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Scholarships are a fantastic way to help finance your studies, but finding one can be a real challenge.
If you're trying to figure out how you're going to finance your college education, you've probably heard friends or family say, “There are scholarships for college, you just have to look for them.”
But if you've actually tried looking for scholarships, you know that finding the right scholarships can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are over 5 million scholarships to choose from in the United States.
It is a big haystack and we understand if it seems overwhelming. But it Is It's true that with a little work, you can win free money without having to pay it back. And yes, there is a better way for you to look for scholarships.
With the right search tools, you can quickly find the scholarships that are the best fit for you and that give you the highest chance of winning. In this post, we'll introduce you to nine scholarship search sites that can make your scholarship search easier and more efficient.
Best Websites to Find College Scholarships
Top 10 Websites to Find College Scholarships
The best college scholarship search websites make it easy to find and apply for legitimate scholarships that you have a real chance of winning. The nine sites listed below are our top picks for 2021.
1. Scholarships360
Scholarships360 is an online scholarship database that matches open scholarship applications to students. This gives students the opportunity to fund their education by applying for verified scholarships from nonprofit organizations and companies.
The company was founded in 2010 by brothers Will and Brian Geiger. They realized that there was no central place where students could easily search for scholarships. Back then, if you wanted to apply, you had to look up each scholarship individually. This wasn't very efficient, so they decided to create a platform that students could use to search for scholarships.
Read our full review of Scholarships360 here.
2. Bold.org
Bold.org is one of the newest college scholarship search sites and it's a game changer. One of the unique things about their marketplace is that anyone can apply for a scholarship. On the larger search sites, this was limited to companies with large scholarship payments – so there weren't as many smaller or niche scholarships there.
Bold.org offers a wide range of scholarships, but the application process is a bit lengthy. But the registration process is worth it as it gives you easy access to many scholarships.
Read our full review of Bold.org here.
3. Scholly
Scholly is a student learning app that gained a lot of attention after being featured on the popular TV show Shark Tank. It can help you with math problems and even has a built-in editing and proofreading tool to help students write better.
You can also find and apply for scholarships on Scholly. To use Scholly, you must create an account, and access to all features will cost $44.99 per year.
According to Scholly, they offer access to little-known scholarships, which gives you an advantage since not as many people apply for them. For an app that costs less than $5 a month, it could be well worth it if it helps you win even just one $1,000 scholarship.
Read our full Scholly review here.
4. Scholarship Owl
ScholarshipOwl offers a seven-day free trial. Users can access the scholarship offers for free, but if you want to use certain features, you will need to upgrade to the premium service.
One reason we consider it one of the best sites for finding college scholarships is because students can access a premium service that helps them with their applications, tailors their essays, and even gives them the option to hire a proofreader to make sure everything looks great.
You can find our full review of Scholarship Owl here.
5. Fastweb
Fastweb.com has been around since 1996 and has established itself as one of the most modern college scholarship search websites. Fastweb allows you to search for scholarships based on your field of study, strengths, skills, and interests.
For example, if you are studying engineering at your college, you can look for special scholarships available to engineering students.
You can also filter your scholarship search by demographic or ethnicity. For example, if you are looking for grants specifically for African Americans, bilingual students, or veterans, you can easily find those scholarships with Fastweb.
6. University Board
Collegeboard is known for its college search and college prep programs. But they also offer a powerful scholarship search engine.
One of the reasons Collegboard is on our list of the best sites for finding college scholarships is because it offers powerful filtering features: Examples of criteria you can search by include:
- Ethnicity
- Location
- Health conditions or disabilities
- College Major
- Religious affiliation
- military service
- Employer
- Membership in a club or organization
Collegeboard not only offers robust search capabilities, but also one of the highest number of schools you can find. For 2021, there are financial aid and internships from over 2,200 programsworth nearly $6 billion in FREE college money.
7. Scholarships.com
Scholarships.com offers access to up to $19 billion worth of scholarships and grants in its database that you can search and use toward your college education.
Their algorithm will automatically recommend the scholarships it thinks you have the best chance of winning, but if you prefer to search for opportunities manually, you can do that too. On Scholarships.com, you can search by field of study, sports, arts, ethnicity, first in family, GPA, minority, music, state, and more.
When you create an account with them, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $500 scholarship. To use their scholarship search engine, you will need to create a free account on their website.
8. Peterson's
Peterson's first went online in 1997, and the print version for college searches has been around for longer. One of the reasons Peterson's landed on our list of the best sites for finding college scholarships is because it's a valuable resource for graduate students.
While the first three sites on this list focus primarily on helping first-time and current students find scholarships, Peterson's has an entire section dedicated to helping graduate students who need help financing their studies.
You can also search for grants, awards, scholarships and forgiven loans using the search tool on Peterson's website. The tool is free and you can search through over $10 billion in scholarships.
9. Unit
Unigo is another powerful scholarship search engine that allows you to search 3.6 million scholarships and grants.
They are also offering a $10,000 grant if you submit a 250-word essay answering questions like, “Imagine a historical figure being brought back to life. Who is that person? What is their favorite mobile app?”
10. CollegeScholarships.org
College Scholarships makes our list of the best college scholarship sites because it doesn't require you to create an account or fill out long forms to use its resources. Instead, you can immediately start searching for the right scholarship opportunities and go through the application processes.
In addition to scholarships, you can also find grants and loan opportunities on College Scholarships – all without having to provide your personal information. When you visit the site, you can search over 23,000 scholarships by deadlines, gender, ethnicity, state, and award amount.
Final thoughts
Scholarships and grants are the number one way to finance college, but to get the most out of your scholarship, you need to have a plan. You can't just look for scholarships and then win enough of them to finance college.
Consider creating a spreadsheet with scholarships, deadlines, and requirements. Also:
Focus only on scholarships that are a good fit for you. Look for scholarships based on your field of study, ethnicity, gender, state or school.
Finally, don't be afraid to pay a counselor or visit your school's career services to find and get the right scholarships. And be sure to combine your scholarship efforts with other ways to minimize your student debt, like starting a part-time job to earn extra money or choosing an affordable school.
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