External Scholarship Opportunities

Below are trusted, free websites with searchable databases to match your eligibility for scholarships from national organizations and businesses. If you wish to advertise a scholarship or database, please refer to our Scholarship FAQs.

Folds of Honor

Apply during the Annual Application Window: February 1 – March 31. Value of the scholarship: up to $5,000 per academic year, based on unmet need. Find specific demographic information and apply online by going to foldsofhonor.org/scholarships.

Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded over 35,000 scholarships totaling over $160 million in all 50 states. Among the students served, 41 percent are minorities. Folds of Honor is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization, rated a four-star charity by Charity Navigator and platinum on GuideStar, that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military men and women who have fallen or are disabled as a result of active duty service in the United States armed forces. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll at an accredited college, university, licensure/technical program for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, certificate/license, or postgraduate degree or program. Open to applicants pursuing their first degree, certificate or license, and to those pursuing post-graduate work, such as a master’s degree, doctorate, or a second bachelor’s degree or trade/technical program certificate.

 

RaiseMe for Transfers

RaiseMe for Transfers is a college discovery and engagement platform that is transforming when and how community college students embark on their journey to transfer to a four-year college. On RaiseMe, you can connect directly with four-year colleges as while enrolled in community college to see what academic achievements will help you stay on track to complete your associate's degree and efficiently and successfully transfer to complete your bachelor’s degrees. As you progress through community college coursework, you receive incremental “micro-scholarships” from colleges for those achievements. The micro-scholarship dollars translate into merit-based financial aid awarded directly to you by an institution once you apply and are accepted.

 

Benajmin A. Gilman International Scholarship

The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic prosperity. The Institute of International Education has administered the program since its inception in 2001.

 

Chairish Scholarship Program

Chairish offers two scholarship awards designed to support students from diverse backgrounds and students who are majoring in design-related fields such as architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and engineering fields. Each year, they award up to $10,000 in college scholarships to four deserving students with deadlines on January 1st and June 30th each year.

 

Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities administers scholarship opportunities provided by their partners to assist in defraying some of students’ college expenditures. Please review each scholarship’s criteria carefully to see if you qualify, since each partner may have differing requirements.

 

Sallie Mae

A huge database that matches your interests to scholarships, plus, you can sign up to be alerted when new scholarships are available, so you never miss an opportunity to apply for a chance to increase your scholarship awards. At Sallie Mae, scholarships are for everyone, not just jocks and geniuses. Free! Never pay to apply for scholarships.

 

College Scholarships Foundation

No login or registration is required. What makes this website unique is that they list a broad array of funding opportunities without asking for your personal information.

 

FinAid.org

FinAid is an award-winning, free service website offering student financial aid information, advice and tools. FinAid has won awards from the College Board, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students and the American Institute for Public Service.

 

International Education Financial Aid (EIFA)

Scholarships for students who want to study outside of the United States. IEFA offers a comprehensive listing of grants, scholarships, loan programs and other information to assist students who want to study abroad.

 

CollegeBoard.com

Their scholarship database contains more than 2,300 scholarship opportunities, totaling nearly $3 billion. They do not rent or sell your information. In addition, because of The College Board's role as the organization behind the SAT, AP exams, etc., they have rigorous standards for the scholarships they include in their database, including only those scholarships with a documented history from a well-established sponsor.

 

CollegeNet.com

CollegeNET.com updates its data monthly through its license agreement with data aggregator Wintergreen Orchard House. "We do not rent or sell personal information to third parties." However, if you are awarded a scholarship, you can opt in to their Scholarship Election System and share your data with the school that you designate. In addition to the scholarship search, CollegeNET.com hosts an online community that invites students to create topics in an open forum, share their comments, and vote online to determine who is leading the most interesting conversation. By the end of the voting cycle every Wednesday, the student with the most votes wins between $3,000-$5,000 in scholarship money.

 

Fastweb.com

According to Fastweb, they update their database daily—which would make them the timeliest of the five mentioned in this post. Fastweb will not use or sell your information unless you expressly agree (opt in) to allow your information to be shared with third parties. Fastweb's privacy policy states that they do not share any information that can be tied to you without your permission. Fastweb compiles their scholarship data in-house, and when new scholarships are added, they send an e-mail notification to every student who matches the award.

 

Scholarships.com

Scholarships.com now claims to be the largest free and independent scholarship search and financial aid information resource on the Internet, with more than 2.7 million scholarships worth a total of $19 billion in their database. They also have a staff to review new and edited listings, and "every few months or so" they review all scholarships for changes, errors, or inconsistencies. Users supply only the information they choose and are offered opportunities to opt out of receiving anything they do not want—even at the time of registration.

 

Petersons.com

Peterson’s is a one-stop scholarship resource —not that we recommend this strategy —with a number of great (and free!) resources. The site boasts $10 billion in scholarship awards and has an impressive collection of articles, test prep resources and more. However, it is not just a stockpile of scholarships. It also has the tools, tips you need to start your search—, and its search filters make navigation simple. Filling out a very short survey allows you to adjust the filters as you go which gives you more control than sites that require extensive profiles to get started.

 

Unigo.com

Unigo has plenty to offer beyond just scholarships, including jobs, internships, college profiles and rankings, articles and a textbook store. When it comes to scholarships, the site offers both profile-based matching as well as easy-to-browse categories. Perhaps best of all is its user-friendly interface, which is somewhat reminiscent of a photo-sharing site. It makes finding scholarships simple. What’s more, the site values security and privacy of personal information – so, in other words, no spam!

 

Cappex.com

Cappex has a large scholarship database and they are not afraid to brag a bit: “We’ve Got More Than $11 Billion in Scholarships.” Registering can be annoying, but you will be glad you took the time to get personalized results. Cappex sets itself apart with its “What Are My Chances” tool, which attempts to calculate the odds that you will get into a certain college before you apply.

 

Chegg.com

Over the years, Chegg has expanded from its humble beginnings as an online textbook store to become a well-rounded education resource. It acquired scholarship match service Zinch in 2011 and now hosts scholarships totaling over $1 billion. Its interface is simple and the mandatory sign-up process is well worth the time. What’s more, it has a “top scholarship picks this week” category, which highlights opportunities you may have otherwise missed. In addition, on top of the scholarships, Chegg offers homework help, tutoring, test prep, internships and (of course) textbooks.

 

Niche.com

Formerly known as College Prowler, Niche is one of the easiest sites to navigate. It is neatly organized into categories that make it simple to start finding and applying for scholarships. You can browse by categories – including, but not limited to, sports, interest area, career and major — but it can be tricky to filter outside of these preset groupings. Still, with no required sign-up and a user-friendly design, Niche is a simple and powerful resource.

 

ScholarshipPoints.com

You know how you always seem to receive a new, complimentary gift after so many purchases at that favorite beauty counter of yours. ScholarshipPoints works the same way! Well, kind of. The site's users rack up points through a rewards system, making them eligible for different scholarships according to how many points they have earned. Members can earn points through fun, day-to-day activities like reading blogs, taking quizzes and playing online games. ScholarshipPoints offers a rolling, monthly $1,000 for its members and a quarterly $10,000 scholarship. Join today and start earning your points, collegiate!