Recurring US Scholarships You Can Apply to Every Month
Most scholarship advice focuses on the big, once-a-year applications: long essays, recommendation letters, months of preparation. But there's a whole category of scholarships that work differently. They run every month or every quarter, most skip the essay entirely, and missing one deadline just means you try again next cycle. If you're a US student looking for quick, low-effort ways to chip away at tuition costs, these are worth bookmarking.
Why Recurring Scholarships Are Worth Your Time
A single scholarship with a once-a-year deadline gives you one shot. A recurring scholarship gives you twelve, or at least four. That changes the math. Even if your odds in any single month are long, applying every cycle for a year adds up to real chances, especially since these each take only a few minutes to enter.
Four Scholarships You Can Apply to Again and Again
Easy Money Scholarship
Appily (in partnership with EAB) ยท United States
The Easy Money Scholarship, run through Appily, is about as low friction as scholarships get. There's no essay, no GPA requirement, and no income requirement. You create a free Appily profile, share what you do in your free time, and you're entered. One $1,000 winner is picked every single month, and US residents aged 13 and up who plan to enroll in college within four years can apply.
1st Financial Bank Financial Goals Scholarship
1st Financial Bank USA ยท United States
This one asks for a bit more effort, a 500 word essay on a personal finance topic, but pays more: $2,000 to a new winner every month through the end of 2026. It's open to any US resident 18 or older who's enrolled or planning to enroll in a college degree program. Because it's essay based rather than a random draw, a well written entry has a real edge over one dashed off in ten minutes.
$5,000 Grad School No Essay Scholarship
Sallie (SLM Education Services, LLC) ยท United States
If you're specifically headed to graduate school, this is the highest value option on this list at $5,000, awarded once a quarter by random drawing among that quarter's entrants. No essay is required, and you can enter once per month, which means multiple entries build up before each quarterly draw. It's open to enrolled or soon to enroll graduate students, and to parents or guardians of one.
Employment BOOST Academic Scholarship
Employment BOOST ยท United States
Employment BOOST runs two $1,000 awards every quarter, one open to any major and one reserved for business or STEM students. Unlike the others on this list, it does require an essay (500 to 1,000 words) and a letter of reference, so it rewards a bit more preparation. The upside is a 3.6 GPA requirement narrows the applicant pool compared to fully open sweepstakes, which can mean better odds for a strong student.
How to Actually Use These
Set a recurring reminder, not a one time task. The easiest way to lose out on a recurring scholarship is to apply once, forget about it, and never come back. Block ten minutes at the start of every month to check which of these are still open and enter the ones with no essay requirement. Save your Financial Goals or Employment BOOST essay draft somewhere so you can refine it and reuse the structure each cycle rather than starting from scratch.
One honest note: a few of these are effectively sweepstakes, meaning the winner is chosen by random drawing rather than merit. That's not a bad thing, since it means your application quality doesn't have to be perfect to have a shot, but it also means don't count on any single entry. Treat this list as a standing habit, not a one time application, and the odds compound in your favor over the year.