What is Scholar Snapp?

Scholar Snapp makes it faster and easier for students to connect to scholarships that will help them pursue a college degree. The first step is for students to create a profile including standard information requested by college admissions and scholarship applications. Then the Scholar Snapp data standard makes it possible for them to “auto-fill” applications using this information, rather than re-entering the same information over and over again.

What is the Scholar Snapp profile Data Standard?

Technically speaking, the Scholar Snapp Profile Data Standard is an XSD specification that defines a single scholarship application for a single student. The Scholar Snapp profile contains core information about the student such as their name, contact information, academic history, application essays, file attachments, and so forth. The Snapp profile also contains a few context fields, such as when the file was created and the name of the system that originated the file.

I’m a program provider. Will Scholar Snapp integration increase the number of applications we receive?

No. Integration with Scholar Snapp does not automatically send new applications to your system. The system exchanges data only after the student has logged in to an online application, which is typically after an eligibility screen. Scholar Snapp does not change your application process, and you can determine where you want to offer the data import and export for your students that best fits your program.

What if we don’t want to change our software?

Scholar Snapp doesn’t change your software. Scholar Snapp moves data regardless of the type of software or platform you use. Whether you have an internal or external tech team, the technology team will work with your developer resources to create an integration plan that is both cost and time efficient.

Our organization manages online applications using a custom system. Can we connect to Scholar Snapp?

Yes. Scholar Snapp provides a simple, secure API that’s vendor neutral and platform independent. And the API provides application data in a flexible, well-defined, standardized format. This means that practically any system can be connected. Scholar Snapp provides documentation, support, and a test environment so your in-house technology team or system integrator will have everything they need. A technical overview of Scholar Snapp can be found here.

I’m a program provider that outsources our online application hosting to an external company. Can we connect to Scholar Snapp?

Some products have Scholar Snapp support baked in. Check with your software application vendor or view the list of products with native Scholar Snapp integration here. We’d encourage you to inquire even if your product is not on the list. The more the vendor community hears from its customers about the value of Scholar Snapp integration, the more time savings you can pass along to your applicants.

I’m a program provider. What if our vendor doesn’t currently offer Scholar Snapp integration?

Some vendors may be worried that integration will be costly. Dedicated technical resources will work with your vendor to develop a detailed technical plan to ensure the integration is as quick and efficient as possible. It’s also important to remember that integration can be a competitive advantage for your vendor.

What is the Snapp Central API?

To enable applicants to reuse their scholarship application data securely, Scholar Snapp Central is a data hub with an OAuth 2-based API. This API allows applicants to authorize the exchange of their Scholar Snapp profile data from within any online application form.

Like most modern APIs, Snapp Central is RESTful, and uses JSON to structure control information. The JSON acts as a “wrapper” for the Snapp Profile XML payload. The Snapp Central API generally maintains backward compatibility with previous versions of the Snapp Data Standard for at least a complete cycle.

I’m a technology leader. Will Scholar Snapp integration be a heavy lift for our technical team?

Easy integration is one of the benefits of Scholar Snapp with adoption averaging days or weeks, not months. We can even do the data mapping between your system and the Scholar Snapp profile. Complete integration details can be found online in our technical documentation site. The documentation can answer questions, and even has sample code and examples to help shorten developer time.

Won’t integration be expensive?

Generally speaking, no. Dedicated technical resources will work with vendors to develop technical plans, provide API walkthroughs, and answer questions. The technical team’s goal is to ensure the integration is as quick and efficient as possible. Integration can also serve as a competitive advantage.