College-Scholarships.com Site Review

College-Scholarships.com

http://www.college-scholarships.com

This website is owned by The American Educational Guidance Center that also owns 8 other college-related websites. It provides helpful resources if you’re searching for a school. There are quick links in the left sidebar that let you view lists of colleges and universities by state, religious affiliation, and schools for women, minorities, and disabled students. You can find this same information by hovering over the “Colleges and Universities” tab and selecting from the drop-down menu. The second tab, “Scholarship Resources,” is where we’re going to focus. Hover over the tab and the drop-down menu gives you four choices: “FREE Scholarship Searches;” “101 TOP College, University, and Scholarship Web Pages;” “Athletic Scholarships;” and “Compare Scholarships.” The third tab, “Financial Aid Resources,” gives you a link to terminology and the fourth tab, “College Tools & Tips” provides links to college and career information.

Let’s start right off with the “FREE Scholarship Searches” link in the drop-down menu under the “Scholarship Resources” tab. This page has links to 50+ scholarship search engines but no real review (other than the websites’ claims about the size of their database). Some of the links are specific to certain states or countries while others are no longer in existence.

If you select “101 TOP College, University, and Scholarship Web Pages,” from the “Scholarship Resources” tab, you’ll be provided with a long list of links to colleges, coaches, tutors, online degrees, test-prep services, textbook resources, financial aid counselors, and more. Although this is an extensive list of links, this site does not review or evaluate these companies. One has to wonder why these companies are listed if they’re not reviewed or endorsed. Do they pay for a listing? If they do, isn’t this just a page of ads directed at students?

If you select “Athletic Scholarships” from the “Scholarship Resources” tab, you’ll be provided with a list of various sites catering to college athletes looking for scholarships. College-Scholarships states: “The organizations below assist students in finding and securing athletic scholarships and grant in aids. Be aware that most charge a fee and that our listing them does not constitute an endorsement of their services.” (Some of those fees were hundreds of dollars!) This is a big red flag, and we suggest you pass on this page. It should also be noted that the first link provided leads directly to another website owned by The American Educational Guidance Center.

When we selected “Compare Scholarships,” from the “Scholarship Resources” tab, we were provided with a list of 4,474 results that include scholarships, internships, fellowships, contests, and even loans. On the left side, you can refine your search by checking the boxes. Under the Type of Award, we suggest you only check: “Grant” and “Scholarship” unless other choices also apply to your situation (such as being a member of the military). Continue to move down that column, refining your results even further by Enrollment Status, Specific Background, Gender, GPA, and Major, State, College. You’ll need to play around with each filter so that you can narrow your results to those you qualify for but not overly limit your search so that you end up with 3 awards (which happened to us). Each scholarship will have a link to a page that gives you more detailed information on the award, eligibility requirements, and application links.

Related Links:

Scholarships Search Site Snapshot: College-Scholarships.com

YouTube: An Independent Review of College-Scholarships.com