Comparison

College Search Guide vs CollegeData

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

Head to head
About

College Search Guide

Discover and research over 7000 U.S. colleges, from large universities to trade schools. Find detailed information on degrees, costs, financial aid, admissions, and more. Bookmark favorites and apply directly.

Highlights
  • Search colleges by location and distance
  • View colleges near current location
  • Detailed college profiles
  • Information on degrees and majors
  • Financial aid and expense details
  • Admissions and application info
  • User reviews and bookmarking
Features
Read full description

If you are thinking about a large university, a small liberal arts college, a specialized college, a community college, a career or technical college or a trade school, you can find information on all of them here. Foreign students, high school students, current college students looking to transfer, parents, the working professional looking to go to grad school will find this application very useful. Some things you could do with the application include: - Searching for colleges by zipcode, city, state and distance. - View colleges around your current geographic location - View details about the top 100 colleges in different categories and the best graduate schools, undergraduate colleges for different majors, community colleges and trade schools. Includes over 7000 colleges and virtually any college in the United States can be found using this application. Information about each college includes: - Type of college (private, public, 4-year, 2-year, trade schools) - Degrees Offered - Campus Setting (rural, suburb, large city, etc) - Campus Housing Availability Information - Student population with charts on diversity - Special Learning Opportunities - Religious Affiliation - Credit Accepted - Estimated Student Expenses for three (3) years - Financial Aid Information - Enrollment Information - Admissions - Application Fee - Freshman Retension Rate - Programs and Majors - Varsity Athletic Teams - Accreditation - Campus Security Information for 3-years - Federal Load Default Rates - Videos - User Reviews You have the ability to write a review, bookmark a college, and so much more. Browse the college site right from the application and apply for admissions. This application more than delivers and we would be listening for ideas to improve functionality

About

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.

Highlights
  • College search and comparison
  • Admission chance calculator
  • Scholarship finder
  • Application deadline tracker
  • Personalized dashboard
  • Financial aid information
Features
Read full description

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.

Screenshots

College Search Guide3 screens
CollegeData4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: College Search Guide at 4.4 against CollegeData's 3.3. College Search Guide also leads on ratings volume (431 vs 6) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). CollegeData's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, 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. College Search Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CollegeData asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

College Search Guide holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: College Search Guide has 431 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

College Search Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, CollegeData every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
College Search Guide versus CollegeData: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCollege Search GuideCollegeData
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (431 ratings) — better3.3 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews38.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings431 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB29 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperDorm Mom LLC1st Financial Bank USA

Customer experience

College Search Guide

All ratings420 ratings
Positive85.2%
Neutral5.0%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive38.2%
Neutral5.5%
Negative56.4%

CollegeData

All ratings6 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral16.7%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

College Search Guide

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes on startup or during searches
  • Crashes when selecting multiple filter options
  • Crashes when viewing college addresses
  • Loading bar spins indefinitely
  • Email verification never arrives
Show 7 more
  • Cannot scroll properly
  • Glitch in major selection section
  • jQuery crashes
  • Tuition estimates not visible
  • Current location pin drops repeatedly on map
  • Search function becomes unresponsive
  • Reinstalling doesn't fix crash issues

Requested features

12 requests
  • Sort by multiple majors using AND functionality
  • Search by GPA in addition to SAT scores
  • Graduate program support (Masters, Doctorate)
  • Study abroad program search option
  • Note-taking and pro/con list feature
Show 7 more
  • Checklist to mark visited schools
  • Side-by-side college comparison tool
  • Tuition estimate visibility improvement
  • Filter by diversity metrics
  • Current location pin that doesn't repeat
  • Better integration of map and search results
  • Filter by program type (4-year vs other institutions)

CollegeData

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

College Search Guide

One-time1
  • Unlock Advanced Features$2.99
None

CollegeData

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is College Search Guide free?
College Search Guide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CollegeData free?
CollegeData is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, College Search Guide or CollegeData?
College Search Guide is rated higher. College Search Guide averages 4.4 out of 5 from 431 ratings, while CollegeData averages 3.3 from 6 ratings.
Do College Search Guide or CollegeData have ads?
Neither College Search Guide nor CollegeData shows ads.
Which is updated more often, College Search Guide or CollegeData?
College Search Guide ships an update every 3 weeks, and CollegeData every 2 months. Most recently, College Search Guide was updated on November 1, 2026 and CollegeData on November 2, 2026.

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