Student Financial Services

Scholarship Resources Outside of UVM

Students at UVM are encouraged to seek outside scholarships to help with funding their education.

Scholarship funds are available from a wide variety of organizations. These funds are considered "gift aid" and do not have to be repaid. You are encouraged to review the information below to explore scholarship opportunities that may be available.

Helpful Tips

Start your search early so you can focus your efforts on opportunities that are worth your time.
Create a separate email for your scholarship search. This will keep your other email inboxes cleaner and allows you to easily check & track your scholarships.
Stay organized with a spreadsheet and/or calendar to track scholarships, deadlines and other important information.

Scholarship Resources

Prospective & Current Undergraduate Students

How to use our Outside Scholarship spreadsheet (PDF) to search for available opportunities.

Outside Scholarship Spreadsheet (opens in Excel)

Note: The above spreadsheet is provided to you as a reference tool. It should not be construed as an endorsement by the University of Vermont for any of the organizations listed.

Are you an organization that feels you may have a legitimate scholarship to add to our site? Please send us an email with information so that we can review this potential opportunity for our students.

Vermont Residents

Vermont Student Assistance Corporation

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC) provides grants, loans, scholarships, career and education planning, and general information about how you or your family members can pursue a high quality education.

Vermont Society of Engineers (VSE) Scholarship

Students must be enrolled in an Engineering curriculum at the University of Vermont, Norwich University or Vermont Technical College.
Students must have graduated (or will have graduated) from a Vermont high school and be in good academic standing.
VSE Scholars are awarded a scholarship of $2,500 per year.
Applications are available in March each year, and must be submitted to the Student Financial Services (SFS) office by the deadline, which is generally in mid-May.
The deadline for 2023-2024 applications has passed. Selected students will be notified in August.

4-H Scholarships

4-H Scholarships for Higher Education are available to help reduce the cost of higher education. Scholarship application due dates and award levels will vary by county; please contact your 4-H Educator for additional details.

Other Scholarships

The Earnest Scholarship No essays. No entry fees. Enter for a chance to receive a $5,000 scholarship towards books, tuition, and more (no purchase or loan obligation necessary to enter or win).

Emet Capital Impact Initiative Scholarship (PDF) 16 scholarships available to provide 6 months of free rent at Spinner Place Apartments.
This scholarship is currently closed.

Medical Students

Visit the Medical Student Financial Services external funding page for a comprehensive listing of outside scholarships available to medical students.

Scholarship Search Websites & Guides

Websites

We have found the following websites helpful to students in providing free scholarship search services:

Note: The above list is provided to you as a reference tool. It should not be construed as an endorsement by the University of Vermont for any of the organizations listed.

Are you an organization that feels you may have a legitimate search site to add? Please send us an email with information so that we can review this potential opportunity for our students.

Guides

Utilize these guides for help in navigating your way to free scholarships for college

Scholarship Scams

Read up on how you can avoid being scammed

When searching for and applying to scholarships, it's important to know what scams to watch for.

Tips to spot a scholarship scam

Examples of potential scams and potential dishonest organizations

They charge an amount for postage fees (the only postage you should pay is your own when mailing an application), other fees, requesting a credit card number, etc. (May be referred to as an application fee, guarantee fee, deposit, or tax). If the sources ask for money, do not submit your information. This is most likely a scam.
False claims (guaranteed winner, you've won a scholarship [that you haven't applied to first], we do all the work).
No privacy policy found or their privacy policy clearly indicates they intend to share and/or sell your information
Ownership is by a company using the site to generate business leads
Unusual PII (Personally Identifable Information) requests, such as social security numbers.
Negative BBB (Better Business Bureau) or internet reviews
No contact information

Other things you can check

If they claim to be a non-profit, are they listed in GuideStar or IRS Publication 78?
Are they a member of the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA)?

The Federal Trade Commission asks students and their families to take caution when using seeking outside scholarships through search companies. Unscrupulous companies guarantee that they can get scholarships on behalf of students in exchange for an advance fee. Learn more here.