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Top 30 Scholarships for Adults in December 2022
Yea! Since you landed on this page, it looks like you are, or are thinking about, starting or returning to college. In retrospect, I wish I knew about scholarships for adults back when I started college as the mother of three school-age sons. This post was created to support all the brave adults who embrace lifelong learning!
If you are planning on attending a local college, university, or trade school, don’t forget to explore the scholarship opportunities offered at those institutions. If you don’t know where to start your search, stop in at your local library for assistance. Finally, in addition to applying for scholarships, make sure that you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Good luck, fellow learners!
Jump ahead to…
- Top scholarships for adult learners
- How to win scholarships for adults
- Resources for adult learners
- Frequently asked questions
- Additional scholarship categories to explore
Top 30 Scholarships for Adults in December 2022
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:
- The scholarship requires a fee to apply
- The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
- The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
- Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
- The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
- The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
- The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
- There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
- The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
- There is no available contact information
If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students.
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
Niche $50,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year.
Worthy Women’s Scholarship
Offered by Worthy
Open to women age 30 or older who have decided to enroll in school to pursue their passions.
Job-Applications.com Working Parent College Scholarship Award
Offered by job-applications.com
Working parents who are enrolled in an accredited U.S. postsecondary educational institution.
Taco Bell Live Más Scholarship
Offered by Taco Bell
Open to students between 16 to 26 years old who submit a video (2 minutes or less in length) that addresses three questions about life.
Edwyna Wheadon Postgraduate Training Scholarship
Offered by National Council of Teachers of English
Open to NCTE members who are ELA teachers at public institutions and are pursuing postgraduate training to enhance their teaching skills.
“Mom to Scholar” Scholarship for Mothers
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Open to mothers over the age of 35 either accepted to or a attending technical, community, or four-year college/university.
Jeannette Rankin Foundation National Scholar Grant
Offered by Jeannette Rankin Foundation
Open to women aged 35 and up who are pursuing a technical/vocational, associate's, or bachelor's degree.
Ford Opportunity Program
Offered by The Ford Family Foundation
Open to adult learners in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California who are over the age of 25 and hoping to pursue higher education.
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Sponsored
Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school students.
Voya Unsung Heroes Awards
Offered by Voya Financial
Full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and other staff working to improve student learning in the U.S.
E-waste Scholarship
Offered by Digital Responsibility
Open to students who answer a prompt expressing their opinion on e-waste.
Charles W. Riley Firefighter and Ambulance and Rescue Squad Member Scholarship Program
Offered by Maryland Higher Education Commission
Open to active firefighters (including volunteers), ambulance, or rescue squad members who are seeking a fire-service-related degree.
Professional Development Scholarship Emphasizing History, Number Theory, or Discrete Mathematics
Offered by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Open to mathematics teachers who have taught for at least three years and plan to continue teaching.
STEM Teacher Scholarships
Offered by AFCEA & ManTech International
Open to aspiring teachers seeking a graduate degree for the purpose of teaching STEM subjects to K-12 students in the U.S.
Boomer Benefits Scholarship
Offered by Boomer Benefits
Open to adults age 50+ who are returning to school for a bachelors or graduate degree.
Segal AmeriCorps Education Award
Offered by AmeriCorps
Open to AmeriCorps members after successfully completing their AmeriCorps term of service to pursue post-secondary education.
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.
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How to win scholarships for adults
One of the best things you can do to boost your chances of winning scholarships is to write a knockout essay. Essays are the perfect place for you to describe what you’re passionate about, lay out your goals for the future, and win over your readers. Keep in mind that scholarship committees commonly read hundreds or even thousands of applications, so you’ll want to find a way to make your essay stand out from the crowd.
Fortunately, we have some great resources to help you! These include guides on how to write a winning essay, how to start and end an essay, and how to write an essay about yourself. If applicable, you can also check out our guides on how to write a 250 word essay and 500 word essay. The essay is one of the most important parts of the application process, so be sure to give it the necessary time and attention!
Also see: The ultimate guide to finding and winning scholarships
Resources for adult learners
The following resources are a solid place to start your higher education journey or help you navigate the next steps. In crafting this post, one could not help but notice all of the for-profit organizations out there. The following resources are credible and free, so make good use of them!
Adult Literacy League
This website, run by the Adult Literacy League located in Winter Park, Florida, lists a number of links to other credible free websites that feature quality learning resources for adult learners.
College for Adults
The College for Adults website (part of the National College Transition Network (NCTN)) offers advice and resources to adults who are going to college for the first time. This includes career planning, college selection, and the application process.
Related: Guide to financial aid for part-time students
U.S. Department of Education Contacts by State
This handy list of state resources that the U.S. Department of Education offers is invaluable. For example, if you live in NJ, there are phone numbers and official websites for the four main state education departments, including the State Adult Education Agency. Bookmark this website!
Also see: Scholarships for online students
Frequently asked questions about scholarships for adult learners
What about local scholarships?
When it comes to increasing your odds of winning scholarships, local is the way to go. The reason for this is obvious (less competition), but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have to put plenty of effort in. Finding local scholarships means you need to do more legwork since finding them might take more than a Google search. Click here for a quick guide on how to start searching and applying for local scholarships.
What is the best strategy for applying for scholarships for adults?
Our advice is simple: Apply to as many scholarships as you qualify for while keeping quality in mind. This means that while it is fine to apply for a few “easy to apply” for scholarships, your time will be better spent applying to scholarships that have more specific requirements. Show your maturity, and give the scholarship application process the time and effort it deserves!
Also see: Scholarships for nontraditional students
