Comparison

Going Merry Scholarships vs Pathway Degree Planner

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Going Merry Scholarships

This app helps students find and apply for scholarships, grants, and financial aid to fund their college education. It offers personalized matching, simplified application processes, and tools to compare financial aid offers.

Highlights
  • Personalized scholarship matching
  • Auto-filled scholarship applications
  • Bundled scholarships for multiple applications
  • Grant and financial aid matching
  • Simplified FAFSA® form
  • Financial aid offer comparison tool
Read full description

Going Merry is a free app that helps you get money to pay for college. We match you to scholarships, grants, and financial aid–all for free. Each year, we help students get about $500 million in free money. Going Merry is already used by 2 million students and trusted by over 20,000 registered high school counselors. What makes Going Merry different? 1. Personalized scholarship matching Get applying faster. Less browsing and sifting through scholarships that aren’t applicable to you. 2. Easy, auto-filled scholarship applications Apply directly to many of the listed scholarships, right from the Going Merry website or app. We’ll even pre-fill the application form with the information in your profile. 3. Bundled scholarships We’ve combined scholarships with similar essay prompts, so you can apply to multiple scholarships with one form. 4. Your personas data is secure We fully encrypt your data, and we never sell it to third parties. 5. Grants and financial aid too Get matched to state grants you’re eligible for. And apply for financial aid using our FAFSA® Made Easier, a simplified version of the government form. Finally, compare your college financial aid offers using our analysis tool, to make the right financial choice. But don’t take our word for it. Students from 1 in 2 high schools in America already use Going Merry to help them win scholarship award money. Join them today!

About

Pathway Degree Planner

This app helps college students plan their academic journey by visualizing degree requirements, course schedules, and progress towards graduation. It allows users to map out semesters, track credits, and identify potential issues before registration.

Highlights
  • Map out semesters to graduation
  • Add courses from school catalogs
  • Track credits and requirement coverage
  • Identify overloaded semesters
  • See which requirements courses satisfy
  • Record completed courses and grades
  • Track GPA
Features
Read full description

College gives you plenty to think about. Figuring out which class counts for which requirement shouldn’t be one more mystery. Pathway turns your degree requirements, prerequisites, credits, and semesters into one clear plan. See your entire road to graduation without maintaining a heroic collection of spreadsheets and browser tabs. BUILD A PLAN THAT MAKES SENSE • Map out every semester from now through graduation • Add courses from your school’s supported catalog • See credits, prerequisites, and requirement coverage as you plan • Find overloaded semesters and prerequisite problems before registration • Adjust your timeline whenever college refuses to go exactly according to plan SEE WHERE EVERY COURSE COUNTS No more staring at a course description and wondering, “Does this actually help me graduate?” Pathway shows which requirements a course may satisfy, updates your degree progress as your plan changes, and makes remaining gaps easy to find. • Track total credits, general education requirements, majors, and minors • Review progress requirement by requirement • Record completed courses and grades • Track your GPA using your school’s supported grading scale • Record approved exam, transfer, and other outside credit BUILT AROUND YOUR SCHOOL Pathway uses catalog information from supported colleges and universities instead of forcing every student into the same generic template. School and catalog-year coverage varies and continues to grow. Not ready to enter your own degree yet? Explore the built-in demo university first and see how everything works. DO MORE WITH PATHWAY+ Pathway+ is an optional upgrade offered as a monthly or annual subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Pathway+ includes: • Schedule Optimizer - add possible sections, work commitments, and priorities, then generate a conflict-free schedule that fits them • What-if plans and Compare - explore possibilities like graduating early, adding a minor, or studying abroad without changing your main plan • Private AI planning help - ask questions about your plan and receive on-device suggestions on supported devices; Pathway does not send your plan to an external AI service • Smart checks - scan for sequencing risks, heavy semesters, and easy-to-miss gaps • GPA forecasting • Advisor-ready exports • Unlimited what-if plans • Course color tags YOUR PLAN IS YOURS Pathway does not require a Pathway account. Your information is stored on your devices, synced through your personal iCloud account, and when chosen, shared for data improvement purposes only. No advertising. No sale of your personal data. No cross-app tracking. A QUICK ACADEMIC NOTE Pathway is an independent planning tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official service of any college or university. Catalogs, degree requirements, prerequisites, transfer equivalencies, course availability, and institutional policies can change. Pathway does not replace your institution’s official degree audit, registrar records, or academic advising. Always confirm important academic and graduation decisions with your college or university. Supported schools, catalog years, courses, requirements, and features may vary. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Pathway offers auto-renewing monthly and annual Pathway+ subscriptions, as well as a separate one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when the purchase is confirmed. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. Your Apple Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before that period ends. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings. Prices may vary by country or region. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Privacy Policy: https://pathwaydegreeplanner.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Going Merry Scholarships4 screens
Pathway Degree Planner4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Going Merry Scholarships at none against Pathway Degree Planner's 3. Going Merry Scholarships also leads on ratings volume (10K vs 6) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). Pathway Degree Planner's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). On price, rating, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pathway Degree Planner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Going Merry Scholarships asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pathway Degree Planner holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Going Merry Scholarships has 10K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Going Merry Scholarships's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pathway Degree Planner's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Going Merry Scholarships ships an update monthly, Pathway Degree Planner every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Going Merry Scholarships versus Pathway Degree Planner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoing Merry ScholarshipsPathway Degree Planner
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (10K ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10K — better6
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGoing Merry Inc.Zane Aloia

Customer experience

Going Merry Scholarships

All ratings9,694 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative11.7%

Pathway Degree Planner

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Going Merry Scholarships

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Account login issues
  • Problems with uploading documents
  • Inconsistent behavior when interacting with the app

Requested features

3 requests
  • Improved search and filtering options
  • Better tracking of application status
  • Expanded support for international students

Pathway Degree Planner

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Going Merry Scholarships

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Pathway Degree Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Pathway+ (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Pathway+ (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pathway+$19.99

Questions

Is Going Merry Scholarships free?
Going Merry Scholarships is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pathway Degree Planner free?
Pathway Degree Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Going Merry Scholarships or Pathway Degree Planner?
Pathway Degree Planner is rated higher. Going Merry Scholarships averages 4.8 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Pathway Degree Planner averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Going Merry Scholarships or Pathway Degree Planner have ads?
Neither Going Merry Scholarships nor Pathway Degree Planner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Going Merry Scholarships or Pathway Degree Planner?
Going Merry Scholarships ships an update monthly, and Pathway Degree Planner every 2 days. Most recently, Going Merry Scholarships was updated on November 11, 2026 and Pathway Degree Planner on October 31, 2026.

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