Merit-based scholarships reward what you have done — grades, test scores, leadership, essays, or competition results — and do not look at your family's finances. Need-based scholarships work the other way: eligibility depends on family income, often shown through the FAFSA or Pell Grant eligibility, and academic thresholds are secondary or absent. Many awards blend the two, requiring both a minimum GPA and demonstrated financial need. Either kind lowers what you actually pay, so weigh your matches against each college's estimated net price on the cost page.
Answer the short profile on this page and the matcher checks you against every award in our database on the dimensions sponsors actually gate on: state of residence (many state grants are resident-only), family income (need-based awards use income brackets or Pell Grant eligibility), GPA and SAT or ACT minimums (ACT scores are converted when a sponsor only lists an SAT floor), intended field of study, and background — first-generation status, military or veteran family, heritage, disability, LGBTQ+, rural upbringing, foster care, and more. College-specific awards match only when that college is on your list. Everything you qualify for appears above with the exact reasons you match; everything else is set aside with the specific rule that excluded you.
Sometimes, depending on the college. Schools must count outside scholarships in your aid package, and each sets its own displacement policy: the friendlier ones reduce loans and work-study first, while others cut their own grant aid dollar for dollar, which can leave your net price unchanged. Outside awards do not reduce your federal Pell Grant. Because policies vary school to school and change year to year, ask each financial aid office how outside scholarships are treated before you count the money. Our guide to paying for college and net price explains how the pieces of an aid package fit together.
Earlier than most students plan to. Deadlines for the awards in this matcher cluster in two waves: October through January of senior year, right alongside college applications, and a second wave of state and college-specific deadlines from February through May. Dozens more are rolling or automatic with your admission or financial aid application. A practical rhythm: build your scholarship list the summer before senior year, hit the fall and winter deadlines together with your college applications, and keep submitting through the spring.