?A scholarship is a boon to the economy of any headed off to college or sending someone to college. College isn’t cheap, but you can offset those costs through financial aid and scholarships. Financial aid is simple and easy to apply for, in most cases, through FAFSA. Visit the website and fill out the information, and the rest is done for you.
Scholarships are a little more challenging to get than financial aid. Scholarships are rarely awarded as a surprise like we see in movies or television shows. In most cases, you have to track down the scholarships you want to apply for and go through their application and selection process. It’s not very difficult, but it is time-consuming unless you use a scholarship service to handle the applications.
Most scholarships require you to send them tax records, FAFSA information, an essay, and a few minor informational items before they consider you. However, some awards work more like a contest than a traditional scholarship. The VIP Voice Scholarship is one that rewards you for filling out surveys by entering you in a scholarship contest with a chance to get a $5,000 award.
Getting started is pretty straightforward and only requires that you join VIP Voice then fill out at least two surveys to have a chance at getting their $5,000 scholarship. We probably simplified the process too much, but the essence of the program really is just joining and filling out surveys. They offer a host of other rewards, but we’re going to focus on the scholarship.
A Brief Overview of the Scholarship
If we take it at face value, the scholarship is encouragement meant to prompt you to join VIP Voice and fill out surveys. That said, a chance at $5,000 for college is nothing to scoff at or ignore. In some community schools and university systems, $5,000 is worth two semesters of classes, possibly three. You still need to buy books and school supplies, however.
The application process is just a simple form that signs you up for an account on the website. Afterward, you’ll have opportunities to fill out surveys about any number of topics or products. You must fill out at least two to be eligible for the scholarship. The entire process takes less than a half hour in most cases unless you choose a long survey to fill out.
When you complete a survey, they award you some VIP points. Those points give you access to several cool rewards, so you may want to check that part out as well. The scholarship is a separate application or signup form you get access to once you complete the required two surveys. You still have your VIP points to use after signing up for the scholarship.
What is VIP Voice?
VIP Voice is an online research community according to their website. That’s a fancy way of saying they collect information on products, places, and services via customer surveys. You don’t need to own or use a product or service to fill out the survey. Several surveys just ask questions about your interest in specific products or if you are interested in some things.
The company handles over twelve million surveys each year. The information they collect is used by companies to develop new products, marketing plans, and provide general business data on how well their products or services are performing.
It’s not a data farm or anything shady that intends to sell your information or target you with ads. They just host surveys on things like:
- Mobile devices
- Video games
- Apparel
- Food and beverages
- Beauty products
Those categories give you an idea of what to expect. They have studies on just about any product or service, so you’ll find surveys that fit your interests or knowledge. In addition to the scholarship, you can use any points you accumulate to snag other cool items like computers, tablets, kitchen appliances, gift cards, BBQ grills, and a ton of other useful things. Those items alone are worth signing up.
VIP Voice is part of the NPD Group. The NPD Group was founded in 1967, so they’ve been around for a long time and have good reputation backing them up. Their primary purpose is collecting information on how the market is responding to products and services. Businesses use this data to make informed decisions that affect changes in their marketing plans or improvements to their products or services.
Is it Really that Easy to Qualify?
It’s easier than signing up for a social media account. The initial signup is a step process. You fill out the form on their website, then confirm your email, and you’re ready to start taking surveys. Most of the surveys only take a few minutes to complete. Some take less than five minutes to do, but admittedly those are rare surveys.
Once you complete the two surveys, you are eligible to enter your name in the running for the $5,000 scholarship. You only need two surveys to begin, but taking additional surveys improves your chances of winning. The scholarship is awarded using a sweepstakes format, so completing more surveys adds weight to your entry.
If you’ve applied for scholarships, you know the woes that come with the application. In most cases, you wait a long time and sometimes never hear anything at all. The forms are often long, and you have to write an essay. If you get selected, some of them make you go through an interview over the phone or a video call which can hurt your chances if you are nervous or don’t have all the answers.
You may not get the VIP Voice scholarship but trying is so easy that you really shouldn’t pass up the chance. You should apply for a lot of scholarships to take advantage of the law of averages, but it’s not a bad idea to take advantage or easy offer like this one. We think it’s worth the time it takes to sign up and complete a few surveys.
Is There a Downside to This Scholarship?
Usually, things that seem like they are too easy end poorly. That said, there’s no expense associated with this program other than time. If you have time, signup and start taking surveys. If your time is limited, you can still find time to sign up and take two surveys. There’s no way to improve your chances of winning except for completing more surveys, so that is a minor downside.
We did find a few minor technical issues with the website and mobile devices.
A handful of users also complained about the site being hard to use on their phones. We couldn’t find an app for the website which added to the frustration since an app removes the need for visiting the site. The form works on mobile devices if you don’t mind scrolling to the side to fill it out.
The company and website have been around for a long time. They have a solid reputation and a good privacy policy. They don’t ask for any information that might pose a security or privacy risk, and you get a shot at some cool rewards plus a $5,000 scholarship. As you can probably tell, we’re having a hard time finding a downside.
?What do Current Users Think?
The exact nature of any product or service is found in customer comments and reviews. We have tons of ways to report shady business practices or complain about products. Other customers see those comments and base their buying decisions on them. Businesses understand that’s how the world works now, so they do their best to provide excellent products, services, and customer support.
That all rings true with VIP Voice and their rewards program. Users write great reviews and comments about the website and its survey system. It’s easy to use, and they love the way rewards are bid on or won. A few customers complained about never winning anything, but they admitted they filled out just enough surveys to enter. We encourage you to take the time to fill out several surveys to improve your chances.
If you visit the website’s winner’s page, they highlight some of the past winners and the prizes they won. At the time of this writing, we saw a lot of smiling users and some pretty neat rewards. A long list of users won $25 and $50 gift cards. Other users won things ranging from a panini press to a trip to Puerto Vallarta. It’s all free if you have the time to spare.
Our Final Thoughts
College is expensive, so any help you get with it handy, and $5,000 is a lot of support. Plus, getting a chance at $5,000 just for taking two surveys is much easier than most scholarship application processes. You might find that you enjoy taking surveys and continue to fill them out. That comes with chances for more rewards like computers or tablets which are great tools for any college student.
