Scholarships without the scams, the spam or the burnout.
We send you straight to official sites to apply. We don't take applications or fees, and we don't ask for your personal details. Everything you log here stays in your own browser.
Why families miss out on scholarships, and how we fix it
Every problem on the left is from real research. Every fix on the right is something you can use on this site today.
3 in 4 undergrads who applied won no scholarships in the past 12 months, and 61% call the process more demoralizing than empowering.
We point you to local and school-specific awards first, where far fewer students apply. Big national contests come last.
79% have skipped a scholarship they were eligible for because it didn't seem worth the effort. 55% skipped because they were too busy working.
Log each scholarship once below. It lands in your My Plan sorted by deadline, and flagged on the page when one is close.
53% said concerns about scams kept them from applying, and 45% believe they ran into a scholarship scam in the past year.
Answer seven quick questions about any offer and get a clear answer. It's built on the Federal Trade Commission's warning signs. Try it
Many search sites earn money by selling student profiles. Colleges and lenders buy those lists, and the spam starts the day you sign up.
This page never asks who you are. We tell you which sites need an account, which don't, and to use a separate email for scholarships.
There are hundreds of search sites and no easy way to tell the good ones from lead traps.
Government and nonprofit tools first, then local money, then the big databases with an honest note about each. See the list
Some colleges cut their own aid when a student wins an outside scholarship. It's called scholarship displacement, and most families find out too late.
Copy our ready-made email asking each school how outside scholarships affect your aid. Get the email
Where to search
Start at the top. Every link opens the official site in a new tab, and you apply there. All of these are free.
1. Government and nonprofit tools
Free search of 9,500+ scholarships (2026 count), fellowships and grants, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. No ads.
Skip the sign in. You don't apply on CareerOneStop. Search a keyword (like your major or your state), click a scholarship's name, then apply on the sponsor's own site. Log it in My Plan below.
Open CareerOneStop ↗24,000+ scholarship programs (2026 count) from the nonprofit behind the SAT, plus college planning tools.
Open BigFuture ↗How scholarships work, where to find them, and how to reach your state's grant agency.
Open StudentAid.gov ↗2. Local money, less competition
Local money finder
Free during early access · part of the Essential plan after launchLocal awards get far fewer applicants than national ones, but they're hard to find. Tell us where you live and we'll point you to the real places to look, then write the emails for you.
People who run local scholarships want students to ask. Most of these funds get too few applicants. Pick who you're asking and how, and we'll give you the exact words. Reading a script word for word is fine, and a parent can make the first ask if the student is shy.
Read it over and change anything you like before sending. Adding it to My Plan saves a follow up date 14 days out. Check My Plan to see it.
3. Big databases, with a heads-up
One of the oldest free databases. Sign up with a scholarship-only email to keep marketing out of your main inbox.
Open Fastweb ↗Large free database with a deadline calendar. Same tip: use a separate email.
Open Scholarships.com ↗Log it to My Plan
Saved only in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to us.
Scam checker
Answer each question about the offer in front of you. Built on the Federal Trade Commission's warning signs.
Your result shows up here as you go.
Think you found a scam? Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Before you win: ask about scholarship displacement
What it is. When a student reports an outside scholarship, some schools lower their own grant by the same amount. The family ends up no better off.
How common it is. A 2021 Student Beans survey found 50% of students with private scholarships had their aid reduced.
Where it's limited. At least six states restrict it at public colleges: Washington, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Minnesota. Private colleges set their own rules.
What to do. Ask each school in writing, before you accept. The best answer is that outside money replaces loans or work-study first, not grants.
Edit the parts in [brackets] before you send it.