College Search Guide vs CollegeData
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
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.
Screenshots
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. College Search Guide sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CollegeData asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | College Search Guide | CollegeData |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (431 ratings) — better | 3.3 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 38.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 431 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 131 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dorm Mom LLC | 1st Financial Bank USA |
Customer experience
College Search Guide
CollegeData
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
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- 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
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- 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
College Search Guide
- Unlock Advanced Features$2.99
CollegeData
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is College Search Guide free?
Is CollegeData free?
Which has better reviews, College Search Guide or CollegeData?
Do College Search Guide or CollegeData have ads?
Which is updated more often, College Search Guide or CollegeData?
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