A way to earn money for college - a new site Raise.me

[merylvdm]

Recently I discovered a new site, Raise.me. At present there are about 200 colleges on the site with more being added all the time.

 

The way it works is that students create a profile and follow schools they are interested in. The schools who are on Raise.me offer money for different things the students have done eg being part of clubs, community service, having a job, their ACT / SAT scores etc. 

 

My daughter sat down over the break and entered all her info and discovered that one of the schools she is interested in - University of Denver - will give her $14 000 per year just because of the things she has done! 

 

I think it is a great way for colleges to connect with students who are interested in them, instead of all the "junk mail" high schoolers get. I am hoping more colleges get on board soon but there are a lot of well known ones already participating.

 

Students also get money if they get others to sign up, so my daughter would love it if your kids used her link if they sign up: https://www.raise.me/i/amyvan2

 

It is for all high schoolers - the earlier they start the better, and homeschoolers can definitely do it

[charlotteb]

I started using Raise.me for my older daughter about a year ago. It is awesome! One of her top choices for colleges is on there are she has racked up tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships so far!  Its one of the best sources available today in my opinion. 

[RegGuheert]

Thanks! That's very interesting!

 

OTOH, I doubt we would have our children put their information up there without knowing which schools are represented. The raise.me FAQ is not very forthcoming on this subject:

Which colleges can I earn scholarships from on Raise.me?

 

Over 150 colleges are awarding micro-scholarships on Raise.me, and many more have begun the process of joining!

 

Why do some colleges on the site not offer micro-scholarships?

 

We have many profiles on the site for institutions that are not yet partnered with Raise.me. This is so students can find new schools that fit what they're looking for, and can consider those alongside the colleges that do offer micro-scholarships. Using the Search function in the student account, students can search for colleges only among those offering scholarships, or across all the colleges and universities on Raise.me.

 

If a student is Following a non-partner college on Raise.me that becomes a partner, and that student is eligible for the college’s micro-scholarship requirements, then they will automatically become qualified to start earning micro-scholarships to that school.

 

I don't see the college that I want to go to.

 

First, take a look around! There are many colleges on Raise.me, including the 150+ that offer micro-scholarships. Many students find new colleges they might otherwise not have heard about, so poke around and see what you find.

 

If a college is on Raise.me but not yet offering micro-scholarships, the best next step is to let the college know that you’d like them to partner with us. They may already be in the process of getting set up with us!

 

If you don’t see a college you’re interested in listed anywhere on Raise.me’s site, please contact us and let us know.

Is there some way to see the list that I am not finding?

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's nice to see that they reward things like jobs and community service.  If you don't come from a family with money you may not easily afford clubs and stuff like that. 

Edited December 1, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[merylvdm]

Thanks! That's very interesting!

 

OTOH, I doubt we would have our children put their information up there without knowing which schools are represented. The raise.me FAQ is not very forthcoming on this subject:Is there some way to see the list that I am not finding?

 

You have to sign up first (you can do that as a parent) and then there is a list of all of them. Some schools I can remember are Notre Dame, Univ of Alabama, Univ of South Carolina, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, Georgia Tech.

 

So far every time I have told students about it they have found at least one college they are interested in listed there.

[Bristayl]

 University of Denver - will give her $14 000 per year just because of the things she has done! 

 

You might want to verify whether it is per year--I have the impression that the Raise.me scholarships are only for the first year.

 

Also, they do not stack with any other financial aid. All the colleges have this caveat statement on their pages:

 

Your Micro-Scholarships represent a minimum amount of grant aid or scholarship you will receive from University of Denver if you apply, are admitted, and enroll.

You may be eligible for more aid based on your formal application for admission and ï¬nancial aid forms. If you receive a higher amount of grant aid in your ï¬nal award letter from University of Denver, note that this includes the amount you earned on Raise.me and is not in addition to your earnings on Raise.me.

 

For example, if you’ve earned $3,000 from University of Denver on Raise.me, your $3,000 represents the minimum amount of grant aid you will receive at DU if you apply, are admitted, and enroll at University of Denver.  If upon acceptance to DU, you receive a larger ï¬nancial aid package of $4,500 from University of Denver, it's important to understand that the $3,000 you earned on Raise.me is included in the ï¬nal $4,500 award you received, and is not in addition to your earnings on Raise.me.

[Bristayl]

You might want to verify whether it is per year--I have the impression that the Raise.me scholarships are only for the first year.

 

 

Oops, I take that part back--I see that the colleges have "ongoing requirements", which certainly implies that they should be good for more than one year.

[merylvdm]

You might want to verify whether it is per year--I have the impression that the Raise.me scholarships are only for the first year.

 

Also, they do not stack with any other financial aid. All the colleges have this caveat statement on their pages:

 

Your Micro-Scholarships represent a minimum amount of grant aid or scholarship you will receive from University of Denver if you apply, are admitted, and enroll.

You may be eligible for more aid based on your formal application for admission and ï¬nancial aid forms. If you receive a higher amount of grant aid in your ï¬nal award letter from University of Denver, note that this includes the amount you earned on Raise.me and is not in addition to your earnings on Raise.me.

 

For example, if you’ve earned $3,000 from University of Denver on Raise.me, your $3,000 represents the minimum amount of grant aid you will receive at DU if you apply, are admitted, and enroll at University of Denver.  If upon acceptance to DU, you receive a larger ï¬nancial aid package of $4,500 from University of Denver, it's important to understand that the $3,000 you earned on Raise.me is included in the ï¬nal $4,500 award you received, and is not in addition to your earnings on Raise.me.

 

For the University of Denver they quote the whole amount (4 times that) and then say how much per year - so yes, it is per year. 

 

And I assumed it was including the usual amount they would give for ACT / SAT scores - but that is a good point for people to realize. The nice thing is she knows that is the minimum she will get.

 

I think I want to write a blog post on Raise. me so I will mention that. Anything anyone here can think of for me to ask them? 

[Bristayl]

I emailed Raise and they emailed me back already confirming the scholarships are intended to be for four years:

 

"Yes - the micro-scholarships are always intended to apply for all four years, but yes the student needs to meet the requirements in order to maintain eligibility. Mostly those restrictions just cover the basics to ensure that the student maintains a full class-load and puts effort into their work just as any other student would do to continue to gain scholarships."

[....]

How do they verify homeschoolers' grades, activities, etc?  Do they give credit for sports also? 

Edited December 1, 2016 by Evanthe

[MarkT]

Why couldn't the University of Denver just offer scholarships based on the data submitted in the application?  

 

Or is the primary mission of Raise.me to get students to apply to their member colleges?

 

I guess I am jaded and want to know what the 'catch' is.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Why couldn't the University of Denver just offer scholarships based on the data submitted in the application?  

 

Or is the primary mission of Raise.me to get students to apply to their member colleges?

 

I guess I am jaded and want to know what the 'catch' is.

 

What rubs me the wrong way about stuff like this is it in part can be seen as rewarding parents for spending money on extra curricular stuff.  All that stuff costs money.  What exactly are they rewarding?  A parent's ability to pay for extras?  This is not to say kids aren't putting any effort into these extras, but the reason they are there in the first place is because their parent could afford it. 

 

Which is why I like that they at least give some credit for stuff like jobs or volunteer work.  Although you could argue that the parent's effort may be involved there as well if the kid needs a ride regularly. 

 

I did nearly no real extras in high school because I could not afford it.  I did have jobs though.  I was limited to whatever I could walk to. 

[creekland]

Why couldn't the University of Denver just offer scholarships based on the data submitted in the application?  

 

Or is the primary mission of Raise.me to get students to apply to their member colleges?

 

I guess I am jaded and want to know what the 'catch' is.

 

My personal thought is that they give the same scholarship money to others who apply with similar qualities.  This is just another marketing gimmick.

 

From what I see at my high school, many kids get "basic" merit awards as long as they apply to schools that offer them.  There are some schools where (very) few pay full price.

[mom2samlibby]

Thanks for sharing!  Two of the schools that my son has been accepted to are on there.  Looks like he can get around $14,000 for his 4 years.  Sweet!

 

 

[Bristayl]

I guess I am jaded and want to know what the 'catch' is.

 

The catch, as far as I can tell, is that you have to "follow" the colleges you want by a certain date in order to be eligible for the scholarships when the time comes, which gives the colleges access to all the information in your Raise.me account so they can send you marketing.