High school and college students are usually too busy to add more time for writing on top of the assignments they already have, making no essay scholarships the ideal option for a busy and broke student. Some students work better through other outlets–through performing or visual arts, for example, or video production. Others are simply tired of writing for assignments and applications. Perhaps you are in one of these categories, or you are looking for a way to supplement the writing contests you have already entered. If so, you have found the right article, which will help you begin your quest for no essay scholarships.

Perhaps you have heard that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. That may be true in the real world, but luckily the internet is full of scholarship “free lunches” that don’t require an essay, and are therefore relatively painless ways to help students pay for their college classes without going into much (or even any) debt. Since many students do not have the time or energy to write lots of essays, many enter other kinds of scholarship contests. Unfortunately, this means odds of winning are sometimes very low, but a student can work around this by entering many and frequent contests. Someone must win each contest, after all, so you might as well throw your name into the pot.

Various No Essay Scholarships

The easiest no-essay scholarship contests to enter are the sweepstakes style contests. Scholarships sweepstakes (and sweepstakes of any kind) are all over the internet, some more trustworthy than others. The college review and advice site CollegeProwler.com runs several sweepstakes, most of which repeat monthly, and are definitely worth bookmarking. A savvy student will check the “Find Scholarships” tab on College Prowler at least once every couple of weeks, and install the trivia sweepstakes app on their smart phone or iPad. That tab can be found on this page.

Many students will already be exploring loan options as they seek funding for their college education, leaving little time to write a scholarship essay. If you are one of them, it is worth checking out the Sallie Mae website while you research. Along with your search for information, you can enter a sweepstakes drawing for $1,000 . Entries require you to register for the site, but as a bonus you will have access to an entire searchable database of scholarships–some with essays and some without.

If you are a U.S. student interested in attending a Christian college, you may want to check out ChristianConnector. Not only will you have the opportunity to be matched with colleges that fit your interests and needs, but you will also be able to enter a drawing to win $2,500 in scholarship money. No essay required!

Some students seek out no essay scholarships not because they mind putting time or effort into an application, but because they prefer to demonstrate their talents in other media. One quirky contest that will appeal to students talented in drawing or design. Every year, The Gallery Connection awards a $10,000 scholarship for the most original greeting card design submitted by a high school or college student. This contest opens in March and runs for most of the rest of the year, and simply requires a creative and original card design by a student who is at least 14 years of age. As a bonus, the winner’s school also receives an extra $1,000 award. Information and rules can be found at GalleryConnection.com.

Interest and experience in video production or social media can be a serious essay for the scholarship searcher who does not want to write an essay. Many advocacy groups and businesses sponsor contests to promote awareness and advocacy for causes they care about. Davis Law Group sponsors one such contest for short YouTube videos that inspire the public to behave in a safe manner. There is a separate category for high school and college entries, and the winning videos will be selected based on their respective number of “likes”, views, and comments. There will be a $1,500 scholarship awarded in each category, and entries are due on March 31st.

A similar video production contest which awards scholarships is sponsored by the organization “Courageous Persuaders“. This contest is only open to high school students, but various scholarship awards will be available to the contest winners. Michigan residents have the greatest advantage (and the most scholarships available), but there are two other scholarship awards in the contest for other U.S. students who express a creative and impactful message in their video about the dangers of underage drinking targeted at middle school students. The deadline is February 9th.

Some students may not want to write a scholarship essay even though they are good writers. If they are better poets than essayists, and have already spent some time in college, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships award may be a good fit. This contest awards talented young poets in their twenties $15,000 for further study in poetry. Whether or not you qualify now, it is worth building up a portfolio if you consider yourself to be an aspiring poet. It could fund a graduate degree or thesis work.

Clearly there are lots of options for scholarship money for those who do not want to write essays. A no essay scholarship could be within your reach if you take the time to do the research and find a scholarship which is a good fit for you.