Embarking on your college journey should be an exciting leap towards your future, not a financial burden that overshadows your academic pursuits. Yet, according to the College Board, the average annual cost of tuition and fees at a private four-year institution has soared to $41,540 for the 2023-2024 academic year. With such steep expenses, it's no wonder that the financial strain is a prevalent stressor among students.
In this climate of rising educational costs, which have indeed surged by about 169% since the 1980s, scholarships and financial aid platforms become invaluable. This brings us to the question: is Bold.org legit? As we delve into this platform, we aim to provide you with comprehensive insights, ensuring you can navigate your financial options with confidence and ease.
Because of this uncomfortable truth, finding ways to fight student debt is critical for the average student. Grants, scholarships, and fellowships can provide relief, but finding scholarships, grant opportunities, and other “free money” sources can often feel impossible.
That’s where organizations like Bold.org come in.
Designed to match college students with potential financial aid and scholarship opportunities, scholarship sites like Bold.org offer a way to help undergraduate and graduate students pay for their higher education.
In theory, this sounds like a life-changing service, and legitimate scholarship websites do exist. The question, then, is simple: is Bold.org legit?
What Is Bold.org?
Bold.org is a philanthropic student debt relief and scholarship platform dedicated to helping students pay for the cost of higher education. Conceptualized and founded by a group of individuals passionate about fighting student debt and the rising cost of tuition, the company takes a unique approach to the issue. Luckily, the entire process can be broken down into five steps.
Attract Donors
Rather than having students apply for scholarships in the traditional sense, Bold’s platform advertises its secure scholarship service to individual donors and philanthropic organizations.
Fund Scholarships
After establishing a relationship with Bold and undergoing the company’s vetting process, these entities create and fund exclusive scholarships intended to aid students going into specific types of education, such as tech students or students pursuing medicine as a career path.
Publish Scholarships
Once they’ve been finalized and sorted into the proper scholarship categories, Bold.org’s team works to publish scholarships on their site. Each of these unique scholarships comes with information about the award amount and what the scholarship requires, such as eligibility requirements and upcoming deadlines.
Apply for Scholarships
After new scholarships are published, the Bold platform alerts students and encourages them to apply. These scholarship applications usually require that students complete essays or attend scholarship panels. The best scholarships often have hundreds or thousands of applicants, however. Because of this, students with volunteer experience or who have made a positive impact on their communities sometimes have an edge over their competition.
Award Scholarships
When the application deadline passes, the people or organizations funding these exclusive scholarship opportunities will look through the applicants and choose one student from among many deserving winners. Donors base this selection on the student’s profile, education level, essay, and financial aid situation.
Who Can Join Bold?
Per its mission statement, the Bold platform welcomes students of all backgrounds, ethnic groups, and ages. Once they join, the organization asks students to fill out and submit a student profile. After they have a completed profile, the website uses it to match and alert students to new scholarships as they are created.
Although specific requirements may limit individual scholarships, Bold.org itself does not discriminate.
Is Bold.org a Secure Scholarship Service?
Security is one of the most common issues with other websites offering financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Unfortunately, many large scholarship databases routinely store and sell student data to third-party companies. This practice can result in quite a few emails, spam calls, and unpleasant annoyances.
Bold.org, however, offers students full control over the information in their Bold profile. This guarantee means that nothing you disclose to the site will be communicated to external sources without your permission.
What Are Bold’s Features?
Besides its unique and creative method of recruiting donors, Bold.org offers various features to students seeking help. These features include:
New Scholarship Alerts
Once you complete your profile, the Bold platform will sort you into various groups to help identify which scholarships are most relevant to you. Then, you'll be regularly alerted when scholarships matching your information are published.
Scholarship Search
If you want to take your scholarship search into your own hands, Bold.org allows you to perform a filtered search based on your preferences. This type of search will show you the various scholarships available to you and help you apply for them.
Communication Support
Once students have received scholarships, they sometimes need help coordinating with their college admissions office. Bold.org offers clear, actionable advice and guides to help you navigate the process and eliminate stress.
The Bottom Line: Is Bold.org Legit?
After extensive research and evaluation, our official judgment is that Bold.org is 100% certified legit. While a quick Google search may reveal more websites offering student debt relief and scholarships, Bold.org’s proven dedication to helping students separates them from the rest of the pack.
For graduate students, high school students, or even the parents of students looking to further their education, Bold.org and its donors can potentially mean the difference between long-term student debt and financial freedom.
If you’re still unsure, we suggest checking out some of the site’s glowing reviews from other sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s only natural that you might still have questions. We’ve taken a moment to answer a few of the most common ones.
How many scholarships can I receive?
Users can apply for as many scholarships as they like, and there is no limit to how many may be awarded to a single person. Some students have received several scholarships through Bold.org.
Can high schoolers use Bold.org?
Yes. So long as you have the necessary materials and information, high school students are entirely welcome to make a Bold profile.
How do I start my scholarship search?
Once they sign up, Bold asks students to complete a thorough profile to aid in the scholarship-matching process. Remember, Bold.org gives students tight control over their profile and who can see it.
Do I have to pay anything to use Bold.org?
Bold.org advertises itself as being completely free to use. This means no application fees or subscriptions. Scholarships received by students are quite literally free money.
Can Bold.org help me pay off my student debt?
Although most scholarships the site offers are meant to pay for current tuition fees, some donors also provide grant opportunities to help those struggling with student debt.
