Scholarship Retriever

Welcome to Scholarship Retriever! UMBC is proud to offer a variety of scholarship opportunities to new and current degree-seeking students. Our Scholarship Retriever tool lists a variety of institutional, merit, and departmental scholarships, as well as some external offerings!

Sign in to Scholarship Retriever Here!

Undergraduate, graduate, first time, and transfer students are encouraged to apply. Scholarships apply to your UMBC bill and may cover tuition, student fees, textbooks, and food and housing.

text reads: "Welcome to SCHOLARSHIP RETRIEVER"Image Text: How to Apply: Create and account: Sign in with your UMBC login General Application: Complete the General Application Appy! Notifications will be sent if you are eligible for additional scholarshipsView Scholarship Opportunities

How to Apply:

  1. Create an Account!
    1. Sign in to Scholarship Retriever using your myUMBC login. As soon as you have a campus ID, you can start applying to scholarships!
  2. Complete your General Application!
    1. Your general application opens up opportunities for you to apply to! Complete the general application each year to be automatically matched to scholarships you may be eligible for, no additional action needed!
    2. You will also be provided recommended opportunities, which may be a good fit for you based on your application, but may require you to answer some additional prompts.
  3. Apply for Scholarships!
    1. Check back regularly on Scholarship Retriever for new opportunities to be posted, scholarships are posted all year! We recommend checking back every 2-3 weeks to help make the task more manageable!
  4. Good luck! Take some time with your general application and continue to work on your Scholarship Hustle!

Scholarship Notification

You will only be notified if you are awarded a scholarship on Scholarship Retriever. This decision will be sent to your myUMBC email account–unfortunately students are not notified if they are not selected for a scholarship. There is no specific deadline for when students can expect to receive an award on Scholarship Retriever as each scholarship has its own individual deadline. Most of the time, you should expect to hear back within 4-6 weeks after the application deadline if you have received the award.

Once you have been awarded (and accepted/reviewed any additional requests on Scholarship Retriever), you should typically expect to see the scholarship posted to your financial aid package within 2 weeks.

Scholarship Retriever FAQs

Students

Yes! As soon as you have a campus ID, you can begin using Scholarship Retriever!

If you don’t have a UMBC transcript yet, you can upload your most recent completed transcript (so this can be from high school or the college you are transferring from!).

Some scholarships on Scholarship Retriever have specific eligibility requirements, such as being specifically for Biology majors. Once you are signed into Scholarship Retriever, you may no longer see the opportunity listed if you are not a Biology major.

We encourage you to continue to check back on Scholarship Retriever, even every 2-3 weeks–new opportunities are being posted all throughout the year! You can also look into other external opportunities that are not listed on Scholarship Retriever.

Some scholarships require a thank you letter, survey, or other acknowledgement to be submitted in order for you to receive your funds. The scholarship provider will then review this before the funds can be posted to your account, so make sure you complete your post acceptance (if required) to ensure you receive your funds in a timely manner!

You will only be notified if you are awarded a scholarship on Scholarship Retriever. This decision will be sent to your myUMBC email account–unfortunately students are not notified if they are not selected for a scholarship. There is no specific deadline for when students can expect to receive an award on Scholarship Retriever as each scholarship has its own individual deadline. Most of the time, you should expect to hear back within 4-6 weeks after the application deadline if you have received the award.

Before you upload your file, make sure that there is no punctuation in the file name. For example:

Incorrect Format: Sgt. Chip – Letter of Recommendation for T. Grit 

Correct Format: Sgt Chip Letter of Recommendation for True Grit

Be sure to select “Save and Keep Editing.” Once the page refreshes, your new file should be visible in the dropdown.

If the issue persists, please contact our office for further assistance.

References

Before you upload your file, make sure that there is no punctuation in the file name. For example:

Incorrect Format: Sgt. Chip – Letter of Recommendation for T. Grit 

Correct Format: Sgt Chip Letter of Recommendation for True Grit

Be sure to select “Save and Keep Editing.” Once the page refreshes, your new file should be visible in the dropdown.

If the issue persists, please contact our office for further assistance.

In the top right corner of Scholarship Retriever, hover over your name. In the dropdown, there should be a “Reference” role for you to select. From here you should be able to view the reference requests sent to your email and upload your letters.

Unfortunately, you will typically only be permitted to upload one letter per student. If a student has listed you as a reference on multiple opportunities, we recommend that you provide a general letter that can by applicable towards multiple scholarship opportunities.

Faculty/Staff

Please see our Faculty/Staff section for further information or to contact us for assistance!

External Scholarships

External scholarship information is provided for informational purposes only. Inclusion on Scholarship Retriever does not constitute endorsement. Neither UMBC Scholarships nor UMBC can guarantee the accuracy or the timeliness of information found at any of these sites. It is critical that students verify information, particularly where deadlines are concerned. 

Avoiding Scholarship Scams

Unfortunately some scholarships advertised online may not be legitimate applications, and students should take care to be aware of opportunities that request information outside of the normal scope of a scholarship application.

Some information to be cautious of providing when applying to scholarships externally:

  • Customer Identification Program (CIP) Information
    • SSN
    • Full Date of Birth
    • Full Address
  • Sensitive Questions (often used in password recovery/two-step authentication)
    • Mother’s Maiden Name
    • Pet’s Name
    • High School Mascot
    • First Car
  • Payment Information
    • Credit Card Information
    • Bank Card Information
    • Bank Account Information
  • Other considerations to be wary of
    • If the scholarship charges a fee in order for you to receive the funds
    • A “guarantee” that you will receive a scholarship
    • False sense of urgency
    • Scholarships that state they are “approved by a reputable organization”
    • Scholarships that offer a “free seminar or interview”
    • Unprofessional or fake looking websites, spelling errors, etc.

Reporting Scholarship Scams

If you encounter a scholarship scam, we encourage you to report it to law enforcement authorities. By reporting a scholarship scam promptly, you may help save other students from becoming victims too.

  • Report the scam to the National Fraud Information Center (NFIC) at 1-800-654-7060 or visit www.fraud.org. The NFIC shares information with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the state attorney general.
  • You can also report the scam directly to the FTC by filing a complaint form or calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).
  • The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigates mail fraud, which includes scams sent by postal mail. Report such scams using the online complaint form. Or you can call 1-877-876-2455 (say “fraud”) or 1-800-654-8896.
  • To report fraud involving federal student aid funds, such as FAFSA fraud rings, contact the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Education by calling 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or filing a report using the OIG Hotline.

 

UMBC is committed to creating an accessible, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all students, staff, and visitors.

If you have difficulties accessing any of the information on our websites, please contact us via email or phone so we can provide an alternative format and remedy any accessibility challenges or barriers.