How to Identify Fake Scholarship Offers | Pro Tips (2023)

Scholarships are funding programs that cover either partially or fully a student’s expenditures while on his or her years of study. This can be in form of tuition fee cover, housing, food, book allowances and sometimes, extra pay to take care of other needs. Scholarships allow you to be fully committed to your academic activities while not having to worry about paying your fees, living expenses, or other expenses.

Fully funded scholarships are usually very competitive and limited, while part-paid scholarships may only cover a few of the student’s costs (e.g your tuition, housing costs, etc.) depending on the organization or individuals in charge of the scholarship.

Before Applying for scholarships in 2023…

Before Applying for scholarships in 2023, it is important you take digest the information on this page and apply them. We hope these will help you win your first scholarship this year (if you haven’t won any before) or win more, if you are already in the winning ways.

Is it possible to obtain a bogus scholarship?

Overtime, Research has revealed that some individuals and even companies/organizations are in the business of created bogus scholarships in order to obtain your personal information and sell it. At other times, many students have been tricked to even losing their money to these bogus scholarship programmes on the internet. So, yes, there are fake scholarships, and we are here to provide you with some of the information you need not just to avoid being a victim of scam, but also to apply for genuine scholarships out there and win them.

Also Check: How to Prepare for and Ace Scholarship Interviews

Identifying Fake Scholarships

1. Do a Personal Research: It is critical that you conduct a Google search for all scholarship platforms to determine whether or not these scholarship platforms are legitimate.
2. Avoid Scholarships with Mouth-Watering Offer and Cheap Requirements: The requirements for fake scholarship platforms are minimal to non-existent. They are only interested in your personal information.
3. Avoid Scholarships where Fees are being demanded: It is unethical to request a processing fee for a scholarship that has not yet been awarded. This raises a major red flag. However, once you’ve been accepted, you may be asked to pay a fee directly to the university in some cases. There will be no fees charged by scholarship platforms. You must be wary of bogus agencies and individuals posing as agents.
4. Read Public Reviews of Scholarship Platforms: Another way to detect fake scholarship platforms is to read through their reviews, especially on the social media. It is critical to pay attention to what people have to say or what has been said about such platforms. We suggest that before getting too involved, take your time and conduct a thorough search on those websites. Social media reviews, for instance, is one of the most powerful tools for identifying true scholarship platforms.
5. Scholarship platforms usually do not offer the scholarships themselves, only in rare cases. Hence, the they must refer the users to the main awarding body (which can be a government agency, university, non-governmental organisations, philanthropic foundations, etc). In any case where they fail to mention or refer to such awarding organisations, then applicant should double check on such programs before taking a leap.

Example of 5 Popular Scholarship Search Platforms

1. Studygreen.info: You are already here at Study Green!. You can search for scholarships to study in top study destinations of the world, from fully funded opportunities to partially funded tuition waiver scholarships. Internship opportunities and other student-related opportunities are also among the endless list of programs updated on a daily basis.
2. Scholarships.com: this site contains information on student loans and other resources. If you haven’t decided on a university yet, you can look into them here. There is a comprehensive database of scholarships to explore.
3. Chegg.com: provides students with study materials such as textbooks as well as a list of other scholarship opportunities. The website allows you to search for universities, but in order to do so, you must first create an account on the site.
4. Niche.com: Niche scholarships are divided into categories such as new and popular scholarships. You are automatically rewarded for opening an account with them, and you are not required to write an essay.
5. ScholarshipOwl.com: This website is another proven scholarship platform which is know to have been providing trusted services. However this platform charges their users subscription fee to allow them access to the scholarship database after a one-week free trial. In return. it offers essay writing assistance, webinars, and auto-reapplication for recurring scholarships.

Need more information?

Yes, there are many other factors to consider when applying for a scholarship.

1. Make use of the various search engines.
2. Subscribe to scholarship newsletters (you can signup here to get updates from Study Green), this helps you not to miss application deadlines
3. Starting your applications early, before the next school year, will give you a better chance of being accepted.
4. Always go over your essays with your teachers or superior person for feedback and corrections.
5. Avoid using plagiarized material in your essay and personal statements.
6. Don’t stop applying, and keep track of all of your applications so you can follow them up.

Are international students eligible for scholarships?

International students are, of course, eligible for both fully funded and partially funded scholarships. That of course, will depend on the scholarship programme in question. Different scholarship programmes come with different eligibility criteria

Also Check: 25+ Fully Funded Study Abroad Scholarships for International Students

General Scholarship Application Checklists

Every applicant who is eager to get a scholarship in a no distant time should get the following documents ready and prepare his/herself according to the below checklist;

1. Your previous education certificate
2. A recommendation letter (from your school or work place)
3. TOEFL/IELTS (or a waiver document, Refer here for details on how to get a waiver)
4. Curriculum vitae (CV)
5. A written essay (which may include references to your previous work or experiences)

Also:

6. Getting involved in your community, for example, by joining a non-profit organization.
7. Excellent academic performance
8. Participating in school activities and taking on leadership roles

Finally:

9. Find scholarships that reward you for your unique characteristics, such as religion, ethnicity, and so on.
10. Comply with eligibility requirements
11. Apply as many times as possible.

Concluding Remarks:

Scholarships are there to make education affordable to all. If you’ve gone over everything carefully, you’re ready to make a decision, and don’t be concerned about fake scholarships. Applying for scholarships the right way guarantees a faster and sure way of getting them.