Applying for college is an extremely stressful time for both students and parents for many reasons. One of the main reasons is the financial burden college can be. Finding ways to make college cheaper is a vital part of the college process for many families. Scholarship search engines help students find and get matched with the scholarships and grants that make college more accessible for students and families. We put together everything you need to know about the best scholarship search engines when you are applying for college.
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What are Scholarship Search Engines?
Scholarship search engines are the means by which students or prospective students can look into what scholarships and grants they can apply for . It is a database that makes finding scholarships and grants easily accessible. Many different factors of a student’s identity may help them search for scholarships and grants. There are particular scholarships and grants for certain financial needs, heritages, orientations, and even hobbies. These scholarship finders will filter the scholarships and grants into specific categories, making them easy for students to find.
Why Use Scholarship Search Engines?
College is incredibly expensive. Even families who are seemingly well off struggle to afford college. Using a reliable scholarship search engine can open you up to a range of scholarship and grant opportunities you did not know even existed. The more scholarship and grant opportunities you are aware of, the more affordable college becomes. There is an abundance of opportunities out there, and these scholarship search engines can help you find them.
What are the Best Scholarship Search Engines?
When looking for a scholarship or grant, it can be daunting to know where to start. Here we have compiled a list of some of the best scholarship search engines and how they work.
Scholarships.com
Scholarships.com is a reliable place to start your search for scholarships and grants . To get matched with scholarships, you must first put in your grade, birthday, zip code, and email address, as well as create a password. Scholarships.com is an amazing place to start because it has a database with over 3.7 million scholarships and about $19 billion worth of financial aid. The options are endless. You can cast a broad net and apply to many scholarships, all using Scholarships.com. Scholarships.com takes into account your interests. This scholarship search engine filters what you are eligible for, and allows you to search for scholarships and grants that align with your personal identity.
CollegeBoard.org
It comes as no surprise that College Board, a famous organization representing over 6000 colleges and schools, has a scholarship finder. To find this page, go to CollegeBoard.org. On the Home Page, there is a tab labeled “BigFuture” and underneath that there is a tab called “Scholarship Search.” The College Board scholarship search engine has about $4 billion worth of scholarships and grants every year. You have to create an account and then insert as much personal information as possible so that College Board can find you a scholarship that you are eligible for. The College Board will also align your interests to certain scholarships. The College Board takes a proactive stance in assisting students to find scholarships. They help students with the college planning process by finding schools and scholarships before even going to college.
FastWeb.com
FastWeb.com is another amazing resource when you are looking for scholarships. This scholarship search engine is easy to navigate and completely free of charge. This database has 1.5 million scholarships totaling $3.4 billion. FastWeb.com can connect students to both financial aid and affordable colleges. FastWeb prides itself on understanding students’ strengths and interests and helping connect them to scholarships that match these strengths and interests. Additionally, FastWeb helps connects students to colleges. They take into account both the student’s financial constraints and academic interests. FastWeb is an amazing resource because it guides students through the FAFSA process and gives them resources to make these important financial decisions. Lastly, FastWeb is a unique scholarship search engine, as it also helps students find part-time jobs when they are in college.
Scholly
Scholly is the perfect scholarship search engine for students because it is both a website and an app. It has connected students to over $100 million worth of scholarships . Firstly, you need to create a profile. It takes about five minutes to complete the profile, and then Scholly can pair you with a vast number of scholarships. To complete your profile, you must fill in your academics (test scores, grades, courses), extracurricular activities, financial needs, and personal information. After you have filled this in, Scholly will start to match you with scholarships. It gives a “Scholly Score” which essentially tells you how well the scholarship aligns with your profile and if it is likely you can get this scholarship. The scholarships with the highest scores are the ones Scholly has determined you should apply to first. Scholly is an amazing database as it updates monthly, so the opportunities are truly endless.
Cappex
With over $11 billion worth of scholarship money, Cappex is not a database you want to miss. Cappex is one of many amazing scholarship search engines as it gives information on what a college scholarship is, how you can qualify for a scholarship, why scholarships are important, and how to find scholarships. It matches you with personalized scholarships if you make an account. But, it also allows people to go through available scholarships without making an account. However, in order to actually apply to the scholarships, you must make an account. Cappex is unique because it allows students to sort through scholarships based on the deadline as well as set a dollar minimum on the scholarships. Additionally, Cappex helps students figure out their majors and provides resources on transferring schools should they wish to do so. Lastly, Cappex also gives advice on the college application process.
Chegg
Chegg is an education company where students can rent textbooks and get online tutoring. Additionally, Chegg has an amazing scholarship search engine. The Chegg scholarship search engine allows students to access over 25,000 scholarships. Chegg asks what application type you are looking for, what your current school level is, your age, and your GPA. Additionally, you can save particular scholarships you find interesting and Chegg will compile them into one list. One amazing feature that Chegg has is you can sort the scholarships with no essays. This is a particularly unique feature and allows students to apply more easily. In turn, this opens up time to apply for more scholarships.
Petersons.com
Peterson’s scholarship search engine is perfect for students who want to view a large variety of scholarships. This is one of the best scholarship search engines because it has over $10 billion in private financial aid. To apply to these scholarships, go to Petersons.com and select “scholarship,” “grant,” “prize,” “fellowship,” or “forgivable loan.” Then you type in your school, major, or location, and specify whether you need money for college or grad school. From there, you will be able to search their database. Peterson’s is an awesome scholarship search engine because it holds $1.9 million scholarship, grants, and fellowships and over 4,000 scholarship providers . Additionally, Peterson’s is unique because it gives students ways to get help for standardized testing and even assists students in applying to grad schools. Peterson’s has endless resources for students looking to apply for college.
Niche
Niche is incredibly accessible to students as it does not require you to create an account. One of the best components of Niche is that it helps students maximize their potential by having scholarship options that do not require an essay or a recommendation. Some scholarships on their website even do not require students to put in their grade point average. This helps break barriers for students who do not have time to write essays, might not have a strong relationship with someone who can be a recommender, or do not think their GPA is a reflection of their academic potential. Niche is accessible because you can sort the scholarships based on the most popular or new to the database. You can also sort the scholarships based on state or majors. The selection of scholarships is very broad, but the various ways to sort the scholarships make it accessible for all students.
Department of Labor
The government also has a resource full of scholarships for students. Look up Career One Stop, and you will be able to access the government’s database of scholarships . This scholarship search engine is unique because it is career-based. It takes into account what career undergraduate and graduate students aim to have once they graduate, and sets them up with scholarships based on that. Career One Stop has over 8,000 scholarships available. It is very accessible as it allows students to filter scholarships based on their home location as well as their degree level.
Tips for Applying for Scholarships
Most scholarships likely have hundreds, if not thousands of students applying. Making yourself stand out is essential to getting the scholarships you apply for. These are our top three tips to help you stand out when you apply for scholarships or grants.
#1: Look Early
You must plan accordingly. If you are applying for college, it is important to consider scholarship options well before your application deadline. You want to ensure you are applying to colleges with scholarship opportunities that make the school affordable. Additionally, you do not want to miss the application deadline for scholarships.
#2: Use Multiple Scholarship Search Engines
You never know what scholarship one database may have that another database does not have. You could find a scholarship that aligns with your interests that you would not have found on your first database.
#3: Apply to Multiple Scholarships
Just like you don’t apply to only one college, you also do not want to apply to one scholarship. Most opportunities are highly competitive , so you don’t want to need to rely on just one scholarship. There are several people who want the same scholarships you do. You must cast your net over several scholarships to maximize the likelihood that you will receive one of them.
FAQs:
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- What are the best scholarship search engines?
- How do scholarship search engines work?
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