Finding Money in Micro-Scholarships: Raise.Me

It is that time of the year when the college process is on the minds of senior students and parents. College visits are being made, applications are starting to be filled out, and the dreaded conversation of, “How much is this going to cost?” is happening.

Photo Credit by: Sal Falko

I will admit I was not a student banking on a full-ride scholarship, but fortunately for me college was much cheaper 20 years ago. However, today you will find website specifically dedicated to finding money for your student to attend college. The biggest issue I have is that students do not often know how much they will be awarded while applying, and it becomes a wait-and-see type of game.

That was before a new scholarship website emerged and is taking earning scholarships to a whole new level. Raise.me has taken a new concept institutional scholarships. Rather than the old, “Apply and wait game”, they now do, “Put in your resume, get scholarship money on the spot, and then apply!” A student will know how much they earn even before they spend the money for an application!

So how does it work? Well, each college determines mini-scholarships for things students do every day at school. Earn an A, earn anywhere between $10-1,500! Play after school activities, another $10-500. Take Dual-Enrollment, AP or IB credits, another $15-2,500. The small micro-scholarships begin adding up quickly. I have seen students earn over $50,000 from Raise.Me!!  Students may also as early as 9th grade year earning scholarships!

All the student has to do is to put in a list of their grades, standardized test scores (ACT/ SAT), list of activities, and select schools they are interested in. Raise.Me then begins the matching process for guaranteed scholarships once the student is admitted. Often these scholarships are stackable with other local, national, and institutional scholarships. The savings can be HUGE!

Think they don’t have your school? They have schools from all over the country like Tulane University, Carnegie Mellon, Oberlin College, Penn State University, Temple University , to name a few. For Florida, colleges such as Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Barry University, Rollins College, Stetson University, Flagler College, and Jacksonville University. It is a great mix and more are being added each year.

A quick suggestion- before you begin any admission or scholarship application, be sure to write out a thorough resume of all the student’s activities from 9th-12th grade, as well as have an academic transcript handy. This will make your process so much easier, and keep it consistent from one application to another.