9 Amazing Scholarships for High School Seniors

If you're looking for the best scholarships for high school seniors, here are 9 great options.

College can be INSANELY expensive, and students often feel like their only options are student loans. While that is unfortunately sometimes the case, it's definitely worth it to look into popular scholarships to see if you qualify. It's incredibly important to make sure that you are applying to, at a minimum, a few scholarships for high school seniors.

I know that "scholarships" can be a daunting word for some people. However, I would encourage everyone to at least try applying for a few. They can be extremely beneficial in the long run.

There are SO MANY scholarships out there and while I'll only be walking you through 9 of the bigger ones, I HIGHLY encourage you to do some of your own research. You can actually find a scholarship for almost anything.

This post is all about amazing scholarships for high school seniors, that everyone should look into.

Scholarships for High School Seniors

Need-Based Scholarships

1. The Gates Scholarship

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Scholarship is a super prestigious scholarship that covers the total cost of an undergraduate education minus financial aid. So basically, they will pay for everything your school won't. However, this scholarship is extremely competitive and is only open to students who are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian and Pacific Islander, and/or Hispanic American. The other requirements are as follows:

• A high school senior
• Pell-eligible
• A US citizen, national, or permanent resident
• In good academic standing with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) 
• Students must plan to enroll full-time, in a four-year degree program, at a US-accredited, not-for-profit, private or public college or university.

Again, The Gates Scholarship is super prestigious but there are so many online resources to help you make your application as competitive as possible. I know it can be daunting to hear that you need a competitive application, but I highly encourage you to apply to at least a few need-based scholarships if you're eligible. And, with all scholarships, but especially competitive ones, it's important to put yourself out there. You don't want to be the one to say no to yourself, especially since there is always a chance.

I would recommend pouring through the essays and applications of past recipients of the scholarship to give you the best shot at being competitive for them.

2. Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship is the one that I'm the most familiar with on this list. They provide up to 55,000 dollars per school year towards getting an undergraduate education. They also offer advising through the scholarship throughout your four years in college.

The JKCF scholarship also has a ton of other resources through the program. They offer grants for students to pursue free summer internships. And, if you become a college scholar there is a scholarship for a master's degree that you become eligible to apply for for up to 5 years after you graduate with your bachelor's degree.

Applicants for The JKCF must meet the following requirements to be eligible to apply:

• Senior standing – Plan to graduate from a U.S. high school in spring 2024.
• Fall College Enrollment – Intend to enroll in an accredited four-year college beginning in fall 2024.
• GPA – Earn a minimum, cumulative unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above.
• Financial Need – Applicants with a family annual gross income of up to $95,000 will be considered. During the selection process, the Foundation will conduct a full financial review which will take into account all income and assets of the student and the student’s parents.

The JKCF application can be done directly through the Common Application, which makes it a super convenient scholarship to apply to for high school seniors. It doesn't have the added burden of having to create another account. All of these reasons make the JKCF scholarship for high school seniors a great option.

3. The Questbirdge National College Match

The Questbridge National College Match is an extremely popular match scholarship for high school seniors. If you've done a lot of research about college scholarships, you've probably heard of this one. The Questbridge Match program allows you to rank up to 15 schools and the schools rank you back. Both rankings are then used to determine what school you "match" with, and you receive a full four-year scholarship. The eligibility requirements are:

• Academic Achievement - Primarily A's in the most challenging courses available; Evidence of strong writing ability, intellectual spark, and determination; Top 5-10% of graduating class
• Financial Qualifications - households earning less than $65,000 annually for a household of four and have minimal assets

If you don't end up matching through the match program, Questbridge finalists are allowed to apply regular decision to the Questbridge College Partners and receive the same award amount.

While this scholarship can seem daunting because of the amount of essays required in order to apply, I encourage everyone to at least take a look at it before deciding. It's a great scholarship for high school seniors.

Merit-Based Scholarships

4. Bryan Cameron Education Foundation Scholarship

The Bryan Cameron Education Foundation is a prestigious merit-based scholarship. It is a full-tuition scholarship and the eligibility requirements are the following:

• GPA - Maintain a minimum, cumulative, unweighted GPA of a 3.7/4.0 scale or equivalent in their high school studies;
• Citizenship - Be a full citizen of the United States of America;
• Class Year - Be in the high school graduating Class of 2025, planning to enroll in a full-time course of study towards a degree at an accredited four-year U.S. college or university for the full academic year following high school graduation;
• Application - Show proven excellence in extracurricular activities, be motivated leaders with a strong work ethic, demonstrate active participation in community service and/or civic-minded arenas

In addition to covering full tuition, the scholarship also covers fees and books. But, it DOES NOT cover room and board. This is unfortunate as room and board can be very expensive in college. It's DEFINITELY still worth applying to because when it comes to scholarships for college it's helpful to apply for anything and everything you're eligible for.

Honestly, even if you're not going to apply, I would still recommend visiting their website because they have a page dedicated to A TON of other scholarships you could apply for. This is super helpful and will work as a great starting point if you're currently looking for other credible scholarships.

5. Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation

The Coca-Cola Scholar Foundation is one of the largest scholarships on this list. They accept about 150 students annually. They give $20,000 to those 150 recipients to put towards an undergraduate degree. In order to apply you must check off the following:

• High School Location - Currently enrolled high school/home-schooled students attending school in one of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or select DoD schools graduate high school during the 2023-2024 school year
• Citizenship - U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, U.S. Permanent Residents, Refugees, Asylees, Cuban-Haitian Entrants, or Humanitarian Parolees - based on the guidelines utilized by the U.S. Department of Education for Federal Financial Aid eligibility
• Graduation Year - Expecting to receive high school diploma during the current academic year
• College Choice - Planning to pursue a degree at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution
• GPA - Able to verify a minimum overall B/3.0 GPA in high school coursework

Just like the Bryan Cameron Education Foundation, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation also has a list of scholarships to browse at the bottom of their scholarship page. And again, I think this is a great resource to start with if you're feeling completely lost in your quest for college scholarships.

A benefit of the scholarship is that you can use the money given for any school-related expense. This allows for a lot of flexibility that many other scholarships just don't offer. It's amazing when a scholarship allows you to decide where the money will go because, at the end of the day, you know your financial situation best. Again, there are a ton of free resources to help you maximize your chances of earning this scholarship.

6. Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship

The Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship is the last of the merit-based scholarships. This scholarship is actually a combination of merit-based and need-based. They give up to $35,000 over the four years of college. And, they also pay for recipients to attend a yearly conference that is super helpful for meeting people and gaining access to information you might not have had before.

Their scholarship program helps students with a lot of other opportunities, like career preparation, internships, and skill training. To apply, you must:

• Class Year - Be a graduating, minority high school senior
• Citizenship - Be a United States citizen
• Need- Present evidence of financial need
• Academics - Demonstrate a record of academic excellence
• Demonstrate leadership potential and a dedication to community service
• Plan to attend an accredited and approved 4-year college within the United States or affiliated with a United States-based college or university
• Have not accrued more than 25% of credits needed to graduate from college.

This application is essay-heavy. It requires four essays in addition to all of the regular scholarship application requirements. While this can seem daunting, I will say that the more effort you put in the more you stand to gain. No essay scholarships are easy to apply for, but that means everyone else will be applying as well.

Unusual/Random Scholarships

7. Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship

The Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship is for high school seniors, however, it requires about 2 or 3 years of planning ahead. This one is unusual because it is for high school students who have caddied as a summer job for at least 2 years. It's a full housing and tuition scholarship. Here are the requirements:

• Strong caddie record: Applicants must have caddied, regularly and successfully, for a minimum of two years and are expected to caddie at their sponsoring club the year they apply for the Scholarship.
• Excellent academics: Applicants must have completed their junior year of high school with above a B average in college preparatory courses. The ACT and SAT will be optional for 2023 applicants.
• Demonstrated financial need: Applicants must clearly have a need for financial assistance.
• Outstanding character: Applicants must be outstanding in character, integrity and leadership.

A potential downside to this scholarship is that you need to go to a university that is on the Chick Evans school list, which can limit your options a little bit. But, the list has a lot of really great schools including, Northwestern University, The University of Notre Dame, and The University of Michigan.

What's super amazing about the Chick Evans scholarship is that you get paid when you work as a caddy during the summer. So, this means that you can get paid and work towards a scholarship at the same time! This is a great example of how niche hobbies or jobs can help you secure aid for college. There are A TON of opportunities for random scholarships, and these might be your best bet if you don't easily fit into the merit or need-based categories.

8. Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest

The Duck Calling Scholarship for high school seniors is another example of the various opportunities that exist. The scholarship is offered to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place winners, and it ranges from 5,000 for 1st place to $750 for 4th place. The only eligibility requirement is:

• Blow a Main Street duck-calling routine

Now this scholarship only really applies to people who have experience with duck calling. However, it just goes to show that if you have any unique interest at all there's probably a scholarship out there for it. You don't need to be the smartest person in your class or demonstrate financial need to apply for scholarships. There are plenty of scholarships out there that anyone could be eligible for.

9. Scholarship for Aggressive Scholarship Applicants

The Scholarship for Aggressive Scholarship Applicants is one that anyone reading this post could apply for. One of the key aspects of getting scholarships is being consistent and applying to as many as you can. The scholarship for aggressive applicants proves exactly that. The requirements are:

• Apply for as many scholarships as you can. 
• Send in all the confirmation emails you received. 
• You DON’T have to win these scholarships
• Write a short letter telling us about yourself. 

This is fairly simple and everyone is capable of applying for this scholarship. As an added, bonus this scholarship isn't only for high school seniors. It's for literally anyone. I would recommend checking it out and maybe finding other similar scholarships if you feel like the criteria matches what you're willing and able to do.

Ultimately the best advice I can give you when applying to scholarships is to be consistent. Make sure to use all the free, online resources you can get your hands on. Because, even though all of these unusual scholarships give less money than the need and merit-based scholarships, money can add up quickly. Focusing on applying to many scholarships that award between 5,000-15,000 can help you rack up a lot of aid for college.

This post was all about the best scholarships for high school students to consider applying to.

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