Frequently Asked Questions About RaiseMe

What is RaiseMe?

RaiseMe helps students in 9th – 12th grades to discover colleges and earn additional scholarships money for their academic and extracurricular achievements throughout high school. These scholarships are called “Micro-Scholarships”.

When students add achievements to their Portfolio on RaiseMe, they could be eligible to earn Micro-Scholarships towards our partner colleges. These achievements can include good grades, participating in clubs, playing on a sports team, volunteering, or even starting a club. They can include AP or IB courses, honors classes, and college level courses too.

How do students use RaiseMe?

Students can build a Portfolio of their achievements. Follow Colleges, and watch their scholarship earnings pile up! To see an in-depth demo of how students can earn, their first Micro-Scholarship and share the process with them, check out our Classroom Guide PDF on the Educator page.

How many scholarships will a student receive each time (s)he achieves a goal on RaiseMe?

The Micro-Scholarships students can earn on RaiseMe vary depending on what each college chooses to offer. Some Micro-Scholarships can range from anywhere between $500 to over $1,000. For example, if a student gets an A in an English class, he or she could be eligible to receive scholarships from dozens of colleges on RaiseMe.

Who can use RaiseMe? Is RaiseMe only for high school students?

Students who are in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 and attend high school in the United States can use RaiseMe. Educators (teachers and counselors from high schools, non-profits organizations, and other institutions that work with high school students) are also welcome to use RaiseMe with their students. Educators can access their very own Educator Dashboard (www.RaiseMe/educators), where they can connect with students, follow colleges, and access resources to help students learn how to earn even more scholarships.

Can I student start using RaiseMe at any point during high school?

Yes. Students can fill in their high school Portfolio retrospectively with achievements going back to the start of 9th grade, and they will eligible to earn scholarships as if they had been using RaiseMe since 9th grade. The more complete a student’s Portfolio, the more opportunities to earn micro-scholarships they will have.

How do you verify that the information entered by students is accurate?

Student information is self-reported and students are expected to make sure all of their information on RaiseMe is accurate. Students also submit their transcripts as part of the college application process, which means that everything can be verified by the colleges and universities. If any students’ self-reported information is found to be false, they will lose all of their hard earned micro-scholarships. Some colleges require that students have their profile reviewed by a teacher or college counselor at their high school. Students can send their teacher or counselor a private link to review and approve their online portfolio. The teacher or counselor can also ask the student for more proof to verify accuracy, if needed.

When and how do students receive their scholarship earnings?

When students achieve a goal and earn Micro-Scholarships, they can view their earnings in their personal Portfolio on RaiseMe any time throughout high school.

Each college has a different Deadline for students who wish to earn scholarships on RaiseMe. If students decide to apply for admission to a college where they have earned Micro-Scholarships, they must Follow a college before its Follow Deadline and make sure their Portfolio is as complete as possible to ensure their information is fully submitted to the college. If the student is admitted to the college, their scholarship earnings will automatically be included in their financial aid package.

RaiseMe will also automatically submit the Portfolios for Seniors in high school to the colleges they are following if their Profiles are complete (they have at least 15 credits) by the colleges’ Deadlines. The scholarships earned
on RaiseMe represent a guaranteed minimum amount of scholarship or grant aid that students will receive in their financial aid packages if they are admitted and choose to attend that college. If a student receives an even larger schol- arship upon admission, then that scholarship will include or replace the amount that he or she has earned on RaiseMe.

Important Note: Each college has a different Follow Deadline, and a college’s Deadline could be as early as August or as late as March during Senior year. If a student does not Follow before the Deadline, the scholarships earned on RaiseMe will not be included in their financial aid package from that college. Keep in mind that once the Dead- line has passed, students can no longer earn scholarships from that college on RaiseMe

Can students use the scholarships they earn from College X to pay the cost of attending College Y?

The Micro-Scholarships students can earn on RaiseMe vary depending on what each college chooses to offer and are not transferrable between different colleges. Students can only use the scholarships they earn from College X toward the cost of attending that same college.

Which colleges can students earn scholarships from on RaiseMe?

Over 250 colleges award Micro-Scholarships on RaiseMe, and many more have begun the process of joining. If a student is following a college on RaiseMe that becomes a partner and if the student is eligible for the college’s Micro-Scholarship requirements, the student will automatically become qualified to start earning Micro-Scholarships to that school.

How many scholarships can students earn from a college on RaiseMe?

The amount students can earn is different for each college. It could be $8,000 at one college or $60,000 at another college. The great thing is that students can be eligible to earn from all of the colleges on RaiseMe at the same time if they meet the requirements and choose to follow the colleges. They can still apply for additional scholarships and grants to cover more of their expenses.

Are these real scholarships?

The Micro-Scholarships students can earn on RaiseMe vary depending on what each college chooses to offer. Some Micro-Scholarships can range from anywhere between $500 to over $1,000 dollars. For example, if a student gets an A in an English class, he or she could be eligible to receive scholarships from dozens of colleges on RaiseMe.

How are students’ GPAs calculated on RaiseMe?

RaiseMe displays students’ unweighted Grade Point Averages. The GPA on RaiseMe is based on an average of students’ grades in Core Courses, on a scale from 0 to 4.0 (4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B, etc.). Core Courses include Math, Science, English, Social Studies, and Foreign Language. Note that each college on RaiseMe requires that students meet their minimum GPA to be able to unlock and start earning their Micro-Scholarships. You can see the minimum required GPA for each college by visiting the Colleges page.

Why is it important for students to follow colleges on RaiseMe by their Senior year? When is the cutoff date for earning more Micro-Scholarships?

Starting at the beginning of 12th grade, Colleges will lock in RaiseMe earnings as part of their financial aid package calculations. Each college has a different Deadline for students who wish to earn scholarships on RaiseMe. To be eligible for these scholarships, students must Follow a college before its Follow Deadline and make sure their Port- folio is complete and accurate. This means their Portfolio must have at least 15 credits worth of grades to qualify and their personal information must be correct (full legal name, address, etc.).

RaiseMe will also automatically submit the Portfolios for Seniors in high school to the colleges they are following if their Profiles are complete by the colleges’ deadlines. The scholarships earned on RaiseMe represent a guaranteed minimum amount of scholarship or grant aid that students will receive in their financial aid packages if they are admitted and choose to attend that college. If a student receives an even larger scholarship upon admission, then that scholarship will include or replace the amount that he or she has earned on RaiseMe.

Important Note: Each college has a different Follow Deadline, and a college’s Deadline could be as early as August or as late as March during Senior year. If a student does not Follow before the Deadline, the scholarships earned on RaiseMe will not be included in their financial aid package from that college. Keep in mind that once the Dead- line has passed, students can no longer earn scholarships from that college on RaiseMe.

What is the Minimum GPA that’s listed for each college?

Each college on RaiseMe has their own minimum GPA requirement. One college might have a 2.5 minimum GPA— that’s usually an equal mix of B’s and C’s while another college might have a 2.75 minimum GPA. If a student is Following a college and is above the college’s minimum GPA, the student could be eligible to receive Micro-Schol- arships from that college for achievements added to his or her Portfolio. If students are below a college’s mini- mum GPA requirement, then they would need to increase their GPAs in order to increase their eligibility to unlock Micro-Scholarships at that college.

What are some of the organizations supporting RaiseMe?

Funders of RaiseMe include the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Facebook’s charitable giving. National youth organizations partnering with RaiseMe include the National Speech & Debate Association, College Summit, Close Up Foundation, and VolunTEEN Nation, among others.

How much does RaiseMe cost?

RaiseMe is entirely free for students and high schools. The cost of the program is paid by charitable foundations, colleges, and other funders.

Can student control their privacy?

We believe students should have full control over who is able to see their Portfolio and Profiles. That’s why only the colleges that a student chooses to follow, and Educators with whom students choose to connect, are able to see students’ Profile and Portfolio information. Students can limit access to their Portfolios through the Connections page. No one other than those the student designates can see students’ information.