01
1994
A first scholarship
A first college scholarship is accidentally discovered, winning $17,500 for college from Discover Card.
The Scholaroo story
In 2019, Ben launched the first beta version of Scholaroo with a focus on making college scholarships searches less time-consuming and burdensome. In 2023, the Scholaroo team expanded the platform to cover multiple topics within student-related personal finance including financial aid, student loans, and credit cards.
Short(ish) version
Back when Ben Kaplan was a high school student, he didn’t have a clue how to pay for college. Growing up as a competitive tennis player, he always thought he’d go to school on a tennis scholarship. But after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back, he suddenly needed a different way to pay for school. Enter the wonderful world of college scholarships. Kaplan discovered that there were scholarships out there for virtually every type of student, interest, or skill. After applying for three-dozen scholarships, Kaplan won two dozen of them and amassed $90,000 for college — enough to graduate from Harvard University virtually for free.
Timeline
And just like that, the latest version of Scholaroo was born.
Determined to help others reach similar success, Kaplan wrote his first book, How to Go to College Almost for Free, during his senior year of college. Kaplan then booked himself on Oprah, Good Morning America, and 5,000 more TV and radio shows. His book became the best-selling book in the genre with more than two million copies in print.
02
1999
Harvard, debt-free
Graduation from Harvard debt-free magna cum laude in economics occurs, with virtually the entire cost of education covered by scholarship winnings.
03
2019
Scholaroo launches
The first beta version of Scholaroo launches with a focus on making college scholarship searches less time-consuming and burdensome.
04
2023
Beyond scholarships
Scholaroo expands to cover multiple topics within student-related personal finance including financial aid, student loans, and credit cards.