Winning a scholarship is a fantastic feeling! We mean… who doesn’t like to be officially rewarded for their hard work, win free money, and avoid some annoying post-college debt?

So, if you’ve just received an email or phone call about winning a scholarship, congratulations! But what are you supposed to do now? How do you make sure the money goes to the right place? 

Good questions – because there are a few required steps that all scholarship winners must take. And this post is gonna walk you through each one so you can access your scholarship funds and get back to celebrating (or applying for more scholarships) as quickly as possible! 

Step 1: Officially Accept the Scholarship

Yea, you received the email saying you won the scholarship. But it’s not really yours until you accept it! And you have to do that before the deadline. So, don’t forget! 

Once you’ve read the email, either accept the scholarship right then or set a reminder to do it ASAP. The last thing you want is to miss the deadline and get passed over for a runner-up. 

Step 2: Confirm College and Payment Information

Now that you’ve officially accepted the scholarship, the next thing you need to do is inform Scholly where to send the money. To do that, you’ll need to confirm your payment information and where you go/will go to college. 

You’ll need to provide information such as:

  • Which college you have decided to attend
  • The address of your college
  • Your student ID number
  • A copy of your student bill
  • Proof of enrollment (acceptance letter, enrollment statement, or your class schedule). 

To finalize and process payment of your scholarship, you’ll also need to share some basic tax information by completing a W9 form since scholarships are taxable by US law. To read more about why a W9 is required, check out this quick article from H&R Block.  

You’ll receive your W-9 via a secure Docusign from Scholly. And, when you do, you’ll see that you’ll be asked to fill out the following information: 

  • Name
  • Address
  • Select ‘Individual’
  • Social Security Number
  • Sign
  • Date

Now, we know your social security number is sensitive information to share. So, we want to assure you that we take every precaution in making sure your information is safe and secure. 

Once we receive the completed Docusign, we’ll send you your scholarship money by check. You can expect to receive it in the mail within 10 business days of completion.

Step 3: Report the Scholarship to Your College

You won the scholarship to pay for school. So, your college needs to know about it! That means your next step is to contact your college’s financial aid office to let them know how much money you won. Be sure to also ask them how your scholarship may affect your financial aid package. 

Step 4: Tell Us Your Story 

This last step isn’t required of all scholarship winners. But it is a great opportunity for you to receive even more recognition for your hard work and give advice to future students! 

If we contact you for an interview, we’ll ask to set up a short Zoom call to discuss topics like: 

  • Your personal background 
  • Your academic goals and achievements 
  • Your extracurricular activities and passions
  • How you’ll use the scholarship (if it’s not specifically meant for tuition) 
  • What you want to study, your potential career aspirations, and plans for the future

We may also ask for a photo and a quick bio so we can feature you as a scholarship winner on our website. 

Again, congrats on winning a scholarship! It’s a big achievement that you should be proud of. You’re doing what it takes to make your college education more affordable. And we know that your hard work is gonna benefit you throughout your time in college and beyond!