The search for college scholarships can be daunting due to the sheer amount that exist, but the district is offering a service to make the process easier for students and their families. Thanks to the new agreement between Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) and a free service called Going Merry, students now have an efficient way to search and apply for scholarships. Going Merry is a free scholarship search and application platform. It uses personalized matching to find scholarships and grants out of a pool of thousands. 

The platform is used across the country by over 750,000 students, according to the site. It’s also used by thousands of scholarship providers including the Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Sam’s Club and other local organizations and businesses. Districts are able to upload information on local scholarships, and ACPS has already started working with local organizations like The Education Foundation. 

How it Works:

1. First, students and families build a profile. After signing up, they’ll be prompted to answer questions in order to fill out a basic profile.
2. Next, students will be matched to a list of scholarships based on their answers or eligibility. On this list, you can filter, favorite or ignore scholarship listings. 
3. The final step is applying. Students can apply to scholarships directly from the platform. They can also upload documents and essays for each scholarship or to reuse on different applications. Each application is auto filled with profile details.

This can be done online on the Going Merry site or using the mobile app. 

The platform also offers help to students who need to apply for financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Local individuals and organizations can use the email address: scholarships@gm.sbac.edu to post their scholarship information on the site. An invitation to enroll in the service was sent to students’ district emails on Jan. 26. You can get more information at their site: www.goingmerry.com. 

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