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Frequently Asked Questions


  • How much does it cost to search your database, and can't I get this information for free?
  • The cost is $99 for a one year membership to our website. However, many of our corporate and school partners receive a discount code. If your company would be interested in setting up a corporate discount program, please have them email partnerships@collegetreassure.com. Further, if you are eligible for a fee waiver on the SAT, email support@collegetreasure.com, and we will set up an account for you. While you can get some of the information on our website from websites such as MeritAid.com or FastWeb.com, they are supported by advertisers and you will be subject to many offers. Since our website is supported by the users, you are our priority. Your information will never be sold or released to anyone (unless you choose to release the profile to one of our spotlight colleges for a chance at their bonus $1,000 scholarships). Our site is much easier to search. You can locate schools where you are eligible for scholarships by entering your criteria. Then a list of scholarships is generated for you. You do not have to just choose school names, or search by geography, and then still look at each individual school to see if you are eligible for the scholarships. Before you choose to pay for a membership, you see how much scholarship money you are eligible for. If you apply to even one less school because you find out you wouldn't receive money and couldn't afford to go there otherwise, you have already earned back the cost of a one-year membership.

  • Am I guaranteed to win scholarships?
  • Just because you are eligible for scholarships, it does not mean that you are guaranteed to win scholarships. With that being said, many of the scholarships in our database are unlimited. That is, if you meet the minimum criteria, then you are guaranteed to win that scholarship. The way you can tell if it is a guaranteed scholarship is by viewing the scholarship details and seeing the number available. If it is unlimited, then it is a guaranteed scholarship. If it says limited, it means that it is extremely competitive, and if it says varies, then it is fairly competitive.

  • What are college-based merit scholarships?
  • College funding comes from 3 basic sources (4 if you count your parents pocketbook): Federal Government, State Government, and the Schools. College based scholarships come from the schools themselves. Merit awards mean that they are not based on need they are based on some form of merit, whether it be academic, athletic, or artistic. Private scholarships are usually only a very small part of the college funding picture. Typically, they are for between $500 to $2,500 and are not renewable. The average college-based scholarship in our database is for $12,330 a year, and renewable for all four years. In determining an aid package, schools will give merit money first (usually decided by the admissions office), then entitlement aid (federal financial aid as determined by filing your FAFSA), then self-help (Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, or Work Study. Money you either earn, or have to pay back.), and then college grants (their own need-based money). College-based merit scholarships are the best source since they do not need to be paid back, are not dependent on need, and typically are renewable if you maintain certain criteria.

  • How are your spotlight colleges selected, and do they pay you?
  • The spotlight colleges are colleges that we have visited in the course of research for our educational consulting service (we have visited over 100 different campuses and growing). As of now, they do not pay us a fee to be listed. However, they do agree to provide us a link and provide a bonus $1,000 scholarship to at least one student who has found out about them through our website. We have tried to highlight what we feel are their strengths for you. We have written the write-ups, they were not submitted by their marketing departments.

  • How do you make money?
  • We make money from memberships to the site, google ads, and a few affiliate programs. That is, if you click on the Amazon link and buy a book, we get a small commission. We also make a small amount for some of the other programs we recommend (FastWeb.com, ScholarshipExperts, SimpleTuition, and UPromise). These are programs we recommended before we enrolled in their affiliate programs. And while we can be bought, it typically takes more than the few cents or even few dollars (best case scenario) we are paid for recommending these programs. We only recommend programs that we feel are of high quality, and that we use ourselves.

  • How do I get Started?
  • It's Easy. First, create a profile, then login using your profile. At that time you will see how many colleges would offer you scholarships, the total scholarship amount, and the average scholarship value. Even if you do not choose to purchase a membership, you are now eligible for our $1,000 scholarship and potential bonus $1,000 scholarships at our spotlight colleges. However, if you choose to purchase a membership, you can do so at this time. Then, to view all the of the valuable information about the scholarships and colleges, click on "Search by Profile." That's it.