Free Scholarship Lotteries

Free scholarships lotteries have increased in number in part because some companies use the lotteries as a way to gain exposure for their business. However, public and private companies aren’t the only organizations that offer free scholarship lotteries. State government agencies also administer the scholarships. By applying for these financial aid programs you may be able to get your entire online college tuition paid for.

You could receive as much as $10,000 to $1 million dollars from free scholarship lotteries. The lotteries were popular in the late 1990s. Varsity Books and FreeScholarships.com were two organizations awarding large amounts of money ($10,000) to college students. The perception of scholarship lotteries has changed since the 1990s. Some government regulations may have made free scholarship lotteries less attractive over recent years. Notwithstanding, companies and organizations still operate credible free scholarship lotteries.

State Scholarship Lottery Programs

For example, the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation operates a free scholarship lottery. The Corporation’s scholarship lottery program is titled Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program (TELS). Specific scholarships are awarded through TELS. For example, Tennessee has the Tennessee Hope Scholarship, General Assembly Merit Scholarship, Aspire Award and the Helping Heroes Grant.

Other states that operate free scholarship lotteries include Arkansas, Georgia, New Mexico and Vermont. Arkansas funds its scholarships through the state’s lottery system. The program exceeded expectations after it launched in 2009. It raised about $380 million by the close of 2010. The money was used to pay for 28,000 students to attend college.

Free Scholarship Lottery Eligibility Guidelines

As with other scholarships and grants, you may have to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online through the United States Department of Education to receive money from free scholarship lotteries. To qualify to receive money from free state scholarship lotteries to pay your online college tuition, you might also have to:

  • Be a legal resident of the state for at least one year
  • Attend an accredited online college or university headquartered in the applicable state. Some scholarship lottery programs might require you to attend brick and mortar colleges in the state.
  • Enroll in an accredited online college within 16 months of graduating from high school
  • Maintain a certain grade point average (GPA). For example, you might have to maintain a 2.75 or 3.0 GPA.
Although they may not have been around for as long as standard athletic, financial need-based and academic scholarships, free scholarship lotteries are credible. As with other forms of online college financial aid check out the organizations offering the lotteries before you participate in them. Also keep in mind that credible free scholarships lotteries generally don’t require you to pay a fee to enter them. You may, however, be required to write and submit a strong essay before you qualify to receive scholarship lotteries.
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