I think he means his friend hustled for the ones that on their own were not significant. Like I think my credit union gives out 5 $500 scholarships a semester. It wouldn't surprise me if the only people who apply are those who's parents work there. If you found a ton of programs like that it can make a pretty sizable dent.
Still, the availability of scholarship money doesn't scale up with the demand for it. They're designed to reward the extraordinarily gifted (or whatever minority status their endowment specifies), not fund education in general.
