If you're a high school senior, then first off, congratulations! You're now in your fourth and final year of high school, which means a few different things... First, you're one step closer to becoming a college student - woohoo! Second, you're now officially able to start applying for scholarships for high school seniors.
Scholarships are an AMAZING way to help you pay for college because the money you earn through scholarships does not ever need to be repaid.
Despite this, most students make the mistake of waiting to apply for scholarships until the very end of their senior year in high school, if not later, and miss out on so many great opportunities.
To ensure maximum success, I suggest starting as early in the year as possible.
However, even if you're a little late to the game, luckily there are scholarships for high school seniors that are open and running throughout the entirety of the school year, and even into the summer after you graduate.
If you're completely new (or even relatively new) to the scholarship space, that's okay! I know from experience that the process of finding and applying for scholarships can be an overwhelming one.
That's why, in this post, I have gathered some awesome scholarships for high school seniors that you can search through and apply for to get you started in attending college.
A scholarship is, to put it simply, free money that you can earn to put towards paying for college.
Unlike other types of financial aid (aka, loans), money that you earn from scholarships doesn't ever need to be repaid, which is what makes it so awesome.
Award Amount: $25,000
Scholarship Deadline: Monthly
Details:The Niche $25,000 No Essay Scholarship is open to high school seniors and is awarded monthly.
Amount: $2,500
Deadline: Expires on the last day of each month
Eligibility: The ScholarshipPoints Scholarship is a monthly no essay scholarship open to all high school and college students ages 16 and older, who are US residents!
Amount: $1,000 (4 awards per month!)
Deadline: Expires on the 28th or 29th of each month
Eligibility: The Smart Owl Scholarship is a monthly no essay scholarship open to all high school and college students ages 16 and older, who are US residents!
Award Amount: $2,000
Scholarship Deadline: Monthly
Details: Open to high school students of all grades in the US.
Award Amount: $2,000
Scholarship Deadline: End of every month
Details: Sallie Mae offers a $2,000 scholarship every month, open to high school juniors & seniors and current college students. To be considered, all you need to do is fill out the application form on their website.
Award Amount: Varies, but usually $1,000 - $2,500
Scholarship Deadline: Last day of each month
Details: CollegExpress offers a monthly scholarship for high school seniors and students of other years in school. What's great is that when you enter for their monthly scholarship, you will also be automatically entered for their $10,000 scholarship!
Award Amount: $2,000
Scholarship Deadline: Monthly
Details:The CampusReel No Essay Scholarship is awarded monthly and all you have to do is sign up on their website. It's that easy!
Award Amount: $2,500
Scholarship Deadline: Monthly
Details: The Christian Connector Scholarship is a scholarship for high school seniors (and juniors!) who are interested in or planning to enroll in a Christian college or university.
Award Amount: $25,000
Scholarship Deadline: Rolling monthly
Details: The $25,000 “Be Bold” Scholarship is a no-essay scholarship that will be awarded to the applicant with the boldest profile.
Award Amount: $2,000
Scholarship Deadline: Monthly
Details:The Niche $2,000 No Essay Scholarship is open to high school seniors and is awarded monthly.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: Rolling
Details: The Cappex Easy Money Scholarship is open to all students - no minimum GPA or essay required.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: Quarterly (Last day of the month in September, December, March, and June)
Details: The Too Cool to Pay for School Scholarship is our own contribution to helping students fund their higher education. Simply fill in some easy info about yourself and you're entered to win!
Award Amount: $Varies
Scholarship Deadline: Rolling monthly
Details: Not a scholarship, but if you're looking to make a few extra bucks this upcoming semester, sign up to take surveys
Award Amount: $1,000 (3 awards)
Scholarship Deadline: July 31
Details: Open to high school students of all years.
Award Amount: $10,000 - renewable for up to 4 years
Scholarship Deadline: January 4
Details: The GE Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program honors the legacy and character of our nation’s 40th President. It rewards college-bound students who demonstrate exemplary leadership (in their community and through extracurricular activities), drive, integrity, and citizenship with financial assistance to pursue higher education.
Award Amount: $5,000 - $25,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 11
Details: The Live Más Scholarship is Taco Bell's contribution to helping students achieve their higher education goals. To apply, students must submit a video telling the story of their real, true passion.
Award Amount: $500 - $3,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 12
Details: The Profile in Courage Essay Contest is open to all high school students. Essays will be judged on the overall originality of the topic and the clear communication of ideas through language.
Award Amount: $7,500
Scholarship Deadline: January 18
Details: Open to female-identifying high school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate school students pursuing non-medical STEM-related degrees.
Award Amount: $40,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 23
Details: The Edison Scholars Program offers $40,000 scholarships to 30 high school seniors planning on pursuing STEM degrees at 4-year colleges and universities. Must live in Edison's service territory in Southern California.
Award Amount: $20,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 30
Details: The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program honors student-athletes who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and strong leadership skills in sports, in their schools, and within their communities.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 31
Details: This scholarship is for graduating high school seniors and currently enrolled college students who are interested in pursuing a career in business.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: January 31
Details: The Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship is designed to help you understand the negative effects that technology and too much screen time can have on our lives. Open to high school students of all years.
Award Amount: Varies
Scholarship Deadline: February 1
Details: The Columbus Citizens Foundation administers scholarship programs that help hundreds of students every year in elementary school, high school, college, and medical school, and graduate programs in the arts.
Award Amount: Up to $30,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 1
Details: Scholarship for students accepted to accredited four-year colleges or universities. Must be a minority student, United States citizen, involved in community service and demonstrate leadership potential and financial need.
Award Amount: Up to $25,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 3
Details: Open to high school seniors who have at least one parent with Hispanic heritage. Must be a US resident planning to attend a two or four-year college or university. Minimum 2.8 GPA.
Award Amount: $4,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 5
Details: $4,000 four-year scholarships available for children and grandchildren of Elks in good standing. Parent or grandparent must have been an Elk for two years and continue to be a member in good standing. Must be high school senior and apply through the related member’s Elks Lodge.
Award Amount: $100 - $1,200
Scholarship Deadline: First Friday in February
Details: The Americanism Essay Scholarship is open to Illinois high school students and requires an essay on Americanism and good citizenship.
Award Amount: $5,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 15
Details: AFA’s Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarship Essay Contest is an annual competition for college-bound students. Applicants are asked to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word essay that describes the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned in light of coping with the brain disorder.
Award Amount: up to $5,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 14
Details: Merit-based awards for U.S. citizens, permanent residents, eligible non-citizens, or DACA students of Hispanic heritage with plans to enroll full time in an accredited U.S. 4-year university in the upcoming academic year (can be a high school senior, current undergraduate student, community college transfer, or graduate student).
Award Amount: $10,000
Scholarship Deadline: February 20
Details: Three scholarships (one $10,000; two $5,000) will be awarded to graduating U.S. high school students who promoted vegetarianism (includes veganism) in their schools and/or communities. Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or fowl. Applicants will be judged on a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegetarian diet/lifestyle.
Award Amount: $1,500
Scholarship Deadline: February 28
Details: P.L.A.Y knows there are plenty of young minds out there that are passionate about helping animals in need. In an effort to encourage students and promote this cause, P.L.A.Y. will be awarding a $1,500 scholarship to a graduating high school student who best exemplifies their core beliefs.
Award Amount: $5,000/semester
Scholarship Deadline: March 1
Details:This need-based scholarship is pretty straightforward: it's awarded to one student each year who demonstrates not only financial need but also impressive academic performance and leadership ability.
Award Amount: $25,000
Scholarship Deadline: March 8
Details: The Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program is one of the major scholarship programs nationally that specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives. Open to US high school students with critical financial need. Minimum 2.0 GPA.
Award Amount: Varies
Scholarship Deadline: March 26
Details: To qualify for the scholarship, a student must be nominated by his/her school counselor or administrator. Students apply and compete at the local Chapter for up to $10,000 in scholarships. The first-place winner from each Chapter will then be submitted to the Corporate level for the opportunity to win the Corporate Scholarship.
Award Amount: $10,000
Scholarship Deadline: March 27
Details: The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and The Sallie Mae Fund are proud to offer financial assistance to outstanding students. Twenty-five (25) students completing a two-year, four-year, or trade/vocational certificate/certification program will be selected to receive a scholarship of up to $10,000.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: April 30
Details: The E-Waste Scholarship, sponsored by Digital Responsibility, challenges students to learn about the impact of e-waste and what can be done to minimize it.
Award Amount: $2,000
Scholarship Deadlines: April 30, August 31
The RealtyHop Scholarship awards up to $2,000 a year to eligible undergraduate students and high school seniors working towards a bachelor and/or associate degree program in the US who demonstrate the ambition, diligence, leadership, and entrepreneurial spirit that is central to our company culture.
Award Amount: $2,500
Scholarship Deadline: May 1
Details: Higher education: that magical time when deadlines are tight and budgets are tighter. Rover would like to help fund your education. Just write a 400-500 word essay for your chance to win $2,500!
Award Amount: $1,000 - $5,000
Scholarship Deadline: May 1
Details: The American College Foundation (ACF) offers the annual Visionary Scholarship program to financially support students in every grade level of high school.
Award Amount: $500 - $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: June 7
Details: The Fountainhead Essay Contest is for high school juniors and seniors and has three essay prompt options.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: July 31
Details: The Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship is a merit-based program that helps students fulfill their dreams of a higher education. To apply, students must simply answer one of three essay questions ("feel free to re-use an essay that you wrote in class, for college admission or another scholarship competition.")!
Award Amount: $500 - $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: September 1
Details: Open to all high school and college students in the US, including DACA recipients. Students who identify as part of a minority or who will be first-generation college students are encouraged to apply.
Award Amount: Full-ride!
Scholarship Deadline: September 10
Details: The Cameron Impact Scholarship is a four-year, full-tuition, merit-based undergraduate scholarship awarded annually to 10-15 exceptional high school students who have demonstrated excellence in academics, extracurricular activities, leadership, and community service.
Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.7 to apply.
Award Amount: $40,000 per year
Scholarship Deadline: November 18
Details:The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Program is an undergraduate scholarship program available to high-achieving high school seniors with financial need who seek to attend and graduate from the nation’s best four-year colleges and universities. Minimum 3.5 GPA.
Award Amount: $1,000 - $10,000
Scholarship Deadline: October 19
Details: Open to high-achieving high school seniors in the US with at least a 3.0 GPA who participate in a wide range of sports as well as school and community activities.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 1
Details: Imagine America, sponsored by the Imagine America Foundation (IAF), is a $1,000 career education award that is available to recent high school graduates who are pursuing postsecondary education at participating career colleges across the United States.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 1
Details: 10x digital awards a $2,000 scholarship each year to one talented student (twice a year) who is majoring in (or planning on majoring in) a field related to digital marketing.
Undocumented students and international students studying in the US are eligible to apply.
Award Amount: $40,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 1
Details: RBSP competitively awards 45 – 50 four-year $40,000 scholarships ($10,000 each year) to the most talented and economically-challenged high school seniors who demonstrate a keen interest in public service, community engagement, business entrepreneurship and global citizenship.
Applicants for the Ron Brown Scholarship MUST be Black/African American, US citizens or permanent residents, and a current high school senior at the time of their application.
Award Amount: Varies
Scholarship Deadline: December 1
Details: The National Honor Society is committed to helping students achieve their secondary education goals, and provides the following resources to students and their families to help with the planning process. 600 scholarships are awarded each year to high school seniors who are members of the NHS.
Award Amount: $40,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 15
Details: A serious 2-for-1 scholarship for high school students interested in computer science. Win $40,000 for college AND a paid programming internship at Amazon.
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of academic performance, experience with computer science, demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities, work experience, short answer responses, unusual personal or family circumstances, financial need, racial/ethnic/gender diversity, and an educator appraisal, preferred to be completed by a computer science teacher.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 15
Details: Open to high school seniors in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Award Amount: up to $20,000 over four years
Scholarship Deadline: December 17
Details: Open to current high school seniors who plan to enroll full-time in an accredited two- or four-year college or university in the United States for the entire upcoming academic year.
Award Amount: $1,000
Scholarship Deadline: December 31 (and June 30)
Details: This scholarship is Access Scholarship's opportunity created just for high school students! Open to high school seniors, but also to students in grades 9-11. DACA/undocumented and international students are also eligible to apply.
Award Amount: $2,500
Scholarship Deadline: December 31
Details: Apply in 4 easy steps: Go to www.cirkledin.com, create a free Cirkledin account, hit the “Apply Now” button, and tell us “What is one thing that, if it were in the Olympics, you would win gold in?”
Award Amount: Varies (up to full-tuition)
Scholarship Deadline: Varies
Details: Applicants must be a senior in a C-CAP designated partner high school in Arizona; Prince George’s County, Maryland; Tidewater, Virginia; or the cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC. Applicants must be accepted into the cooking competition for scholarships. Check the CCAP website for local coordinator’s contact information.
Award Amount: $10,000
Scholarship Deadline: Varies by state
Details: The United States Senate Youth Program is a scholarship for high school seniors (and juniors!) holding elected student offices. Two students are selected from each state.
Look, the search and application process for scholarships for high school seniors is not always a smooth-sailing process. But, the fact that you've made it this far in the post and are taking the initiative to learn more about scholarships is a great start in itself!
Here are a few quick tips to help you along your scholarship journey...
I was a high school senior not too long ago, so I know exactly what it's like to have to create a balance between your schoolwork, extracurriculars, college applications, and scholarships.
It's not always an easy task, but that's why you should work on setting goals for yourself and creating a scholarship strategy!
Your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant/Realistic, Timely). Setting goals for things such as how much you are aiming to earn from scholarships and when you will set aside time to search and apply will help you to stay on track with what you want to achieve.
If you're here and you're reading this, that means you know one great place to look! The Access Scholarships Search Engine is an awesome resource with tons of scholarships for high school seniors. But beyond Access Scholarships, be sure to...
Don't think of the scholarship process as one that you can engage in only once every few months and see success with.
The scholarship process requires consistency and dedication. If you want to have the best chance at winning scholarships, you need to be dedicated to the process (creating a healthy mix of mostly essay scholarships with some no-essay scholarships is a good strategy) and put in the effort!
Lots of students find it helpful to organize their scholarship application and search process using a spreadsheet (virtual or physical). These are extremely useful because you can keep track of important deadlines, requirements for each scholarship, and more.
TIP: Click here to view and download a copy of my own scholarship tracker so you can get organized for yourself!
I have provided you with a ton of great scholarships for high school seniors right here in this post.
In addition to these, don't be afraid to venture out to find scholarships that are specific to YOU in all aspects! This means thinking critically about your hobbies and interests, and passions outside of academics.
It also means thinking about things that define who you are that you could potentially leverage in your scholarship search. For example, are you a soon-to-be first-generation college student? Or maybe you're planning on pursuing a STEM degree? These are just two areas that you can identify and use to search for scholarships!