New to ScholarMatch?

Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions.

Wondering about how ScholarMatch serves students like you? Watch the video above to start, and check out this YouTube playlist.

You can also read about student success stories on our Medium page, and listen to a recent NPR piece on the program here.

Goals for September (scroll down for more!)

• Prep for filing the FAFSA, which opens on October 1, by reading our checklist below and gathering the documents you will need
• Refine your balanced college list by checking for financial fit
• Map out your deadlines and requirements, from essays to fee waivers, with our College Application Tracker

If you haven’t already, save our ScholarMatch Notifications #

While we occasionally mass text you to send out forms & reminders from 650.449.8898, we unfortunately can’t receive replies at that number.

Direct all questions or responses via email to virtual@scholarmatch.org, or to our student point-person Leo Harrington at 415.723.5022.

Prepare your FAFSA materials!

We’ve provided a checklist with the info and documents you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. FAFSA opens on October 1, many schools and states have a limited amount of aid, and some states have a FAFSA deadline of “as soon as possible after October 1,” (meaning they actually could run out of financial aid) so it’s good to complete it sooner rather than later.

The Federal Student Aid info center will be your friend: you can browse FAQs and email/chat/call with any questions you have.

These materials will also set you up to complete the The CSS Profile (short for the College Scholarship Service Profile), an application for financial aid applications at private colleges and some large public universities. Here’s a full list of schools!

Balance your college list: think financial fit and selectivity!

You’ve already begun to think about balancing for selectivity (how competitive the schools on your list are) by including academic safety, target, and reach schools.

Here are two next steps we recommend:

1. Aim to narrow your list down to 9-11 colleges, including at least 4 CollegePoint Schools. These are colleges and universities in the US with the highest graduation rates (70% or higher).

2. Make sure to carefully check for financial fit, using this guide! Focus on colleges which meet as close to 100% of need as possible, and use College Scorecard and/or College Navigator to review colleges’ average net price for families whose annual income is similar to yours.

Map out deadlines and requirements with your coach! 

Here’s a College Application Tracker we made for you to do just that! This template is view-only, but you can click “File” > “Make a copy” to save your own version, edit as you please, and share with your coach. We recommend tracking:

Prompts and deadlines for your Common App personal statement, any state system essays, and all supplemental essays required.

Application fees/fee waivers! Here’s a Fee Waiver Cheat Sheet, to help you figure out if you’re eligible to have these costs reduced or removed.

Scholarships! Read our September Scholarship Spotlight for some current suggestions, with awards ranging from $1,000-$40,000 and sites for further research.

Map out deadlines and requirements with your coach! 

Here’s a College Application Tracker we made for you to do just that! This template is view-only, but you can click “File” > “Make a copy” to save your own version, edit as you please, and share with your coach. We recommend tracking:

Prompts and deadlines for your Common App personal statement, any state system essays, and all supplemental essays required.

Application fees/fee waivers! Here’s a Fee Waiver Cheat Sheet, to help you figure out if you’re eligible to have these costs reduced or removed.

Scholarships! Read our September Scholarship Spotlight for some current suggestions, with awards ranging from $1,000-$40,000 and sites for further research.