Uncategorized

Scholarships.com (60/100)

Updated: December 27, 2019

According to Scholarships.com, the platform features some 3.7 million scholarships and grants, amounting to around $19 billion in financial aid.

Although it does feature some banner ads and is not the most modern-looking platform, Scholarships.com is actually very straightforward to use. In contrast to many of the other platforms we scrutinized, which have lengthy registration processes that involve sharing lots of detailed personal information, Scholarships.com has a convenient directory that allows users to quickly find numerous lists of scholarships, organized by category.

These lists include scholarships for artistic and athletic abilities, ethnicities, student organizations, employers, special circumstances, beliefs, and hundreds of other very specific attributes. There are even scholarships for left-handed students and students with certain last names! A detailed description of the scholarship and information about deadlines, award amount, number of awards, and contact info is provided for every listing.

Alternatively, students can register to use the search tool, which matches students with relevant opportunities based on the information they input, in much the same way as many of the other platforms we analyzed. Students can decide whether or not to make their personal information available to colleges and universities and marketing partners. Additionally, there is a college search tool and resources for students such as calendars and checklists. Educators can also create accounts on Scholarships.com in order to keep track of upcoming deadlines and share opportunities with their students. It also appears fairly straightforward for individuals and organizations to list scholarship opportunities on Scholarships.com.

CollegeXpress (62/100)

Updated: December 27, 2019

CollegeXpress is another platform that primarily functions as a search engine, albeit one with access to a scholarship database purportedly worth $7 billion.

In order to view the database, users are required to register and fill in information about their graduation year, age, and home address. CollegeXpress is upfront in admitting that users’ information with be shared with colleges and third parties for marketing purposes, explaining that this is what allows students to use the site for free.

However, there is an “opt-out” button that permits users to partially limit how much communication they will receive and how their data will be shared. Registering for CollegeXpress also gives users access to detailed information about colleges and universities, rankings, and blogs, and it automatically enters students in the site’s annual $10,000 scholarship contest. In order to get to the scholarship database, students have to click through several additional pages about colleges and universities, including some sponsored messages.

The site itself is modern, frequently updated, and easy to use, although it does contain frequent ads and links to related scholarship databases such as Niche, Cappex, and ScholarshipPoints. There are some other useful resources on CollegeXpress, including tips about standardized tests, writing admissions essays, SAT prep games, and countless articles about summer programs, campus life, the international student experience, performing arts, and many more topics.

Although the list of scholarships on CollegeXpress is certainly not unique, it is very comprehensive and easy to navigate, and some prospective students may appreciate the detailed information about colleges and universities (including graduate schools) that is available on the CollegeXpress site.

Cappex (72/100)

Updated: December 27, 2019

Cappex is another well-established scholarship search engine, and it has an extensive database with links to over $11 billion in total funding.

The registration process is fairly straightforward, allowing students to find relevant opportunities by expanding their profiles. However, although the Cappex site is modern and user friendly, it does contain numerous banner advertisements and frequent mentions of completely unrelated commercial products and services.

Cappex also requires users to click through a number of steps in which universities attempt to attract students’ attention before they can access the full scholarship list. Even then, the first “featured” scholarships on the list are clearly being promoted by paid advertising.

Cappex has hundreds of scholarships from legitimate organizations and companies, but this extensive amount of advertising detracts from the trustworthiness of the platform and makes it seem as if students’ personal data is likely to be shared with various universities, loan providers, and marketing companies.

Students can benefit from detailed information about various colleges and universities on the Cappex platform, which may be helpful for students who are still researching their choices. They can view college-specific funding opportunities, as well, including scholarships aimed at students who are currently attending those institutions. There is also extensive information about different majors and some helpful articles on a variety of topics.

Alongside each scholarship, Cappex provides some useful icons to quickly inform students about the likely competition for each award, and how long it will probably take to apply. Scholarships can be filtered by amount, name, and deadline, and it’s easy for students to sort them into categories like “Might Apply,” “Won,” and “Will Not Apply.”

Cappex does appear to have some of its own exclusive scholarships, but as they are all “no essay,” one-click applications, it is hard to judge whether they are legitimate opportunities or not. As with Fastweb, it can be distracting to see that many fellowships, volunteer programs, and other awards are also listed on the Cappex database, interspersed among the scholarships.

And as is the case with many platforms, students will have to follow links to scholarship websites and complete the requirements and essays listed there, rather than having the Cappex profile they created shared with multiple scholarship panels.