Using Undergrove Safely
Written for students. If you're 13–17, this page is for you — but it's worth reading at any age.
Undergrove is a computer, not a person
Our search and our writing tool both use AI. Nobody at Undergrove reads your profile or writes your essays. If you email us, a real person reads that — but everything inside the app is software.
AI gets things wrong. Ours is built to say "we haven't checked this" rather than guess, but it can still be out of date or mistaken.
Always check the scholarship's own page
Deadlines move. Amounts change. Requirements get rewritten. Before you spend an evening on an application, open the provider's own website and check.
If we show you something marked "Not verified," that means exactly what it says — we found it, but we haven't read the requirements yet.
Nobody legitimate asks for these
Stop immediately if any scholarship website asks for:
- your Social Security number
- a bank account or card number "to receive your award"
- a fee to apply, or a fee to "unlock" or "guarantee" a scholarship
Real scholarships do not charge you to apply. Undergrove will never ask for any of the above. If a site we linked to does, please tell us at undergrove@undergrovescholar.com and we'll look into it.
About the essay drafting tool
A draft is a starting point, not an answer.
⚠️ Check whether the scholarship allows AI help. Many say no. Some schools treat it as cheating. This is on you to check, every time — and Undergrove isn't responsible if an application is rejected because of it.
If AI help is allowed:
- Rewrite it in your own words. A draft that still sounds like a computer reads like one, and readers notice.
- Check every fact about yourself. AI sometimes invents plausible details. If a draft says you volunteered somewhere you didn't, that's your name on it.
- The point is your story. We can help with structure and a blank page. We can't know what actually mattered to you.
Look after yourself
Applying for scholarships is tiring and most applications don't succeed — that's true for everyone, and it isn't a verdict on you.
Applying to a few awards where few people are eligible usually beats applying to many where everyone is. That's what our ranking tries to do for you.
If money for school is a source of real stress, talk to your school counsellor or your college's financial aid office. They know about help that isn't a scholarship at all, and they do it for free.
Tell someone you're using this
If you're under 18, please tell a parent, guardian or counsellor. They can help you check whether an award is legitimate, and applications often need an adult anyway — a transcript, a signature, a recommendation.
Something wrong?
undergrove@undergrovescholar.com — a person reads every message. Tell us if you see anything inappropriate, upsetting, or wrong.