# Encourage | College Planning vs UStrive App

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Encourage | College Planning | UStrive App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (149 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-college-planning/id1606960183/reviews)** | [2.9 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ustrive-app/id6749835492/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **149** | 11 |
| Positive reviews | **84.0% of reviews** | 57.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 30 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [admittedly](https://appshunter.io/developer/765828222) | [UStrive](https://appshunter.io/developer/1832382635) |

## What reviewers say

### Encourage | College Planning

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-college-planning/id1606960183)

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.

**Highlights:** College matching based on goals, Scholarship finder, Career path exploration, Personalized high school planner, College application guidance, Financial aid information

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Excellent for college and future planning
- 💡 Helps with college affordability and scholarships
- 👍 Provides college options and fit analysis
- ✅ Useful for high school students (freshman to senior)
- 🆓 Great free resource

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐌 Slow to load
- 🌍 Restricted to USA schools
- 🐛 Cannot create an account (invalid zip code)
- 🐛 Blank screen on opening
- 🐛 Stuck on 'tell us about you' screen

**Reported bugs**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ustrive-app/id6749835492)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Encourage | College Planning free?

Encourage | College Planning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is UStrive App free?

UStrive App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App?

Encourage | College Planning is rated higher. Encourage | College Planning averages 4.5 out of 5 from 149 ratings, while UStrive App averages 2.9 from 11 ratings.

### Do Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App have ads?

Neither Encourage | College Planning nor UStrive App shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Encourage | College Planning or UStrive App?

Encourage | College Planning ships an update every 3 weeks, and UStrive App every 6 weeks. Most recently, Encourage | College Planning was updated on October 22, 2026 and UStrive App on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*