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College Scholarship Search: Best Resources for Free College Money

Are you a high school senior, college student, or the parent of a student? If so, you’re probably trying to figure out how to pay those upcoming college bills. Most families, unfortunately, haven’t saved enough to adequately cover tuition, housing, meals, and other college fees. Thankfully, there are plenty of scholarship opportunities to help alleviate some of the financial burdens. You just need to know where to find them and this college scholarship search resource round-up is the perfect place to start.

Best Scholarship Search Tools

If you don’t know where to find college scholarships, the following resources are the perfect place to begin your search.

Fastweb

Fastweb, which launched in 1995, is one of the oldest and most respected, college scholarship search tools available. The service is completely free and boasts a database of over 1.5 million scholarships. Simply create a profile and get matched to scholarship programs that align with your interests, skills, college major, and more.

Unigo

In 2015, ScholarshipExperts joined Unigo and created one of the largest scholarship search directories on the web with over 3.6 million scholarships worth a combined $14 billion. Students can browse the Unigo scholarship directory or create a profile to get more targeted results. Unigo also sponsors monthly scholarships worth between $1,500 and $10,000 each. There is no cost to use the scholarship search tool.

Cappex

Cappex began in 2006 with the mission of helping students find the right college for them. Today, it’s also one of the better college scholarship search tools for high school and college students. If you want to search for scholarships without getting all the junk emails, this is the place to go. Search by the application deadline, award amount, year in school, and more, all without making an account. You can also create a free profile for more personalized results.

Scholarship Owl

Unlike the other college scholarship search tools on our list, ScholarshipOwl actually helps you with the scholarship application process. Just fill out the basic information once and it will be populated into your scholarship applications, giving you more time for writing those dreaded essays. In addition, communication with the scholarship providers filters through your ScholarshipOwl profile, so you won’t be flooded with unwanted messages in your regular email account. Best of all, it’s completely free to use.

Scholarship Search Tips & Advice

Need help writing your scholarship essay? Want to know which scholarships are ending soon? Check out these websites for the answers to all your scholarship questions.

How2WinScholarships.com

Founded by Monica Matthews, a former teacher and mother of three boys, How to Win College Scholarships is a great resource for those new to the college scholarship search process. Her scholarship blog is filled with tips and tricks for increasing your chances of winning free money for college. She also posts monthly scholarship lists to help you find programs with upcoming deadlines.

JLV College Counseling

JLV College Counseling was founded by a former admissions officer and is completely free to use. The site offers a robust scholarship search and an informative blog. Each Saturday, JLV publishes a list of scholarships that are closing soon, so it’s an easy way to stay on top of your college scholarship applications.

U.S. Department of Education

For the ultimate 411 on college scholarships, be sure to check out the U.S. Department of Education’s website. You’ll find the answers to the most common scholarship questions, as well as links to other scholarship resources. Be sure to check out the Avoiding Scams section, too.

Scholarship Help – Honorable Mentions

The following websites also provide general information about scholarships and are worth visiting.

College Board – Big Future

College Board offers students a chance to earn money (Opportunity Scholarships) by completing tasks during their college planning process. There’s also a scholarship search tool, a Financial Aid 101 section, and tons of information on scholarships and grants.

Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce website offers some sound scholarship tips, as well as direct links to the scholarships listed. You won’t have to register for an account or even provide your information to browse the information, so there’s no chance of being bombarded by unwanted emails or offers.