If you’re in the process of trying to find scholarships for college, chances are you’ve heard of ScholarshipOwl. You may have gone on the site and wondered whether Scholarship Owl is legit or if it’s worth the money.
To make things simple for you, we’ve created this detailed ScholarshipOwl review with all that information and more. Keep on reading to learn about what ScholarshipOwl is, how it works, and whether or not it’s worth your time and money.
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What is ScholarshipOwl?
To put it simply, ScholarshipOwl is an application site and search engine for scholarships.
Its most well-known feature is its scholarship application, on which interested students enter information regarding their birthday, intended field of study, current grade level, and more. Doing so streamlines the application process, allowing students to apply to many scholarships without having to fill out the same information over and over again.
The search engine feature also comes in handy by directing students to scholarships similar to those they’ve already applied to in order to increase their chances of winning one.
Although it’s quick and easy to apply for scholarships with just one click, many scholarships on the site also require essays or other information. We highly recommend doing some of those too so as to not limit your chances of winning a scholarship, especially if the topic is something you’re interested in!
After submitting your applications, ScholarshipOwl will keep track of your scholarships for you. This way, you’ll know which you’ve applied for and feel confident that your applications went through.
How Does ScholarshipOwl Work?
To use ScholarshipOwl, you must first sign up.
Fortunately, the information entered while signing up is the same information used to find you scholarships, so you only have to enter it once. The requested information includes your education level, gender, date of birth, ethnicity, citizenship status, high school (and graduation date), college, field of study, GPA, career goal, address, and just a few more tidbits about yourself.
After signing up, you’re immediately entered for their scholarship sweepstake! Currently, you’ll automatically be considered for their $50,000 No Essay Scholarship! Each month, four winners are given $1,000 along with an additional two winners in December!
At this point, you should also be able to view the scholarship directory, which will recommend scholarships that “match” the information you’ve entered. A quick glance will give you the name, deadline, and amount awarded for each scholarship. For more details, click “View T&C” to go to the website which hosts the scholarship.
Scholarship Amount Deadline Apply Link Scholarship: Amount: $10,000 Deadline: June 30, 2024 Jun 30, 2024 Apply Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students. Scholarship: Amount: $2,000 Apply Easy $2,000 monthly scholarship. No essay or account sign-ups, just a simple scholarship for those seeking help paying for school! Scholarship: Amount: $40,000 Deadline: March 31, 2024 Mar 31, 2024 Apply Open to US-based high school students in the class of 2025 and 2026 - no essay, no minimum GPA, and no citizenship requirements. Scholarship: Amount: $10,000 Deadline: March 31, 2024 Mar 31, 2024 Apply Easy scholarship open to all high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next yearTop Easy Scholarships of March 2024
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarship Details +$2,000 Sallie Mae Scholarship
Scholarship Details +$40,000 BigFuture Scholarship
Scholarship Details +Niche $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarship Details +
Does ScholarshipOwl Cost Anything?
ScholarshipOwl is considered a “freemium” service, in that some basic services are provided for free, while additional “premium” features require payment to use. So, which ScholarshipOwl features are free, and which aren’t?
Good question. Creating a ScholarshipOwl account and being able to view your scholarship matches is free. However, the ability to apply to scholarships directly from the site is not (Note: this does not apply to the “You Deserve It!” Scholarship – that is free).
There are a few different payment plans, with different prices, features, and billing periods. Either way, you’ll have access to a 7 day free trial to see if you want to commit to a plan! Here’s a quick breakdown of each one:
ScholarshipOwl Payment Plans
Note: Every payment plan allows you to apply to scholarships from the site. In the individual breakdowns by payment plan, we only list the features that differentiate each plan.
- VIP
- Price: $69/month
- Billed monthly
- Features:
- Automatically re-applied to renewable scholarships
- Get one (1) 500-word essay professionally reviewed every month
- Access to 6+ hours of financial aid/college admissions content
- Have your own personalized account manager
- Monthly
- Price: $20/month
- Billed monthly
- Features:
- Automatically re-apply to repeat scholarships
- Free 7-day trial
- Quarterly
- Price: $15/month
- Billed every 3 months
- Features:
- Automatically re-apply to repeat scholarships
- Free 7-day trial
- Half Yearly
- Price: $10/month
- Billed every 6 months
- Features:
- Automatically re-apply to repeat scholarships
- Free 7-day trial
You may have noticed that the Monthly, Quarterly, and Half Yearly plans all offer the same services at different prices and billing dates, while the VIP plan offers additional services and content.
Is ScholarshipOwl Legit?
Yes, ScholarshipOwl is a legitimate and trustworthy scholarship application site. While there are options that require payment, these are only optional. Their free, basic services are still beneficial to students. For each “scholarship match,” a direct link to the website hosting the scholarship is provided, allowing students to apply directly from there without paying.
Is ScholarshipOwl worth it? Let’s see…
Is ScholarshipOwl worth It?
This is pretty subjective. Whether or not ScholarshipOwl is worth the price depends on whether you value your time or money more. ScholarshipOwl allows students to quickly start and finish their scholarship application process and keep track of their submissions.
However, after having perused my fair share of scholarship websites, I now know that ScholarshipOwl is not the only website of its kind or the cheapest. We’ll get into alternatives soon, but for now, we would recommend ScholarshipOwl’s free version.
You may not be able to apply directly to scholarships on the website this way, but we promise you it’s truly not that bad to manually fill out scholarship applications. If you get bored while filling out the same information again and again, maybe consider listening to some music or a podcast while doing so.
Now, let’s get into the alternatives!
Alternatives to ScholarshipOwl
While ScholarshipOwl’s application feature is unique, there are quite a few similar sites that provide lists of recommended scholarships to students. If you’re unsure about ScholarshipOwl and want to try something else, we recommend giving these a try:
Scholarships360
Yes, this is us! Scholarships360 is a free-to-use website with no sign-up required. We provide lists of scholarships with direct links that are organized into categories, including by major, by background, by interests, and more!
We also have Scholarship360-exclusive scholarships that you can apply to as well. Besides scholarships, we provide information on student loans, how to apply for scholarships, the FAFSA, and more.
Get StartedStart your scholarship search
Scholly
Scholly is probably the most similar you can get to ScholarshipOwl. Sign-up is required and requests information about each student to match them with scholarships. Scores are provided for each scholarship (“Scholly Scores”), and it is recommended that students apply to those with higher scores first. Scholly is not free, but cheaper than ScholarshipOwl with the lowest plan being $4.99/month.
Scholarship America
Scholarship America is another website allowing students to browse scholarships without signing up and at no cost. Scholarships are somewhat limited in number, but you can apply directly on the site. To narrow down scholarships, students can sort scholarships by availability and state/territory.
Cappex
Cappex is the last scholarship website we’ll go over, and allows students to browse scholarships at no cost. You can browse colleges, majors and other articles without signing up, but to see and apply for scholarships, you’ll have to create an account.
These are just some, not all, of the ScholarshipOwl alternatives. Whether you feel like ScholarshipOwl is a fit for you or not, some of these sites provide other college-related information that might be useful in your scholarship or college search. We recommend exploring them as well, and wish you good luck on your applications!
See Also: Best Scholarship Websites
Frequently asked questions about ScholarshipOwl and scholarships in general
Yes! People do win scholarships through ScholarshipOwl. It’s important to keep in mind that ScholarshipOwl doesn’t decide who wins or loses, rather, that’s up to the organization offering the scholarship. Do people actually win scholarships off ScholarshipOwl?
If you’ve won a scholarship through ScholarshipOwl, there are a few ways you’ll likely be contacted. Your provider can notify you through your ScholarshipOwl mailbox, directly to your email, or by phone call. Be sure to stay on the lookout and check your email consistently. How do I know if I won a scholarship on ScholarshipOwl?
Great question! There are a few red flags to look out for when researching scholarships. Some signs that a scholarship is a scam include: there’s an application fee (or any payment required), an outcome is “guaranteed,” or if personal financial information is requested. For a more detailed answer, we recommend checking out this article. How do you know if a scholarship is legit?
In order to increase your chances of winning a scholarship, you should apply to as many as possible. The odds of winning can vary depending on how large the applicant pool is, so you may have very high or very low chances of winning. Either way, you’re doing the right thing by getting started, so just do your best! How many scholarships should I apply to?
