Is bold.org legit or scam? bold.org is a scholarship platform that connects students with scholarships and funding opportunities from various corporate sponsors and non-profit organizations. With over $100 million in scholarships awarded, bold.org has helped thousands of students fund their education goals. But is bold.org legit and trustworthy or a scam? Here is an in-depth and unbiased review of bold.org looking at key factors like legitimacy, reputation, and scholarship success rates.
Overview of bold.org
bold.org is an online platform that curates scholarships and funding opportunities from corporate sponsors, foundations, religious institutions, and other sources. Students can create a profile on bold.org and get matched to relevant scholarships based on eligibility criteria like ethnicity, gender, major, GPA, and more.
The site currently has over 4 million student profiles and has helped award over $100 million in scholarships since launching in 2012. bold.org partners with over 1,800 scholarship providers and has a network of college advisors that help students find and win scholarships.
bold.org makes money through sponsored scholarships, meaning companies and organizations pay bold.org to administer and promote their scholarships to relevant student audiences on the platform. bold.org also offers premium tools like scholarship search engine optimization and profile review services for a fee.
Is bold.org legit? Factors indicating legitimacy
So is bold.org a legitimate and trustworthy scholarship service or some kind of scam? Here are the key factors indicating that bold.org is a legitimate platform for students seeking scholarships:
- bold.org is accredited by the BBB with an A+ rating – The Better Business Bureau has reviewed and accredited bold.org, giving them their highest rating of A+. The BBB looks at factors like transparent business practices, honoring promises, responsiveness to complaints, and more.
- Legit domain registration and company information – The domain bold.org was registered in 2009 and lists valid company contact info. Bold.org Inc is a registered corporation in San Francisco, California.
- Real founding team – bold.org was founded by technology entrepreneurs Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten and Andrew Maguirre who had previous success working in education and tech startups.
- Backed by reputable investors – bold.org has received funding from investors including Y Combinator, Imagine K12, and Village Global. The startup went through prestigious accelerator Y Combinator in 2012.
- $100 million in scholarships awarded – bold.org touts that students have won over $100 million in scholarships through its platform. This is a track record of tangible success.
- Case studies and media coverage – bold.org publishes case studies on its blog highlighting student success stories. The company has also been featured in major media outlets like Forbes, TechCrunch, and USA Today.
- Reviews from scholarship winners – There are many student reviews online from actual bold.org scholarship winners thanking the platform and confirming they received money, indicating legitimacy.
bold.org Reputation and Reviews
In addition to being an accredited business, bold.org also enjoys excellent customer satisfaction and reputation based on student reviews:
- Google Reviews – bold.org has a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Google Reviews based on over 700 reviews. Most reviews are 5 stars and praise the scholarships and customer service.
- Sitejabber – An average 4.5 out of 5 star rating on the reviews site Sitejabber, again with most reviews being positive about the service.
- Consumer Affairs – A perfect 5 out of 5 rating on Consumer Affairs compiled from 28 reviews. Students call the site “legit” and confirm they won scholarship money.
- Trustpilot – A “Great” 4.5 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from over 1,700 reviews. The vast majority of reviews rate the site as Excellent or Great.
The overwhelmingly positive reputation and reviews indicate that bold.org is satisfying student customers and delivering on its promises of helping find scholarships. Scam services typically have very poor online reputations.
bold.org Scholarship Success Rates
The most important criteria for evaluating a scholarship service is how likely you are to actually win scholarships using the platform. Here are the key statistics bold.org reports on its student success rates:
- Over 50,000 scholarshipsawarded through bold.org to-date
- 1 in 3 students awarded a scholarship after creating a profile
- Students win an average of $1,000 dollars in scholarship money
- bold.org students win scholarships at a 75% higher rate than the national average
These are strong success metrics, especially the 1 in 3 profile-to-award rate which is very high. For context, some estimates put the general scholarship application-to-award rate at just 10-25%.
Of course, student success will depend on an individual’s eligibility and effort in applying. But overall, the statistics indicate decent chances of winning some scholarship money by using bold.org.
Is bold.org legit or scam?Criticisms and Controversies
With that said, there are some criticisms and controversies to note about bold.org:
- Hidden costs – It’s free to make a profile but bold.org pushes paid services like essay review and search engine optimization. Some students feel nickle-and-dimed.
- Aggressive marketing – It spends heavily on digital ads and some find its marketing messaging overblown or even deceptive about guarantees of winning.
- Data privacy concerns – it likely monetizes student data for sponsors. Some feel its privacy policy allows too much data usage.
- Ineffective matching – Some students complain the matching algorithms aren’t very accurate at finding them relevant scholarships.
- Questionable scholarship providers – A few listed scholarships seem low quality or even potential scams. More vetting of partners needed.
- No application support – Unlike other services, bold does not actually help you apply or manage applications.
Conclusion: bold.org is Legit but Buyer Beware
In summary, bold.org appears to be a legitimate scholarship service with lots of satisfied student customers and a track record of helping thousands of students secure over $100 million in scholarships. Factors like the BBB rating, real founders, investor backing, and success metrics suggest website is not an outright scam.
However, students should be aware of the upselling practices, fine print, marketing hype, and partner scholarship quality. This website is not a magic ticket to free college money despite some of its marketing pitches. Do your own research, read the fine print, and use the platform appropriately to find and vet potential scholarship opportunities.
At the end of the day, is a real scholarship matching service with some decent tools and opportunities if used carefully. Just go in with proper expectations and be an informed consumer.
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| Key Points Summary |
|---|
| – bold.org has awarded over $100M in scholarships and has a strong track record of success |
| – The site is accredited by the BBB, backed by investors, and has real founders – indicating legitimacy |
| – Student reviews of bold.org are overwhelmingly positive, averaging 4.5+ stars |
| – Success metrics show higher scholarship match rates compared to national average |
| – Potential issues to note are upsells, marketing hype, data privacy, and scholarship vetting |
| – Overall bold.org appears legitimate but students should use it carefully and manage expectations |
