Encourage | College Planning vs UStrive App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Encourage | College Planning
This app helps middle and high school students plan for college and careers. It offers tools to discover personal interests, explore educational and career paths, find scholarships, and manage applications. It provides personalized guidance and resources to navigate the journey from high school to future opportunities.
- College matching based on goals
- Scholarship finder
- Career path exploration
- Personalized high school planner
- College application guidance
- Financial aid information
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Your Future Made Simple. Encourage is a free, all-in-one college and career planning app and your go-to middle school and high school app for figuring out what’s next. Made just for students in grades 7–12, it helps you discover who you are, explore what’s possible, and take real steps toward your future. Thinking about college, a career, or just figuring it out? Wherever you're headed, Encourage is here to support you. You can use Encourage to: • Match with colleges that fit your goals and needs • Explore college admissions, costs, student life, and more • Find scholarships that match your interests • Learn about college costs and financial aid, including the FAFSA • Get college application help and semester-by-semester guidance • Plan each semester of high school with a personalized checklist • Explore over 900 career paths with details on salaries and skills • Build your college checklist and stay organized from start to finish • … and more My Journey My Journey is your personal roadmap. Set goals, complete grade-level tasks, and track your progress. Whether you're exploring majors, applying for scholarships, preparing for college, or exploring careers, My Journey keeps you organized and ready for graduation and beyond. It is your all-in-one student planner for high school success. My Colleges Search thousands of schools based on what matters to you, like location, cost, campus vibe, majors, and more. Save your favorites, compare your options, and use Encourage as your personal college list builder. My Majors Not sure what to study? Take a quiz that matches your strengths and interests to real majors. Then explore what you would learn, which schools offer it, and how it connects to future careers and degrees. My Careers Take just one quick quiz to find careers that align with your personality and interests. Learn what they pay, how to get there, and what day-to-day life is like. It is the perfect tool to explore all types of careers. My Scholarships My Scholarships is your go-to scholarship finder. No more endless Googling or wondering if a scholarship is real. With over 80,000 verified scholarships for students, you can find opportunities that actually match your background and goals. Save your favorites, keep track of deadlines, and manage your applications all in one place. My Library My Library is your go-to resource hub full of helpful articles and videos. Search everything from college admission help and guidance to tips on paying for college and planning strategies for high school and beyond. Use My Library to explore content that matches your interests and goals, and dive into support whenever you need it. Your future starts now! Let Encourage help you build it. Download now and start exploring.
UStrive App
This platform connects students and young professionals with experienced mentors for personalized guidance on college and career goals. It offers one-on-one support through in-app messaging, audio, and video calls to help users succeed.
- Connect with experienced mentors
- Personalized college and career guidance
- In-app messaging, audio, and video calls
- Match mentors based on goals
- 1-on-1 support for success
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Achieve Your College and Career Goals with UStrive UStrive is a free, online mentoring platform that helps students and young professionals connect with experienced mentors for personalized guidance. Whether you're preparing for college, exploring career paths, or looking for support along your journey, UStrive makes it easy to get the help you need. Chat with your mentor through in-app messaging, phone calls, or video calls—anytime, anywhere. All mentoring is 1-on-1, and designed to help you succeed. Features: • Match with a mentor based on your goals • Communicate via messaging, audio, or video—right in the app • Get support with college applications, career planning, and more • 100% free to use Start building your future with the guidance of someone who’s been there.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Encourage | College Planning at 4.5 against UStrive App's 2.9. Encourage | College Planning also leads on review sentiment (84% vs 57%) and ratings volume (149 vs 11). UStrive App's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). 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.
Encourage | College Planning holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Encourage | College Planning has 149 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Encourage | College Planning's written reviews are positive against 57% of UStrive App's.
Encourage | College Planning ships an update every 3 weeks, UStrive App every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Encourage | College Planning | UStrive App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (149 ratings) — better | 2.9 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.0% of reviews — better | 57.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 149 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | admittedly | UStrive |
Customer experience
Encourage | College Planning
UStrive App
Bugs and requests
Encourage | College Planning
Reported bugs
5 issues- App is slow to load
- Cannot create an account due to invalid zip code
- App shows a blank screen upon opening
- Stuck on the 'tell us about you' screen, cannot proceed
- Email and password fields delete input when trying to log in
UStrive App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Encourage | College Planning
No in-app purchases
UStrive App
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Encourage | College Planning free?
Is UStrive App free?
Which has better reviews, Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App?
Do Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App have ads?
Which is updated more often, Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App?
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