Scholarships for High School Seniors
There are many scholarships for high school seniors available and in fact they are quite possibly one of the most available fields for seniors to begin looking for high school scholarships. This is in many ways crunch times for students – they are about to graduate from high school, head off to college and start working on learning what they can about fields in which they will seek careers. Because of this, scholarships for high school seniors are much more common than other groups.
While other high school students may have access to a fair range of programs, many scholarships are designed with seniors specifically in mind. Across the spectrum there are national, regional and local programs – colleges often have their own scholarships for high school seniors for incoming university freshmen. There are also essay writing programs, community service oriented scholarships and many others.
At this point students should have a pretty solid idea of where their areas of strength are, and will be able to target scholarship programs which will give them strong chances of getting access to financial aid. Especially important at this stage are scholarships for seniors who have not yet received any kind of financial assistance or have not even begun looking for aid programs. These students, who may be arguably behind others, will want to especially ramp up their applications and start trying to get money where ever it is available.
Sources of Scholarships for High School Seniors
Scholarships for high school seniors can be found in the Ayn Rand Foundation’s essay contest for Atlas Shrugged. Students will need to select one of the three essay topics and submit their entries before September 17. A single first prize winner will receive $10,000, three second placers will get $2,000, and five third place winners will get an award for $1,000. Additionally 25 finalists will get $100 and 50 semifinalists will get $50.
FIRE Senior High School Scholarships
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has an essay contest every year which gives out scholarships for high school seniors. This program gives out $5,000 to a single first place winner, $2,500 to a second place winner and then five third placers will get awards for $1,000. Potential applicants will need to watch one of two videos provided by FIRE and submit an essay on an assigned topic. All application materials are due no later than November 1.
Scholarships for High School Seniors by the Dell Foundation
Students who have been participating in a Michael and Susan Dell Foundation college readiness program may be eligible to receive a Dell scholarship for high school seniors. Applicants will need to have at least a 2.4 grade point average, show a need for financial assistance, be a United States resident and be planning to enter a four year college program upon graduation. Students will be judged based on their individual expression and interest in experiences both inside and outside classroom assignments. It awards a varying number of scholarships for high school seniors every year, and the amounts will be based on relative financial need. The application deadline for the program is January 1.
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences HS Scholarships
If a student is interested in television or film, they may be interested in scholarships for high school seniors provided by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences through the Jim McKay Memorial program. Applicants will need to be high school seniors who plan to go to college to pursue a degree in television broadcast or communications, be a US resident and have taken the ACT or SAT. A varying number of selected winners will receive a $10,000 scholarship. In order to be considered for the program students will need to have their application materials submitted by January 31.
AXA Achievement Scholarships for HS Seniors
Every year the AXA Equitable Foundation gives out around $1.3 million in scholarships at the $25,000, $10,000 and $2,000 levels. Students will need to submit applications which highlight their personal academic history or other achievements they have made while students in high school. Their main program, the AXA Achievement scholarship, gives out 52 $25,000 scholarships and focuses on a student’s interest in achieving specific academic goals. The Community Service scholarships for high school seniors gives out $2,000 and looks at an individual’s dedication to community. Students interested in these programs will need to sign up with the website in order to get deadline information when it is released. Applications open in the fall of each year.
WCI Junior Golf Program
A sports oriented scholarship for high school seniors comes from the regionally focused WCI Junior Golf program. This program awards $1,500 to several high school seniors preparing to head of too college every year and has done so since 2000. Students interested in the program will need to Lee and Collier Counties in Florida, and maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average. The program runs every summer in July and students in the area should contact the organization for details on how to get involved for consideration.
Civil Service for Scholarships for Seniors in High School
Residents of California, Arizona, Nevada or Utah may want to apply to the Civil Service Employees Insurance Company’s Youth Automobile Safety program. Students will be given a single $1,500 award, one $1,000 scholarship, or three $500 rewards. Students interested in the program will need to have at least a 3.0 grade point average, be a child of a civil servant, and be a high school senior preparing to head off to a two or four year college. Applications must be turned in no later than May 13.
Key Club has High School Senior Scholarships
Students who are member of various high school organizations, like the Key Club, will find that there are scholarships for high school seniors specifically for them. As an example, students who are members of the Florida Key Club and have been active in the organization for at least two years may be eligible for several $1,000 scholarships. Applicants interested in this program will need to have at least a 3.0 grade point average, be a member in good standing, be a graduating high school senior, is preparing to enter a two or four year university, and has been heavily involved in local volunteer work. All application materials must be submitted no later than April 1.
There are many other senior high school scholarships in today’s student aid market, and students must keep searching and applying to those where your qualifications fit the high school scholarship criteria. If they do; apply to it and move on to the next one. It really is a numbers game.
Where do we go to sign up for these scholarships?
Lia,
we do not sponsor the scholarships written by us. You must go to the scholarship sponsors website to apply to the scholarship.