Black Co-Founded Scholarship App Created To Help Level The Playing Field For Minority Students

Paying for college does not have to be an obstacle.

On July 26, 2023, Sallie Mae acquired assets from Scholly, a Black-co-founded scholarship app for college students, AfroTech reported.

Sallie Mae CEO Jon Witter said, “Acquiring Scholly’s key assets is aligned with our mission to power confidence in students and families and further solidifies Sallie Mae as an education solutions company.” Witter also said he was “thrilled” to work with Christopher Gray, co-founder of Scholly.

Sallie Mae, a consumer bank and student loan service provider, plans to make the app free, according to AfroTech. Scholly has already been updated in the Apple App Store. On July 25, 2023, the scholarship app released its 3.1.0 version with a note to users. The note in the Apple App Store read, “We are thrilled to announce, starting today [July 25], Scholly Search is now available free of charge.” It reiterates, “Scholly is now free! Enjoy access to our flagship product at no cost to you,” among other changes.

“With Scholly, we created a solution that helps level the playing field and allows every student the opportunity to go to college, regardless of their financial background,” Gray said, according to a statement.

The Scholly co-founder continued, “Sallie Mae shares that same goal, and by making access to Scholly free, together we are further investing in higher education access and affordability for students and families from all backgrounds.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that the entrepreneur hoped to evolve the company some years ago. Gray said, according to BE, “We are working to move beyond scholarships and evolving into a platform that students can use to get into college and until they graduate from college.” He said Scholly wanted to remove barriers to entering college for minorities. Gray believes the company’s partnership with Sallie Mae will do just that.