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ScholarshipOwl Review
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.
What is ScholarshipOwl?
To put it simply, ScholarshipOwl is an application site and search engine for scholarships.
Its most well-known feature is it’s 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, 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 these too 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.
You may be thinking, “So, I do have to fill in my information more than once?”
Nope! The sign-up process is the application process. The information entered while signing up is the same information used to find you scholarships, and 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 to win their “You Deserve It” Scholarship which is awarded monthly to a 16+ U.S. resident (P.S., we have a similar $500 scholarship available at Scholarships360! Enter by completing our quick scholarship matching quiz).
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.
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. Here’s a quick breakdown of each:
ScholarshipOwl Payment Plans
Note: Every payment plan allows you to apply to scholarships from the site. In the individual breakdowns by payment plan (see below), 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, while the VIP plan offers additional services and content. If interested in the Monthly, Quarterly, or Half Yearly plan, we recommend testing out the free 7-day trial to decide whether you want to commit to the service.
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).
But, 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 (along with other factors, of course). ScholarshipOwl allows students to more 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 (and not the cheapest either). 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) organized into categories, including by major, by background, by interests, and more. Besides scholarships, we provide information on student loans, how to apply for scholarships, the FAFSA, and more.
Chegg Scholarships
Chegg Scholarships is another free-to-use scholarship website, no sign-up required. Students can enter keywords to look up specific types of scholarships or enter their grade level, GPA, and age to see “scholarship matches.” Students can also explore colleges at the website’s “Explore Colleges” tab.
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 $2.92/month).
Scholarship America
Scholarship America is another website allowing students to browse scholarships 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. Sign-up not required to search for scholarships on the site, but required to apply on the site.
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 which 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 in 2021
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you know if a scholarship is legit?
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.
