Scholarship Information

Scholarships are money that are applied to a student bill that does do not need to pay back. Scholarship sources vary from the university, individual departments and colleges, to external sources such as community non-profits, or companies. All scholarships need to be reported to the Financial Aid Office. Scholarships may result in financial aid packages being adjusted (for example, lowering a loan).

UMaine Scholarships:

First Year Scholarships– Students are automatically considered for these scholarships if they applied for financial aid before they began their first year. These are based on performance, residency, and date of initial application.
Transfer Scholarships- Transfer students are automatically considered for a limited number of merit scholarship if they have applied for financial aid.
College/Department Scholarships– these are scholarships made available by individual colleges and programs. Each available scholarship will have unique requirements developed by each college/program. In addition to seeing the college website, you should frequently check department publications (newsletters, etc) or ask your academic advisor if any college/program scholarships are available.
University Affiliated Scholarships– These scholarships have been made available to certain UMaine students who meet certain criteria. Check the individual links to see if you are eligible.
Selective Scholarship– Selective Scholarships are funded by donors. Students are NOT automatically considered for these. After reviewing each to see if you meet eligibility, you must fill out a separate Selective Scholarship Application (PDF) for each award you would like to be considered for.
Adult Degree Completion Scholarship– This scholarship is available to Maine residents who have had an absence of three of more years form the UMaine system studies. Students should carefully review criteria. Separate application is required for consideration of this scholarship.

External Scholarship Programs:

There are multiple scholarship search engines available. You should check often, as scholarships are constantly added. There is a lot of redundancy in postings in the major search engines. It would make sense to find two or three that you are very comfortable with, and check back frequently. The most important consideration for a scholarship, NEVER pay for access to a scholarship. If you are ever asked to provide some sort of fee, it should alert you that it is a potential scam.

Maine Scholarship Search- FAME : The Finance Authoirty of Maine seeks to find paths to make college affordable for Maine Family. FAME maintains a database of available scholarships.
Big Future-The College Board : The College Board conducts and Annual Survey of Financial Aid Programs. Using this information, they maintain a database of over 2,200 scholarship programs totaling 6 billion in financial aid.
FastWEB : Fastweb is a website where you can create a profile and be matched with potential scholarships asthey become available. Sites that ask you to create a profile tend to send a lot of email notifications, you may want to consider creating a seperate email account for your scholarship searches.
SallieMae : While SallieMae is most well known for stuent loans, they do also maintain a scholarship database. You can register, and emails will be sent when new postings match your profile.
Peterson’s : This scholarship websearch does not require any registration. You simply answer a few biographical information questions, and immidiately see potential scholarships.
Chegg : The Chegg Scholarship search tool allows you to save scholrships you are interested in. You are also able to filter by scholarships that are online, or scholarships not requiring any essay.
SALT Online Scholarship Search : This schoalrship search tool requires you to create an account. This same account, which is free, also gives you access to other financial information such as budgeting.
Scholarships.com: Create a profile to be matched with scholarships. Profile is very specific, however, does filter results to your answers. Once you complete your profile, you will start of the colleges that match your profile page. Tab over to scholarship search. You can opt out of emails if you choose.

7 Tips for Writing Effective Scholarship Essays
While not every scholarship application requires an essay, most do. Consider these seven tips:
*Answer the question asked. Very carefully read the prompt. The selection committee is looking for very specific criteria. Be sure your essay is tailored to the specific scholarship being applied to.
*Identify How You Match the Sponsor’s Goals. The selection committee wants to award this scholarship. They are looking for the right standard bearer for their award. Determine how YOUR story meets that criteria.
*Start Early. Begin well in advance of the deadline.
*Get to the Point. Create an outline including criteria listed, and highlight your personal and academic qualities that meet those criteria. Be mindful of the length, most scholarships have a word limit. Stay focused.
*Be specific and use examples. Make your essay personal and passionate. You want your essay to be memorable. Attach meaning to your achievements, not just winning an award, but why that would be meaningful.
* Recycle Bits. While each essay will be unique, there are parts of your essay such as your biographical information, or your career aspirations that will likely be asked from multiple committees. Being organized will save you from duplicating your essay.
*Proofread Your Essay (and have others do so as well!) Spelling and grammar errors will detract from your application, or may remove you from consideration entirely. Be sure you not only proofread, but have someone else do so as well. Remember, proofreading is more than just a quick spellcheck! Your TRIO SSS Advisor would be happy to review your essay, or you could utilize the UMaine Writing Center –402 Neville Hall– 207.581.3828.

Scholarship follow up- the thank you note: If you receive a scholarship, be sure to write a thank you note to the donor. This is important not only for manners, but to help encourage future giving.

UMaine Scholarship Fair: Each April, UMaine hosts a Scholarship Fair to educate students on how and where to look for scholarships. This link contains scans of the handouts from the 2019 Scholarship Fair.