Learn about the resources available on the best scholarship websites and how they can help you speed up your scholarship application.

Scholarships are like free money. They give you funds that can be used for your college expenses, including tuition. The best part is, you don't have to pay back the scholarship money, so it helps reduce your student debt.

However, it can be challenging to find scholarships that are suitable for you. Here are some excellent resources that can help you discover scholarships that align with your talents and interests. These resources will give you an advantage in funding your education.

What are the Best Scholarship Websites Offer
The top scholarship websites provide various types of scholarships, including niche awards, sweepstakes, and prestigious national prizes. These websites often allow you to create a profile where you can save scholarship applications for future reference or receive alerts when a scholarship that matches your skills becomes available.

A best scholarship websites should also offer filtering options based on specific categories and characteristics, such as your location, grade point average (GPA), or ethnicity. This ability to narrow down scholarships is essential because it increases your chances of winning awards that align with your individual talents and interests.

We researched well-known scholarship websites and compared them based on features like the ability to filter and organize listings, save information to your profile, how easy they are to use, and additional tools like automatic matching. Here are the best websites for scholarships that you can use to find awards you qualify for:

1. Scholarships.com
Scholarships.com organizes scholarships into different categories, such as GPA, military connections, ethnicity, artistic skills, and ACT/SAT scores. Within each category, you can find subcategories that list all the relevant scholarships. This feature helps students find specialized awards with fewer applicants, increasing their chances of winning.

2. Fastweb
Fastweb gathers scholarships from various sources, both big and small. To search for scholarships, you need to create a profile, similar to other websites. Once you sign up, you can easily search and filter scholarships based on different criteria. Fastweb also sends notifications for new scholarships that match your profile and reminds you of upcoming deadlines.

3. College Board
If you've taken the SAT, AP tests, or other college entrance exams, you're likely familiar with the College Board. However, they also provide assistance in finding scholarships after you've been accepted into a college. Once you create an account, you can filter scholarships based on your interests, field of study, club affiliations, or specific circumstances like parental divorce. The College Board also offers automatic matching with scholarships that fit your profile. They have an autofill feature that allows you to reuse information from previous scholarship applications, saving you time and enabling you to apply for more awards.

4. Going Merry
Going Merry simplifies the scholarship application process by allowing students to enter their information once and apply for multiple scholarships simultaneously. If you're short on time, it's worth checking out scholarships on Going Merry before exploring other major websites. They also emphasize local awards, which are less competitive and may be easier to win compared to national scholarships.

5. ScholarshipOwl
ScholarshipOwl is a well-known scholarship website that compiles awards and categorizes them based on factors like the amount, requirements, number of winners, and application deadlines. ScholarshipOwl automatically resubmits your application to recurring scholarships that only require basic information, freeing up more time for scholarships that require essays and recommendation letters.

6. Bold.org
Bold.org stands out for its user-friendly interface. It allows you to easily search and discover scholarships you may be eligible for. You can filter scholarships by your education level, award category, amount, and deadline. They even have a "no-essay" toggle to find scholarships that don't require a written essay.

7. US Scholarship Guide
US Scholarship Guide has been helping students find college scholarships Since 2007. Many students received assistance from the website in achieving their educational goals. Whether you're an average student or need aid managing your student loans, USScholarshipGuide.org provides accurate information and advice.

8. Cappex
Cappex claims to have the largest online scholarship database, making it worth checking for potential opportunities. Like other websites, you need to create an account to see scholarships you qualify for. Cappex's filtering system allows you to sort awards by year in school, scholarship amount, gender, ethnicity, and application deadlines. You can also search for renewable scholarships that provide funding for multiple years.

9. Scholly
Scholly uses an algorithm that matches your profile with available scholarships to create a list of eligible awards. Each scholarship has a Scholly score, indicating how well it aligns with your background and experience. A higher Scholly score means you're a strong fit for the scholarship's requirements.

Additional Resources
Your college's official financial aid website can be a valuable resource for finding internal scholarships and grants. It may also provide suggestions on how to discover more scholarships, such as applying through specific departments or local institutions that offer awards to students.

Local Organizations
Don't overlook the opportunities available within your local community. Look for scholarship options offered by nearby community foundations, rotary clubs, women's clubs, and similar organizations. Conduct a Google search to find these types of organizations in your area and check if they have a list of scholarships on their website.

You can also search online through your state's Department of Education or higher education agency, as they might provide information on local awards and grants. Remember, local scholarships often have less competition, as the number of applicants is usually smaller.

Bottom Line
Applying for scholarships may seem discouraging if you don't have a perfect GPA or a lengthy list of extracurricular activities. However, success in winning scholarships depends more on your determination than your achievements. If you persistently apply for scholarships that you qualify for, your chances of success will be much higher compared to not making an effort.

Set aside regular time each week to explore these resources and identify scholarships that you may be eligible for. Every dollar you receive in scholarships is a dollar you won't have to borrow through student loans.

Heads up incoming college students! The Commission on Higher Education, being the agency tasked to promote quality higher education in the Philippines, is pleased to announce that the application for CHED Merit Scholarship Program for AY 2023-2024 is now open!

The scholarship aimed to support underprivileged and homeless citizens (RA 7279), persons with disability (RA 7277); and solo parents and/or their dependents (RA 8371).

One of the programs of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) this year is the CHED Merit Scholarship 2023 for deserving students.

CHED Scholarship 2023
The CHED Merit Scholarship Program (CMSP) is a government-funded scholarship aimed at supporting academically talented students, especially those who belong to the following special groups:

• Underprivileged and homeless citizens (RA 7279);
• Persons with Disability (RA 7277); and
• Solo parents and/or their dependents (RA 8371).

What are the qualifications?
1. Must be a Filipino citizen;
2. Graduating high school student/ High school graduate with general weighted average (GWA) of at least 96% for Full Merit Program and 93% to 95% or its equivalent for Half Merit Program
3. Student-applicants belonging to the special group of persons such as the underprivileged and Homeless Citizens under Republic Act (RA) No. 7279, Persons with Disability (PWDs) under RA No. 7277 as amended, Solo Parents and/or their Dependents under RA 8371, shall submit certifications and/or Identification Cards (IDs) issued by the appropriate offices or agencies.
4. Avail of only one government-funded financial assistance program.

How to apply to CHED Scholarship 2023

1. Prepare the complete documentary requirements
2. Scan the documentary requirements clearly.
3. Send the application and documents ONLINE to your respective CHED Regional Office (click the link for list of Online Application for each Region).

Note: All submission should be addressed to CHEDROs based on point of origin.

Application Period
The deadline for submission for CHED Merit Scholarship Program (CMSP) for incoming freshman college students for Academic Year 2023-2024 will be until May 31, 2023.

Source: ched.gov.ph

Through these sites, students can begin to tap into the billions of dollars in scholarship money awarded each year.

If you’re hoping to fund some, or all, of your college career with scholarships, you’re in luck: There are billions of dollars in scholarship and grant money awarded each year.

You don’t need to be a valedictorian or football star to win scholarship money – there are scholarships for all types of students. But you do need to put some effort into your search.

“What I find is that the students who are most successful – they treat this almost like a mini job,” says Kim Stezala, author of "Scholarships 101: The Real-World Guide to Getting Cash for College."

“They are looking at multiple sites. They are entering profiles on different sites. They’re assessing, ‘Is this a good match? Is there too much competition? Do I have a good chance of winning?’”

Stezala recommends picking just two sites to start, then expanding your search if you don’t find what you’re looking for. Here are 10 sites to choose from to get started.

Federal Student Aid: This is the largest source of financial aid in the United States. By filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you can determine your eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work-study programs.

Scholarships.com: This website has a database of over 3.7 million scholarships worth more than $19 billion. You can search for scholarships based on your interests, skills, and qualifications.

Fastweb: Fastweb is one of the largest scholarship search engines, with a database of over 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion. You can create a profile and receive personalized scholarship recommendations.

College Board: The College Board's scholarship search tool has a database of more than 2,300 sources of financial aid worth over $6 billion. You can search for scholarships based on your GPA, test scores, and other criteria.

CHED Scholarship: For students in the Philippines, CHED Scholarship provides financial assistance to qualified students who want to pursue higher education. The program offers different types of scholarships for students in various fields of study.

UNIGO: UNIGO provides a comprehensive list of scholarships available to high school, college, and graduate students. You can search for scholarships based on your interests, skills, and qualifications.

Phil Edukasyon: Phil Edukasyon is an online platform that provides information about scholarships, grants, and other financial assistance programs for Filipino students. They also offer tips and resources to help students succeed in their academic pursuits.

CareerOneStop: Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop aims to give people the resources, assessments, and advice necessary to find jobs. The website also features a database of over 8,000 scholarships for undergraduate, graduate, vocational, and professional development programs. Users can search for scholarships, fellowships, grants, prizes, and loans.

OWWA Scholarship: Another scholarship program in the Philippines is the OWWA Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to the dependents of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The scholarship covers tuition and other school fees for the qualified beneficiaries.

Niche: Niche provides a database of over $50 billion in scholarships. You can search for scholarships based on your interests, skills, and qualifications.

Philippines Scholarships 2023: For students in the Philippines, Scholarshipsph.com is an excellent resource for finding scholarship opportunities. The site provides a comprehensive list of available scholarships, including government-funded scholarships, private scholarships, and international scholarships.

Cappex: A platform that connects students to colleges, Cappex helps students find colleges and search for scholarships and financial aid opportunities. On this site, you can search for scholarships by demographic. These include scholarships for women, Black students, Hispanic students, LGBTQ+ students, and first-generation students.

But the process for giving out scholarship money varies from school to school. You should also check the department of the major you’re considering, which may have its own scholarships and process for awarding them.

"Go to the college’s website, type in the word 'scholarships' and see what process the college will be using to give out their scholarship opportunities,” Hartley says.

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.