Scholarship Points FAQ

What is Scholarship Points?

Scholarship Points, a service of Edvisors, is managed by a small team of people who love to give away money in the form of free scholarships. Edvisors, a leading provider of online education resources and financial services promotes a richer, more fulfilling education experience to students, educators and parents worldwide. ScholarshipPoints.com is our way of saying thank-you to our student customers.

Why do we award free scholarships and run ScholarshipPoints.com?

Our mission is to give back to students and help them fund their college education with no strings attached. Not only does Scholarship Points give away free scholarships, it also exposes students to partner scholarship opportunities, educational blog posts and podcasts on financial aid, and study abroad travel opportunities.

How does Scholarship Points work?

The concept of Scholarship Points is simple. Students earn points by reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, taking part in forums, and participating in surveys within various sites in the Edvisors family. The points in turn can be exchanged for entries into scholarship drawings. Through this system we get traffic and exposure for our services and websites and students get chances to win scholarship money and other prizes every month.

Who is eligible to join?

We encourage anyone in high school or college to join ScholarshipPoints. However, since all monetary awards go directly to a student's school we require that participants be enrolled in a post secondary school at least half-time, or be high school seniors planning on being enrolled within 12 months, to redeem points and win free scholarships. High School students can register and start building up their points while becomming an expert on finanacing their education. When they enroll in college all they need to do is change their contact information and start spending their points. For a more complete description of the rules, please visit our terms and conditions.

Should I save my points or spend them as I get them?

Saving or spending points is a completely personal decision. Members can accrue points for a long time or spend them right away. There is no telling how many points other members are choosing to spend on any one scholarship. Bigger scholarships have a lot of entries so some members might want to hang onto their points for those drawings. On the other hand, some members think that spreading out their points over a few scholarships gives them the best chance. Each person has their own strategy.

Are there any tips or tricks I should know about?

In the Scholarship Points forum there are usually clues to unadvertised bonus codes hidden around various websites. We also put codes in different newsletters and blogs, on our Facebook page, and in our Twitter feed.

Can people enter multiple times with alternate email addresses?

If a person enters with multiple email addresses we will know about it. When a winner is selected for a particular giveaway we compare records to see if their information is similar to any other account. Sometimes a member might have forgotten their account or gotten a new email address and registered twice without trying to cheat. Other times a person might register 50 email addresses for themselves. We can tell the difference and we will handle each situation appropriately.

How are winners selected and what are my chances of winning?

We use a computer program that creates a numbered entry for every member's entry in a given scholarship. If you spent five points you get five numbered entries, sort of like five lottery tickets. Then the computer program picks a winner at random. Like the lottery the more tickets a members hold the greater their chances are of winning, but in the end it only takes one ticket to win.

How are winners notified?

Winners are posted on the scholarship winners page at the time of the drawing. Winners have three days from the drawing date to contact us regarding their scholarship and supply us with the required information which includes; college name, FAO's name, your school id or last four of your social security number, and a short paragraph about yourself and how the scholarship will help. ScholarshipPoints.com can be contacted by mailing members@scholarshippoints.com.

What if the winner can not be reached?

For every drawing we will also be post the runners up. If a winner does not respond in three days, the first runner up is entitled to the prize. We will move to as many runners up as necessary until the prize is claimed.

Why give the money directly to the financial aid office?

We give the money directly to the financial aid office to ensure we keep the program explicitly for students. If we sent the money directly to the individual we would be inviting non-students to try to figure out how to win.

What if there are two people with my name at my college or university?

All winners are required to provide a student ID number or the last four numbers in their social security number. We provide this data to the winner's financial aid office to ensure they match the correct person with the scholarship.

Why do you require a phone number?

We try to notify winners as fast as possible, to do this we call you if you win. Unless you are a winner, we will not call you.

Can I give my points to somebody else if I am no longer in school?

No, points are not transferable.

What happens if I forget my username?

Your username is the email address you registered your account with.

What happens if I forget my password?

If you forget your password go to the following link, enter your email address and we will send it to you: I FORGOT MY PASSWORD

Scholarship Points sounds too good to be true? What is the catch?

There is no catch. We run this program to give back to students because students who use our websites help us run our business.

I have an idea for earning points. How can I communicate my idea to you?

We love ideas! Go to the Scholarship Points forum and post your idea under "suggestions" we review all posts and generally answer them quickly.

How much free scholarship money is available for students each year?

In 2007 we gave away a total of $7,000 and in 2008 we gave away a total of $40,000 in free college scholarships. We are on pace to give out $100k in 2009!

Is there anything I can do to raise my chances to be chosen for a scholarship?

Earn more points! That is the only way for members to can increase their chances of winning.

When is the next drawing?

The drawings are held at the beginning of every month for monthly free college scholarships and on the date specified for other special scholarships.

Can someone that has already won, win again?

Yes! The drawings are random so it is possible to win multiple times.

I'm not an American citizen, can I sign up and potentially win a scholarship?

You do not need to be an American citizen to win, but we can only award scholarships to students attending schools in the United States (and to a limited extent in Canada).

I won, but I didn't receive a check. Where is it?

We send checks directly to the winner's school. It may take up to three to four weeks from the time we receive the winners information to the time the school receives the check.

Where do you enter a Scholarship Points bonus code?

Once a member logs in to ScholarshipPoints.com "My Control Panel" will be on the left hand side. The second option down is "Redeem Bonus Codes". Members can click on that to enter the they have collected.

Where do I get bonus codes?

There are many bonus codes. Normally, members receive bonus codes in return for performing some action, such as taking a survey or signing up for a newsletter. All the current points-earning opportunities are located on the Earn Points page.

I tried to join a forum or signed up for the newsletter and didn't receive my code. What should I do?

When a person joins a forum the code is displayed for on the forum thank you page or emailed to in a registration confirmation email . If a member cannot find a code they can send an email to members@scholarshippoints.com telling us the forum name and their registered username.

Where can I view the latest Free Scholarship Newsletter?

We send out Free Scholarship Newsletters several times each month. You can always view the latest issue at www.ScholarshipPoints.com/newsletter.