1. Fastweb.com – hosts more than 1.5 million scholarships that provide more than $3.4 billion in funding. Once you create a profile, the site’s search feature will help you find the matches that best fit your needs. Your personal profile is how the site helps you find pretty much exactly what you’re looking for. You can then also see all the scholarships you’ve applied for and those you may want to apply for in the future. They also have “contests” that you can enter monthly or weekly to win money!
2. CollegeBoard.org – known for its college-readiness tests, it also has an arm that focuses on scholarships. Big Future hosts scholarships, as well as other financial aid and internship information from more than 2,200 programs — totaling nearly $6 billion. To get the most accurate search results, it’s critical to fill out as many details as you can in the profile that’s used for searching.
3. Niche.com – formerly known as College Prowler, Niche is a great tool that can help you find colleges AND money. It’s organized into categories that make it pretty easy to find what you’re looking for — allowing users to search by interest, career, major and other areas. Niche also has some occasional contests to enter.
4. Scholarships.com – hosts one of the largest scholarship databases out there and it’s updated on a daily basis. According to the site, “With more than 3.7 million scholarship and grant opportunities worth more than $19 billion, just about everyone is bound to find something.” It’s easy to browse by category, but the best way to take advantage of what the site has to offer is to create a personal profile, which will allow you to find the most exhaustive lists of opportunities available to you.
5. Moolahspot.com – isn’t as robust as some of the other scholarship databases but in the search for a college scholarship, it’s another option to help you find extra money. The simple search engine contains more than 3.2 million scholarship and grant opportunities for students of all ages. It includes both need-based and merit-based opportunities, which means nearly anyone can find some extra help here.
6. SallieMae – well-known education and student loan provider. The site’s College Planning page has a scholarship portal where you can search based on your field of study, hobbies and other parameters. Create a personal profile in order to get the most accurate matches that fit your needs.
7. Scholarship Monkey – allows you to search for scholarships and grants a few different ways. You can search by keyword, browse scholarship lists (various categories/topics) and see lists of the latest and featured scholarships. This site also allows you to create a personal profile for more accurate results.
8. Cappex – hosts a database of more than $11 billion in scholarship opportunities. Once you create a personal profile, you can search for opportunities that directly match your strengths and skills. Plus, Cappex has a tool that will calculate your odds of getting into a certain college before you even apply.
9. Chegg – is widely known for its online textbook store that allows students to either rent or buy textbooks for cheap. But Chegg is also a great resource for finding scholarships — more than 25,000 of them.
10. Unigo – hosts millions of available scholarships and makes it easy to search by type, including athletic scholarships, college-specific scholarships, company-based scholarships, minority scholarships, major-specific scholarships, state-specific scholarships and more. You can search by category or create a personal profile to get more specific results that match your needs. Unigo also offers scholarship contests and sweepstakes.
11. Peterson’s – hosts $10 billion in scholarship opportunities and provides information to help you in your search. Once you fill out a short survey, you can filter your search results so they’re tailored to your specific needs. The site also allows users to search by a variety of different topics, college types and personal details.
12. U.S. Labor Department’s Free Search Tool – According to the official Student Aid website, this free tool is a great resource for students to search more than 8,000 scholarships, grants and other various types of financial aid award opportunities.
The CareerOneStop tool allows you to:
Look through the site’s entire inventory of scholarships, arranged in order of closest deadline
Narrow your list with a “search by keyword” option: Just enter a keyword about the type of award you’re looking for
Use the filters to see opportunities for only certain types of awards, locations, level of study, and more.
More Tips for Finding a College Scholarship
The Department of Education recommends the following free resources to find more info about scholarships and other financial aid opportunities:
• The financial aid office at a college or career school
• A high school or TRIO counselor
• Federal agencies
• Your state grant agency
• Your library’s reference section
• Foundations, religious or community organizations, local businesses, or civic groups
• Organizations (including professional associations) related to your field of interest
• Ethnicity-based organizations
• Your employer or your parents’ employers