Deadline: June 5, 2023

Lounge Lizard Web Design Scholarship

  • Eligibility: High school seniors through graduate students who submit a web design
  • Amount: $1,000
  • Deadline:  October 2023 and February 2024

Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Open to all students who are 14 or older
  • Amount: $2,000
  • Deadline: October 31, 2023

Young Filmmakers Contest 

  • Eligibility: Students in grades 3 up through age 25 who submit films of 3 to 8 minutes about our earth and sustainability 
  • Amount: $200 to $2,000
  • Deadline: June 25, 2023
 

Other scholarships

Discover Student Loans Scholarship Award

  • Eligibility: Residents of the United States (including D.C. and the U.S. Territories) who are 16+ years of age
  • Amount: $5,000
  • Deadline: Rolling

Education Matters Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Open to all students who are 14 or older
  • Amount: $5,000
  • Deadline: November 30, 2023

Top Ten List Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Open to all students who are 14 or older
  • Amount: $1,500
  • Deadline: December 31, 2023

Unigo $10k Scholarship

  • Eligibility: Open to all students who are 14 or older
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Deadline: December 31, 2023

Tips for students applying to easy scholarships

Apply early and often

The best strategy for applying to easy scholarships is to cast a wide net. You’re less likely to win any given easy scholarship, because the application is “easy” and there are more applicants. So, the best way to help your chances is to apply to a great many opportunities, since each individual application takes minimal time and effort. 

Applying to easy scholarships is great, but you should make sure to spend a good amount of time on more involved applications too. You have a much better chance of winning scholarship money with a well-crafted application to an opportunity that suits you than a random drawing, which is how many easy scholarships pick their winners. If you’re looking for a place to start looking for more specific scholarships, try out our free scholarship search tool to browse custom-matched, vetted opportunities, updated daily!

Expect a lot of email

Easy scholarships are a great way to put your name in the ring for scholarship money without taking too much time on your applications. But keep in mind that each opportunity you apply for will request your contact information. Most of the time, you will be signing up for a mailing list with each application you submit. You might end up getting monthly, weekly, or even daily email from the organization offering the scholarship.

Many people use two separate email accounts: one for personal communication with friends, family, and professional relationships, and another to manage the emails they receive from businesses, from their banks, and from newsletters they subscribe to. Making a separate email can be a great way to manage the influx of mail you will begin to receive if you apply to a lot of easy scholarships.

Consider no essay scholarships

If you’re in the market for easy scholarships, don’t neglect our list of no essay scholarships for college. Our easy scholarships involve little in the way of application materials, but some of them have a short essay or response. These no essay scholarships don’t require any response on your end, and you can easily sit down and apply to many of them.

Be wary of scholarship scams

There are a great many scholarship scams out there, but they are especially common among easy scholarships. Remember to do some investigation before you send off your application to any organization. You should never submit personal information that could be used for identity theft, and never pay an application fee to enter a contest. For more information on the matter, check out our article on how to avoid scholarship scams.

Don’t forget financial aid

One way to pay for college that’s even simpler than easy scholarships is through financial aid like institutional aid, FAFSA funds such as the Pell Grant, and other federal and state grants. Remember, if you are not filling out the FAFSA, you are potentially giving up free money for your higher education. Unlike a scholarship application, the FAFSA does not require essays or personal statements. The application process only takes you and your parents’ financial information such as tax returns and information about assets.

Downsides to easy scholarships

The biggest drawback of easy scholarship opportunities is that many students can apply for them. They are basically like a sweepstakes with free entry, which means that they will get many more applicants than more complex scholarships.

This means that your chances of winning are lower than scholarships with essays and other specific criteria. Many of these scholarships are more similar to a contest than a true scholarship competition based on merit or talent. You may also be opting into receiving marketing materials and offerings from the scholarship providers, so be aware of that if you are asked to opt-in!

Additional scholarship categories

At the end of the day, the easiest scholarship to win is the one you are best qualified for! Let us help you find the perfect scholarship fit with lists tailored to your interests and strengths:

Frequently asked questions

What are some of the easiest scholarships?

What is the lowest GPA to get a scholarship?

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