Scholarship search sites and what they ask of you
Online scholarship search tools gather awards from many sponsors in one place and sort them by your profile. This explains what those sites ask you to share, how they use it and how to search while keeping your personal details under control.
How a search site works
A search site asks you to build a profile with your grade level, location, intended major, activities, background and sometimes family income. It then lists awards whose rules seem to fit that profile. The sponsors run the scholarships themselves, so check each award on the sponsor's own page for current dates and terms.
Free options include the scholarship finder on CareerOneStop from the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as lists kept by many college aid offices and public libraries. Commercial sites are often free to use too, because they earn money in other ways.
What the site does with your details
Many commercial search sites earn money by sharing or selling the information in your profile to colleges, lenders, test preparation firms, military recruiters or other marketers. The permission is often a checkbox on the sign-up page or a line in the privacy policy. Read the terms before you register, and leave optional boxes unchecked when they ask to let other companies contact you.
Keep your Social Security number, bank account and card number to yourself when you use a search tool. Leave out any detail the site does not require, and treat a request for those numbers as a warning sign. Some sites also send a steady stream of email, so a separate address for scholarship searching keeps your main inbox clear.
Favor awards with a named sponsor, a published deadline and a clear way to apply.
Searching with care
Fill in the profile accurately and check each result against the sponsor's rules. Favor awards with a named sponsor, a published deadline and a clear way to apply. Sweepstakes-style entries that ask only for an email address often exist to collect contact details.
Combine online searching with local sources, since many community and club awards never reach the large databases. Your counselor's list, your college's scholarship page and your community foundation often cover awards that search sites miss.
Steps to take this week
- Try the CareerOneStop scholarship finder
- Read a search site's privacy terms before you register
- Set up a separate email address for scholarship searching
- Leave optional sharing boxes unchecked
Who decides
Your school counselor or the college aid office
A search site is a starting list, and the details you give it may travel further than the search itself.
