Fastweb Tells All: Your Top Questions – Answered!

As one of Fastweb’s editors, I receive a lot of questions about scholarships. I recieve a lot of questions in general, actually. The truth is, however, that most of them are the same questions in different formats. Whenever a user takes the time to email me and ask a question, I respond to the best of my ability - I apologize if I missed one along the way – I receive a lot of emails and am, much to my dismay, capable of human error. Recently, I began to wonder: how many users have the same questions but don’t reach out? The very thought bothered me. These students need answers, too! Luckily, I’m a bit of an email hoarder and decided to save everything for no particular reason. Or, maybe the particular reason was writing this article one day – I just didn’t know it at the time. Smart, huh? Here’s a list of the most commonly asked questions by our Fastweb members along with answers, so that all Fastweb users have a resource for answers to, well, almost everything in one place.

Questions about Scholarships

“When will I win a scholarship? It feels like I’ve been applying forever!”

Applying for scholarships is a numbers game. The more you apply to, the better your chances of winning. Unfortunately, it's difficult at times to win a scholarship, and not everyone is guaranteed to win one. People really do win scholarships through our site, and our Wall of Fame proves it. You’ll notice that most of these winners share advice telling you that it's vital that you never give up applying for scholarships - because then you're guaranteed to never win one. We cannot urge you enough: the more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances of winning. Apply for all of the scholarships as you qualify for - literally. I have yet to hear of a student that has done that and I can understand why – there are way too many! But if you try to, at least, significantly increase the amount you’re applying for, you’ll significantly increase your odds of winning.

“How can I increase my odds of winning a scholarship?”

Again, I cannot stress enough: the more you apply for, the better the chances you have of winning scholarships. My best advice would be to apply early and often - the process can take a while but, the more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances are of winning scholarships. I realize that the process can become overwhelming at times, especially while balancing school at the same time. Luckily, our Fastweb database has more than 1.5 million scholarships for students. So, if you keep applying and doing so as often as possible, you’ll definitely increase your odds. I’d also recommend revisiting your Fastweb profile regularly to update any information such as awards, new or different extracurricular activities, a raise in your GPA, new hobbies, volunteer work, etc. Any time anything changes within your student life, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, should be reflected on your student profile. At the very least, update your profile every year to reflect your school year change.

“Why don’t you have scholarships for XYZ? It’s not fair!”

Please be patient, scholarships refresh on a daily basis. Just because there is not a matching scholarship currently doesn’t mean there isn't one out there for you. We probably do – it just may not be active right now. Scholarships are only matched to you during the time the application dates are open, so you won’t receive matches you cannot apply for. It’s highly unlikely we do not have at least one scholarship for any given activity, quality, etc. In the meantime: 1. Have you filled out a Fastweb profile, completely and thoroughly with all of the pertinent criteria? We won’t be able to find the right scholarships for you if you don’t give us the right profile information! Remember, this is your best resource to find scholarships specifically suited to you personally. It’s important to fill out your profile as thoroughly and accurately as possible because it will maximize your scholarship matches.
2. Do you check your scholarship matches daily on the site and your notifications via email?
3. Have you checked out our scholarship directory?
4. How about our scholarship theme articles? (Note: we’re constantly adding more themes to the list.)

“How do I specify certain pertinent criteria that may qualify me for more scholarships?”

There’s a spot within your Fastweb profile for this specific reason. You can access the spot by the following: • Once you log in to Fastweb, go to the “My Profile” link at the top right of the page
• Under your profile, there are several categories: “Education Info,” “Personal Info,” “Student Activities” and “Parent Activities”

• Click edit (on the upper right side of each section), which will take you within each section, allowing you to specify options such as heritage, race, religion, disabilities, sports, awards, and other personal attributes and achievements. The more specific you are with your profile information, the easier it is for us to find you scholarships within our database!

“What age do you recommend students start applying for scholarships?”

It’s never too early to start preparing for college and we recommend that students start applying for scholarships as young as 13 years old – in fact, that’s the minimum age you can sign up for Fastweb. But, you’re never too young to start saving for college – the earlier, the better!

Questions about Scholarship Eligibility

“Can I sign up for Fastweb if I’m not a U.S. citizen?”

In order to sign up for Fastweb, you must have a valid U.S. address. Some of the scholarships in our database can be won by an international student; however, that is entirely up to the individual scholarship provider. However, the majority of our scholarship providers only allow students who are U.S. citizens to qualify. If you're an international student looking to study in the United States, another resource you might want to look into is eduPASS. The site deals specifically with financial aid and scholarship opportunities for international students and the resources on that page should be able to point you in the right direction.

“Can I use a scholarship to go to school outside of the United States?”

It’s up to the scholarship providers, not us, whether or not you can use a scholarship to go to school internationally. Often times, you can participate in exchange programs through another country’s college and apply your awards to that experience, but you’ll have to do you research and check with your scholarship provider.

Questions from Parents

“As a parent, can I create a Fastweb account for my student?”

Parents of students often want to help them find ways to pay for school and that’s why they are able to create their own Fastweb profile. Please note that if you’re creating the profile as a parent, it’s a slightly different process. You’re also able to create an account but make sure that when filling out registration information you designate you’re a parent but, for graduation year as well as other school information, put your student’s graduation year and information. In other words, when parents fill out a profile, they should complete the information for the types of scholarships they would like matches for. For example, if your student will be graduating in 2016, enter that for the graduation year. That’s because you want to be matched to scholarships he/she will qualify for – not that you will qualify for (some parents make this mistake and are matched to scholarships for returning students). Keep in mind when applying that you’re looking for scholarships open to apply for the year you need the scholarship for, not the current grade your student is in. For example, if your daughter is currently a high school senior, she should be looking for and matched to scholarships open to graduating high school seniors and college freshman.

“I’m the parent of more than one student and want to create an account that combines both my kids. Is this possible?

Unfortunately, you cannot host two students on one account. You have to create a separate account entirely for each of your children using different email addresses. This is so that their scholarships are kept separate and not lumped together.

“Can I apply for scholarships for my student?”

Students of all ages (as long as they are at least 13 years old) are welcome to apply for scholarships; however, the guidelines for each applicant are up to a scholarship provider, not us. Some scholarships do allow nominations, which a parent may be eligible to enter. Others, like such as Featured Scholarships and Sweepstakes and Promotions, generally have no (or very few) entry requirements and allow most users to enter.

Questions about Fastweb

“Is this site legitimate?”

YES. Fastweb is a legitimate scholarship resource; in fact, we’re the leading scholarship search provider. This is a reputation we’ve earned over the past 20 years and counting!

“What does Fastweb actually do?”

Fastweb is a resource for students, which matches them to scholarships online based on a profile they’ve filled out with us. When you sign up for Fastweb, you create a profile and we search millions of scholarships within our database. When we match you to scholarships, we let you know and, from there, it's up to you whether or not you apply with the scholarship provider. When you’re matched to a scholarship, check out the scholarship details page, where you can click to see the details. From there, you’ll be directed to the scholarship provider’s web site where you can get further instructions on the application process, as every scholarship provider’s process is difference. In addition, Fastweb offers great tips and advice on your college search, scholarships, financial aid and student life. We not only find scholarships but offer our members information on financial aid, jobs and internships, student life and more. Plus, Fastweb is completely free and always has been. So make sure to utilize the many resources available to you!

“How can I view winners of scholarships? Do you ever announce them?”

Since scholarships are through many different providers, we only know about winners when they let us know they won a scholarship through Fastweb. But, we certainly love when they do! Whenever students let us know they won a scholarship that they found out about through Fastweb, we always share the information with our users via our Wall of Fame (with their permission, of course).

Common Fastweb Inquiries

I won a scholarship! Can I get on Fastweb’s Wall of Fame?

If you’ve won a scholarship you found out about through Fastweb (Congratulations!) and would like to be featured on our Wall of Fame, we'd love to hear about it! Simply email irock@fastweb.com using the subject line, “I’m a Scholarship Winner.”

“I’m interested in listing a scholarship within Fastweb’s scholarship database. What do I do now?”

First, you need to determine that your organization’s scholarship(s) meet the necessary criteria, you can find the information listed on our Scholarship Provider Guidelines page. Once you have determined that your scholarship is eligible and you’d like to list it within our scholarship database, contact scholarships@fastweb.com with the information listed under “Submission Requirements” on the Scholarship Provider Guidelines page. From there, the scholarship(s) submitted will be reviewed by Fastweb’s database team and, assuming it does meet all of the necessary criteria, listed within Fastweb’s database.

“How can I write for/work for Fastweb?”

Sorry, we don’t take direct job inquiries – paid or unpaid. If there is a specific job you see you like, you can search for opportunities and apply through the Monster Network. If we have open positions available, that’s where they are listed.

“What’s the relationship between Fastweb and Monster Worldwide?”

Fastweb is a part of the Monster Worldwide Network. If you’re curious, you can learn more about how that relationship began.

“I have a great website, app or product that Fastweb users would love. Can you write an article about it?”

All of our content is up to the editorial team’s discretion and we’re willing to take any information but will never make any guarantees.

“I saw a scholarship in one of your articles. How do I get mine in one?”

All of our content is up to the editorial team’s discretion. We only choose scholarships that are listed within Fastweb’s database and generally try to choose scholarships that many students qualify for. If you'd like Fastweb to include your scholarship within the database, check out our Scholarship Provider Guidelines to determine whether or not your scholarship is eligible. Once you determine your scholarship meets our database criteria, you can email all of the information listed within the guidelines page to scholarships@fastweb.com and our research team will be happy to assist you in adding it to our available scholarships!

Don’t see your question on the list? You can always email info@fastweb.com for additional help or tweet us your question @PayingforSchool.