Scholarship Platform Facts: Bold.org vs Scholarships.com 2025

Winning scholarships can be life-changing, helping students afford college without the burden of excessive debt. At Bold.org, we connect students with opportunities by creating, funding, and hosting exclusive scholarships that provide them significant financial aid.

With millions of students relying on our platform, expert guidance from a campus advisory board, and trusted partnerships with college counselors, we understand the struggles of the scholarship search and application processes students face.

To help navigate these challenges, we’re comparing Bold.org and Scholarships.com. Both scholarship platforms provide access to financial aid opportunities, but their structures, scholarship types, and applications vary. Understanding how these two platforms compare can help you decide on financial aid options.

Exploring how Bold.org and Scholarships.com provide and structure scholarship opportunities, manage applications, and shape the overall student experience will highlight key differences in usability, search features, and scholarship distribution. We’ll also show how each platform helps students navigate finding and applying for scholarships. Let's take a closer look.

How We Evaluated These Scholarship Platforms

To assess how these platforms support students in securing scholarships, we considered several key aspects:

• Scholarship Access: The number and variety of scholarships available, how they are sourced or funded, and the total amount of financial aid facilitated.
• Search & Application Processes: How easily students can find relevant opportunities, how effective search tools are, and whether applications are submitted directly through the platform or require navigating external sites.
• Funding and Awarding Structure: How scholarships are awarded, whether the platform directly distributes funds, and the role of third-party organizations in the process.

By analyzing these core aspects, we provide a clear comparison of how each platform helps students, whether through a direct application model or a scholarship directory approach.

Key Difference Between Bold.org & Scholarships.com

Bold.org and Scholarships.com are both databases that aim to provide students with scholarships and help them isolate the most relevant choices. Here are a few distinctions between them: 

• Scholarships.com works as a scholarship directory, helping students find useful opportunities on third-party sites. Students use their Scholarships.com account to find matches and complete applications on outside websites. 
• Bold.org creates and funds exclusive scholarships, managing applications in-house to eliminate the need for third-party accounts. Students can get matched to and apply for scholarships directly on Bold.org. 

These differences may affect how students use each platform and inform their decision on which platform aligns more closely with their needs.

Awarding Scholarships on Bold.org vs. Scholarships.com

The effectiveness of a scholarship platform comes down to how well it connects students to real funding. Here’s how Bold.org and Scholarships.com compare in distributing scholarship money:

• Bold.org has awarded over 5,000 scholarships, distributing $33.9 million in direct financial aid. By managing applications in-house, the platform eliminates third-party complications and streamlines the process for students.
• Scholarships.com does not fund scholarships directly. Instead, it serves as a directory, sourcing opportunities from outside organizations. Students apply on external sites, and funding is handled by the respective providers.

The key difference? Bold.org operates as both a funding and application platform, while Scholarships.com functions primarily as a search tool. 

Finding Scholarships on Bold.org vs. Scholarships.com

Both platforms help students match with scholarships, but their search methods differ:

• Bold.org provides a highly customizable search system with 52+ filters, allowing students to refine results based on specific eligibility criteria such as academic level, field of study, demographics, and funding amount.
• Scholarships.com categorizes scholarships into lists, enabling students to browse pages for academic majors, grade levels, and other broad categories.

For students who know exactly what they’re looking for, Bold.org’s advanced filtering system offers precision. For students who prefer to browse general opportunities, Scholarships.com’s category-based lists may be useful.

A Commitment to Students, Now and in the Future

Both Bold.org and Scholarships.com provide valuable scholarship resources, but they differ in how students find, apply for, and receive scholarships:

• Bold.org’s platform is fully integrated, allowing students to search, apply, and receive funds within one system.
• Scholarships.com provides a large database, but students must apply on third-party websites, leading to varied experiences depending on external providers.

We conducted this in-depth analysis to empower students, educators, and financial aid professionals with transparent insights. Searching scholarship platforms can directly impact a student’s ability to efficiently find and secure funding. By understanding how Bold.org and Scholarships.com compare, students, educators, and advisors can make informed choices about opportunities for financial aid.