Scholarships for High School Seniors: Finding Lesser-Known High School Senior Scholarship Opportunities

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There are many scholarships for high school seniors from various foundations, organizations, sponsors, and schools. If you are wondering if there are still eligible for a scholarship despite being at the senior level, you are not in vain because there are many foundations offering scholarships for high school seniors.

Being in your last high school year can feel exciting and overwhelming. It’s exciting because you will look forward to pursuing your dream course next school year yet, overwhelming since you will be in a different environment.

What are Highschool Scholarships?

High school scholarships are money granted to deserving students to use for their academic needs or college applications. There are four basic types of scholarships based on administration and requirements. These include:

  • Merit-based - In this type of scholarship, qualified students are assessed based on their academic achievement and extracurricular activities.
  • Essay-based - This is a common type of scholarship wherein applicants need to submit an essay along with other requirements which are the basis for qualification.
  • Academic or Achievement-driven - In this type of scholarship, applicants need to meet certain criteria based on their General Weighted Average (GWA) or General Point Average (GPA).
  • Athletic - This type of scholarship is awarded to students who show expert skills in athletics or sports.

Benefits of Applying for a Scholarship

Applying for a scholarship offers a lot of benefits including:

Reducing the financial burden

Paying for education may be challenging considering the increasing cost of basic needs such as shelter and food. This makes it difficult for students to pay for education. In some cases, students need to work full-time to keep their heads above water while ensuring they are up-to-date with their studies.

Applying for a scholarship will help ease this burden and may even offer students a chance to attend a prestigious university.

You can focus better on your education

With the help of a scholarship, students no longer need to work and earn money for tuition fees and other expenses. They will be able to have less stress and more time to focus on their education.

Provides opportunities for socialization

Scholarships can also widen your scope to connect to people with different backgrounds, lifestyles, and beliefs. This is because as you are qualified for a scholarship, you’ll be exposed to other scholarship grantees from the same foundation you have applied to.

Decrease future debt

Most students graduate from college just to be met half way with debts from student loans which they have to pay back. This makes it hard for fresh graduates to start their careers as professionals. Unlike student loans, one advantage of scholarships is that students no longer have to pay back the money they receive.

So instead of having an extra burden right after students graduate college, they can instead focus on applying for a stable job aligned with their profession.

General Requirements for a Scholarship

Each scholarship program may impose different requirements and standards. If you are new to scholarships, here are the general requirements you must keep in mind:

  1. Report card
  2. A high GWA/GPA
  3. Certifications
  4. Filled-out application form
  5. Application essays
  6. ID-sized photo
  7. Good Moral Character
  8. Proof of citizenship

Note: Make inquiries to the scholarship foundation you are applying to about their specific requirements to make sure you have enough documents on hand.

Best Scholarships for Highschool Seniors

Here are the nine best scholarships you might want to try.

Big Future Scholarships

Big Future is a scholarship foundation that you can apply to at the start of the school year. It doesn’t require applicants to pass application essays or tests nor does it include minimum GPA standards. This is a good choice especially if you need money and no longer have time to complete general requirements.

Big Future awards hundreds of scholarships awards monthly via drawings. Follow the steps listed on how to apply for a scholarship to get started.

Smart Owl  Scholarships

Smart Owl is another scholarship foundation that awards scholarship grants to deserving applicants every month. It has an annual budget of 50,000 dollars to be awarded to a total of 50 winners. Each month, a winner will be chosen to be awarded 1000 dollars.

All you have to do is register and you will automatically be given one entry.

College Express Scholarships

You can easily apply at College Express by filling out the form found on their official website. College Express awards scholarships to applicants via drawings. The application period typically starts at the beginning of each month and ends on the last day of the same month.

Nitro Scholarships

The latest Nitro Scholarship contest starts On January 1, 2023, and will end on December 31, 2023. Awards are given on a monthly basis wherein one winner of 2,000 dollars will be selected each month. Eligibility requirements include:

  • Being a legal citizen of the United States; and
  • Is currently enrolled in a high school or an accredited college or university located within the country.

Parents who have a child who’s currently enrolled in a high school or college university may also apply.

Christian Connector Scholarships

Christian Connector Scholarships may award up to 5,000 dollars worth of scholarships for deserving individuals. Students may simply apply for the scholarship by filling out the form on their official website.

Semper Solaris Scholarships

Semper Solaris offers 500 dollars worth of scholarships to deserving students. To apply, the applicant must submit an essay about a certain topic provided by the foundation. Other eligibility requirements include:

  • Minimum GPA of 3.0
  • Must be enrolled full-time in high school
  • Must be a legal US citizen

Walgreens Expression Challenge

Walgreens Scholarship offers up to 2,000 dollars to talented students between the age of 13 to 18 years. An applicant must show his talent either in spoken word, visual arts, or creative writing to be considered and selected.

Project Yellow Light Video Contest Scholarship

Project Yellow Light Offers up to 8,000 dollars in scholarship awards to deserving students. To be selected, an applicant must create a 10 to 25 seconds video clip showing the dangers of distracted driving.

AFSA National Highschool Essay Contest

AFSA Scholarship is currently open for applications until April 3, 2023, and offers up to 2,500 dollars in scholarship awards. To apply for the scholarship contest, the applicant must submit a 1,500-word essay that talks about a country or region in which the US Foreign Service has been involved at any point since 1924. The essay should describe whether the Foreign Service is successful or unsuccessful in promoting American foreign policy goals snd state the possible measures that can help achieve these long-term goals.

Final Word

Education expenses can cause quite a fuss for both students and parents. Oftentimes, students need to work full-time just to earn tuition payments, a reason why most students cannot commit their full attention to their studies.

Getting a scholarship may help students ease their struggle financially while helping them focus better on their studies. Many foundations offer scholarship grants to deserving students.

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