For students looking to pursue post-secondary education, applying for scholarships is one of the best ways to achieve your dreams without entering massive debt. However, you may be wondering, “how much scholarship money can I get?” After helping thousands of students win scholarships, we have some insight. 

Scholarships have set criteria that they look for in students. However, much of this criteria is subjective and at the discretion of the scholarship committee. This makes it impossible to predict exactly how much scholarship money a student will win. Some of GrantMe’s top winners have received anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 in scholarships.  However, using data from our previous students, we can project the approximate dollar range that scholarship candidates can expect to win based on a few criteria.

Student Success Matrix

To help students answer the question, “how much scholarship money can I get,” we created the Student Success Matrix. We look at three areas in a student: GPA, level of community involvement, and the number of applications a student submits. 

We break community involvement down into three levels: 

Member roles are involvements in which students are part of an organization as a team member. An example of this could be volunteering at a soup kitchen, a hospital info desk, or an animal shelter. 

Leader roles are a step up. Students in leader roles hold a title, such as coach, counsellor, or president of a club. 

Initiator roles are the highest level of leadership. These are initiatives that students start themselves and have high impact. This could be founding a new club or leading a new project.

If you want to answer the question “how much scholarship money can I get?” read through the four levels of scholarship candidates and see where you fit in!

Low

• GPA: 0-70%
• Involvement: 2 or fewer volunteer roles
• Range: $500 – $3,500

Low scholarship candidates can expect to win enough to cover part of a semester of university tuition. These students may not have the best grades. Although there are some scholarships that don’t care about grades, most do. To move up from this level, try to increase your GPA and seek more leadership opportunities in your community.

Medium

• GPA: 70% – 80%
• Involvement: 2-5 member roles; 1 leader role
• Range: $1,000 – $10,000

Medium scholarship candidates can, with enough applications submitted, receive enough to pay for one year of university tuition! These candidates have average grades and some involvement in the community. Seeking more opportunities to take leadership in their community will help these students stand out to scholarship committees.

High

• GPA: 80% – 87%
• Involvement: 2-3 leader/initiator roles; 3-5 member roles
• Range: $5,000 – $60,000

High scholarship candidates can sometimes pay for their entire degree with scholarships! These students have high grades and strong involvement in the community. Improving their scholarship essay writing skills and submitting a high volume of applications will help these students succeed.

Superior

• GPA: 88% – 100%
• Involvement: 2-3 initiator roles; 1-2 leader roles; 3-5 member roles
• Range: $8,000 – $120,000

Superior scholarship candidates are GrantMe’s top students. They have an excellent academic average and make a strong impact in their community. Strategically applying to scholarships they best match with will help these students maximize their winning potential.

Using the four levels of scholarship candidates above will help you to answer for yourself, “how much scholarship money can I get?” Although GPA and community involvement are important, much of the scholarship process hinges on the effort you put into it. The more applications you submit and the better-written these applications are, the more you will win.

If you want to become a next-level scholarship candidate, GrantMe can help. We provide personalized scholarship matches, essay editing, and mentorship from past winners to maximize your scholarship success. Learn more and get started winning scholarships.