Top 35 Scholarships for High School Juniors 2024

Scholarships for high school juniors

Introduction: Scholarships for High School Juniors

For most high school students, junior year is a year of big-time transitions, studying, and decisions, because it's generally the time where students start to think about all things college-related.

When you're a junior, hopping on this college journey includes things like taking the PSAT (and even the SAT or ACT), researching colleges (maybe even going on some tours), preparing for college applications, and speaking with your family and guidance counselor about what options might be right for you. 

Since this is the year where you're discussing college (and likely also discussing how to pay for it), leaving scholarships out of the picture would be doing yourself a disservice!

It's important to know that it is almost NEVER too early to begin applying for scholarships. There are tons of great scholarships for high school juniors to apply for.

In this post, we have highlighted some of the best scholarships for high school juniors to apply for in 2024. 

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    Top Scholarships for High School Juniors in 2024

    CollegeVine No Essay $2,000 Scholarship

    Award Amount: $2,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Monthly

    Open to high school students of all years who are residents of the US.

    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 students ages 16 and older, who are US residents!

    Smart Owl No Essay $1,000 Scholarship

    Award Amount: $1,000 (4 awards per month)

    Scholarship Deadline: Last day of each month

    Open to high school students of all years who are residents of the US.

    Scholarships360 No Essay $10,000 Scholarship

    Award Amount: $10,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Rolling

    Open to high school juniors in the US.

    Christian Connector $2,500 Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $2,500

    Scholarship Deadline: Monthly

    The Christian Connector scholarship is open to high school juniors and seniors who are interested in or planning to enroll in a Christian college or university.

    CampusReel $2,000 No Essay Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $2,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Monthly 

    The CampusReel No Essay Scholarship is awarded monthly and all you have to do is sign up on their website. It's that easy!

    Niche $25,000 No Essay Scholarship

    Amount: $25,000

    Deadline: Monthly

    Eligibility: Open to high school juniors - no essay required!

    Amount: $1,000 each (3 awards)

    Deadline: July 31

    Eligibility:

    -Open to high school students of all years

    -No transcript or minimum GPA required to apply!

    CollegExpress Monthly Scholarship 

    Award Amount: usually $1,000 - $2,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Last day of each month

    CollegExpress offers monthly scholarships to students ages 13+, centered around various topics. By entering their monthly scholarship, you're also automatically entered for their quarterly $10,000 scholarship as well!

    Niche $2,000 No Essay Scholarship

    Amount: $2,000

    Deadline: Monthly

    Eligibility: Open to high school juniors - no essay required!

    Appily Easy Money Scholarship

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Continuous  

    The Cappex Easy Money Scholarship is open to all students - no minimum GPA or essay required.

    Be Bold $25,000 No Essay Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $25,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Rolling

    Bold.org has a lot of great scholarships, but while you're there, make sure you enter to win this $25,000 scholarship they have going on!

    Nitro $2,000 No Essay Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $2,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Monthly 

    The Nitro No Essay Scholarship is awarded monthly and all you have to do is sign up on their website. Doesn't get any easier!

    Too Cool to Pay for School Scholarship

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Quarterly

    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!

    Humanity Rising Scholarships 

    Award Amount: $500 - $2,000

    Scholarship Deadlines: Rolling

    Humanity Rising awards scholarships to high school students who tell their stories with community service through a video.

    Survey Junkie Brand Influencer No Essay

    Award Amount: Varies

    Scholarship Deadline: Rolling 

    Survey Junkie invites students to share their opinions on topics they care about, with the potential to earn big rewards $.

    Distinguished Young Women Scholarship 

    Award Amount: Varies 

    Scholarship Deadline: Continuous 

    The Distinguished Young Women Scholarship program is for female high school juniors and seniors.

    United States Senate Youth Program

    Award Amount: $10,000

    Scholarship Deadline: Varies by state

    The United States Senate Youth Program is a scholarship open to high school juniors and seniors holding elected student offices. Two students are selected from each state.

    Live Más Scholarship

    Award Amount: $5,000 - $25,000

    Scholarship Deadline: January 11

    The Live Mas Scholarship is Taco Bell's contribution to helping students achieve their higher education goals. It's not a full-ride, but it's certainly something! To apply, students must submit a video telling the story of their real, true passion.

    Carson Scholars Program

    Award Amount: Varies

    Scholarship Deadline: January 13

    The Carson Scholars Program is a merit-based scholarship program that is open to high school students who excel academically and are committed to serving their communities.

    Profile in Courage Essay Contest

    Award Amount: $500 - $3,000

    Scholarship Deadline: January 12

    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.

    Coolidge Scholarship

    Award Amount: Full-ride!

    Scholarship Deadline: January 18

    The Coolidge Scholarship is a full-ride scholarship that covers a student’s tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study.

    Hamilton Award/Scholars Program for High School Juniors

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: January 31

    The Hamilton Award is open solely to underserved high school juniors in the US. Students do not need to be US residents.

    Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: January 31

    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 and college students, along with graduate school students.

    EngineerGirl Essay Contest

    Award Amount: $500

    Scholarship Deadline: February 1  

    The EngineerGirl Essay contest is open to high school students and asks for an essay discussing the vital contribution of engineers in responding to the pandemic.

    Americanism Essay Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $100 - $1,200 

    Scholarship Deadline: First Friday in February  

    The Americanism Essay Scholarship is open to Illinois high school students and requires an essay on Americanism and good citizenship.

    Be the Boss Scholarship

    Award Amount: $2,000

    Scholarship Deadline: March 15

    The "Be the Boss" Scholarship is designed to empower entrepreneurial women to give their business ideas a go!

    Fountainhead Essay Contest 

    Award Amount: $500 - $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: April 29

    The Fountainhead Essay Contest is for high school students in their junior and senior years and has three essay prompt options.

    E-Waste Scholarship 

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: April 30 

    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.

    Think for Yourself Scholarship 

    Award Amount: up to $5,000

    Scholarship Deadline: April 30 

    This scholarship, open to all high school students in the US, asks students to consider the value of free speech, curiosity, and open mindedness in their everyday lives.

    Stuck at Prom Scholarship

    Award Amount: up to $10,000

    Scholarship Deadline: June 9

    The Stuck at Prom Scholarship is open to high school students in the US and Canada who are 14 and older.

    Prudential Emerging Visionaries Award

    Amount: up to $15,000

    Deadline: November 4

    Eligibility: Open to young leaders ages 14-18 who are bringing powerful vision and real change to their communities. Must be legal residents of the US or Puerto Rico.

    Around the Corner from College Scholarship

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadlines: December 31, June 30

    This is another one of Access Scholarship's ways of giving back! The Around the Corner from College Scholarship is an easy opportunity that is open to all high school students, including international students who are planning to attend college in the US.

    National High School Poetry Contest

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: December 31

    Gen & Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

    Award Amount: $1,000

    Scholarship Deadline: December 31 and July 31

    The Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship is a merit-based program that helps students fulfill their dreams of higher education.

    Cirkled In’s “No Sweat” Scholarship

    Award Amount: $2,500

    Scholarship Deadline: December 31

    WiseGeek Mental Health Well-Being No-Essay Scholarship

    Award Amount: $500

    Scholarship Deadline: December 31

    The WiseGeek Mental Health Well-Being Scholarship is meant to provide awareness to mental health challenges and assist those who have had to face those issues with a $500 award to help pay their tuition.

    Quick Links - Scholarships for High School Juniors

    Frequently asked questions about scholarships from high school students

    What is a scholarship?

    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!

    Can juniors in high school even apply for scholarships?

    As you can see from the scholarships listed above, high school juniors certainly can apply for scholarships!

    If you're a junior and you haven't started yet, don't worry, because you're definitely not too late. In fact, you're quickly approaching one of the prime times to be applying, since junior year is the time where lots of scholarships tend to become available for high school students.

    One major pro of starting to apply for scholarships as a high school junior is that, by the time senior year rolls around, you will already be familiar with the process, and ready to go out there and submit applications for even more opportunities.

    Where can I find scholarships for juniors to apply for?

    In addition to this post and the entire Access Scholarships platform, there are tons of other places and resources you can check out to help you search for scholarships for juniors.

    You'll want to start by heading over to the website(s) run by your state that outlines state-based financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

    Then, you'll want to reach out to your school counselor (and do research on Google) to learn about local scholarship and merit scholarship opportunities.

    Another more unique way to find potential scholarship opportunities that are specific to you is actually through utilizing social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, even Pinterest!). You can follow hashtags on Instagram such as #TexasScholarships (if you live in Texas) so that anytime an organization posts a relevant scholarship with that hashtag, you can see it and apply if you're interested!

    How do I make my scholarship applications stand out?

    One of the best ways that you can stand out through your application is through the extra requirements that you submit.

    Whether it's an essay, a video, letters of recommendation, or other additional submissions, these are all places where you will want to dedicate extra time and effort to make sure that what you're sending in is authentically YOU, unique, eye-catching, and memorable.

    Applying for scholarships while juggling high school and extracurriculars is a lot of work. Is it worth it?

    In my opinion, ABSOLUTELY! While the process can be a long one, it can certainly pay off if you are able to earn a few thousand dollars (or even more!) in scholarships to help you pay for school. Think about how many hours of time you'd have to work at a part-time job to earn a few thousand dollars. Probably quite a lot!

    Additionally, not only is the process a humbling one (mostly everyone who applies will get rejected from at least one scholarship at some point) but it also helps you to refine key skills along the way, such as organization, essay-writing, and professional communication.

    For more tips on navigating the process of writing essays for scholarships, check out our blog post on How To Write a Winning Scholarship Essay.

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