Amid the rising cost of higher education, one Alabama man developed a tool to help prospective college students find scholarships more easily.
Christopher Gray is the developer and CEO behind the free app Scholly, which aims to expedite the time-consuming process of hunting for college scholarships.
“You sign up, you put in your parameters, it takes about two minutes to do that, and then you’re instantly matched with scholarships you qualify for in minutes,” Gray explained, according to CBS News Texas.
Gray created Scholly after his own attempt to finance his college education saw him wrangling over a whopping million dollars in scholarships.
He was dismayed to learn that many did not share his debt-free college experience, opting out of the scholarship search despite there being “hundreds of millions of dollars … that go unclaimed because students don’t know it exists,” Gray said, per CBS News.
Since its launch was boosted by Gray’s appearance on Shark Tank, the user-friendly app has helped students win over $100 million, according to the app website.
Tuition prices have skyrocketed alongside inflation, with some Ivy League institutions hitting the $90,000 mark in terms of annual cost, as reported by The Dallas Express. Although some institutions, such as the Texas A&M system, have tried to create some relief by freezing tuition rates for some students, the extraordinarily high cost of education is creating a dilemma for those wishing to pursue their studies.
Those cutting their education short due to prohibitive college costs might be missing out on a considerable salary bump, as a recent study from SmartAsset suggests.
As covered by The Dallas Express, the SmartAsset study found that graduate degree holders in the Dallas-Fort Worth area can expect a salary bump of nearly $17,000 per year in terms of lifetime earnings compared to their undergraduate degree-holding counterparts.
Still, many students don’t put enough effort into looking for scholarship opportunities due to having doubts about being selected, the perceived complexity of applications, and, notably, ignorance of the scholarships available, according to a recent report.
As found by a survey conducted by Ipsos for Sallie Mae, approximately 61% of students used scholarship funds to help pay for college last year.
Gray said he hopes Scholly can help bridge this gap, making the dream of a debt-free college education seem more achievable for students.
“I have a lot of moral conviction about what I’m doing,” he said in an interview with Drexel University. “Scholly has become a personal crusade for me to help students. It’s extremely personal.”
