CollegeData vs ScholarshipOwl
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CollegeData
This app helps students research and compare colleges, estimate admission chances, and find scholarships. It provides tools to track deadlines, academic credentials, and build a college resume for informed decision-making.
- College search and comparison
- Admission chance calculator
- Scholarship finder
- Application deadline tracker
- Personalized dashboard
- Financial aid information
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The CollegeData mobile app provides comprehensive tools and resources that enable you to search and compare over 2,000 college profiles, see your chances of getting into those colleges, and learn how to prepare, apply, and pay for college. The mobile app also provides important college application and testing deadlines and access to thousands of scholarship awards worth over $5 billion. Use the app’s College Search tool to search and compare over 2,000 colleges by name or personal preferences including location, size, cost, acceptance rate, majors, entrance difficulty, college tuition, financial aid awards, campus life, graduation and retention rates, GPAs, test scores of recently enrolled freshmen and more. You can also search by financially “friendly” factors, including average financial need met, average student debt, and percentage of students getting merit aid. Next, you’ll want to generate your College List to help you find the best college match and your dream school. It’s wise to develop a list that includes reach, target, and safety schools. Use College Chances – our college acceptance calculator – to estimate your chances of admission at any of the 2,000+ colleges profiled in the CollegeData mobile app. The College Chances calculator is a valuable and informative tool that compares data about you (including your GPA and test scores) with the qualifications of freshmen recently enrolled in the colleges you are interested in, plus other admissions factors. Using our college acceptance calculator, you can also estimate your admissions chances and find out what you can do to improve your odds using the College Chances calculator. If you're shocked by the cost of college, remember that scholarships and financial aid can make college more affordable. Use our Scholarship Finder to explore thousands of awards offered by private organizations, foundations, corporations, the U.S. government, individuals, and the colleges themselves. Find scholarships that might be looking for students with academic qualifications, interests, and personal characteristics like yours. Use the CollegeData mobile app to create your own personal Dashboard that will help you keep track of important college application deadlines, academic credentials and test scores and develop your college resume. 1st Financial Bank USA has provided the CollegeData service for almost 25 years to help students prepare, apply and pay for college. In addition to helping students and their families make informed decisions about college, we would also like to be your bank of choice as you begin to learn financial independence and responsibility. For more tools and resources including in-depth articles and videos about how to choose, prepare, apply and pay for college, visit www.collegedata.com.
ScholarshipOwl
Discover and apply for scholarships with personalized matches and a guided application process. Track your progress and receive reminders to maximize your chances of winning funding for your education.
- Personalized scholarship matches
- Guided application wizard
- One-click apply options
- Application progress tracking
- Daily reminders
- Live Activity on iOS
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Win more scholarships with less effort ScholarshipOwl is the largest scholarship marketplace in the US, now in your pocket. Browse thousands of scholarships and maximize your chances of winning by applying to more, faster. PERSONALIZED MATCHES Browse a personalized feed of scholarships matched to your background. Every scholarship includes award amounts, deadlines, requirements, and a credibility score so you can focus on opportunities with the highest chance of winning. The more you apply, the smarter your matches get. APPLY IN MINUTES Our guided application wizard walks you through each requirement step by step: surveys, essays, uploads, and more. Many scholarships are one-click apply. No repetitive forms, no jumping between websites. Your progress auto-saves so you can pick up right where you left off. TRACK EVERYTHING See all your bookmarked, in-progress, and submitted applications in one place. Know exactly where you stand with live completion status on every scholarship. STAY ON TRACK Smart daily reminders keep scholarships top of mind. Live Activity on iOS shows your application progress right on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island while you apply. From high school to graduate school, ScholarshipOwl makes it easy to find money for school and apply, all from your phone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ScholarshipOwl at 4.7 against CollegeData's 3.3. ScholarshipOwl also leads on ratings volume (273 vs 6) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ScholarshipOwl holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScholarshipOwl has 273 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CollegeData | ScholarshipOwl |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (6 ratings) | 4.7 (273 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 11.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 273 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | 1st Financial Bank USA | ScholarshipOwl |
Customer experience
CollegeData
ScholarshipOwl
In-app purchases
CollegeData
No in-app purchases
ScholarshipOwl
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CollegeData free?
Is ScholarshipOwl free?
Which has better reviews, CollegeData or ScholarshipOwl?
Do CollegeData or ScholarshipOwl have ads?
Which is updated more often, CollegeData or ScholarshipOwl?
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