Top 42 Scholarships for High School Seniors in September 2021
By 
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.Want to jump straight top scholarships for high school seniors? Here are the top senior scholarships!
High school seniors should not forget to apply for scholarships (especially after their college applications are submitted). Senior year is an extremely busy year for students. College applications, challenging classes, standardized tests, and extracurricular commitments take up a lot of time.
While need-based financial aid is very important, merit scholarships are also an important way to pay for college. After all, you want to minimize the amount of student loans you take out and you can do that through these top scholarships for seniors.
Jump ahead to:
- Top scholarships for high school seniors in 2021
- Tips for High School Seniors applying for scholarships
- Summary of top scholarships for 12th graders
- Upcoming scholarships
Keep on reading to learn about the top scholarships that you can apply for in 2021!
Top scholarships for high school seniors in 2021
Scholarships360 $1,000 No-Essay Scholarship
- Eligibility: Easy scholarship open to any student who creates a Scholarships360 account!
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2022
College Board Opportunity Scholarships
- Eligibility: High school seniors
- Amount: 100 awards worth $500
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveaway
- Eligibility: Open to all high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school, college, community and graduate students
- Amount: $2,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
$10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
- Eligibility: Open to all high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students
- Amount: $10,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
Tallo’s $1,000 “What Do You Think” Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school and college students
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
$500 CollegeVine Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. residents
- Amount: $500
- Deadline: Weekly
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
- Eligibility: High School Students
- Amount: $10,000
- Deadline: May 1, 2022
$2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to all students who are at least 16 years old
- Amount: $2,222
- Deadline: September 29, 2021
$1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to all students ranging from high school students to college and community college students.
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: September, 2021
$2,000 CollegeXpress Rule the School Scholarship
- Eligibility: Students ages 13+
- Amount: $2,000
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
$2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship
- Eligibility: To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be a current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending a Christian university or college
- Amount: $2,500
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
#WeBelongInCollege Scholarship
- Eligibility: Participation is limited to residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia who are currently attending an accredited postsecondary institution in the United States or plan on attending prior to December 31, 2022.
- Amount: Up to $2,500
- Deadline: October 31, 2021
HireAHelper Skilled Trade & Technology Scholarships
- Eligibility: Currently enrolled (or planning to) as a high school senior, or in a community college, undergraduate, graduate, technical college, or vocational program
- Amount: $2,000
- Deadline: Deadlines are as follows: Winter: April 16, Spring: July 17, Summer: October 14, and Fall: January 15 at 11:59 p.m. PST of each year
Cameron Impact Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors
- Amount: $20,000 to $50,000 per year
- Deadline: Early Application Deadline: May 21, 2021 – 12pm (NOON) PT and the final Application Deadline is: September 10, 2021 – 12pm (NOON) PT
Jones T-Shirts “Love Your Career” Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors and college students
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: September 10 and January 10 of each year
“Choose Courage Over Comfort” No-Essay Scholarship
- Eligibility: High seniors, college students, and graduate students interested in pursuing a career in health, wellness, or fitness
- Amount: $1,500
- Deadline: September 30, 2021
Breanden Beneschott Fire Memes Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to all students who submit their favorite memes. Bonus points for originality!
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: October 1, 2021
Lounge Lizard Web Design Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors and college students with an interest in Web Design
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: October 4 and February 20
Heisman High School Scholarship
- Eligibility: High achieving high school senior student athletes
- Amount: $500 to $5,000
- Deadline: October 19, 2021
GraphicDesignDegreeHub.com Creativity Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors accepted to college and undergraduate students in the USA majoring in Graphic Design
- Amount: $1,500
- Deadline: July 31 and October 31 of each year
Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to high school seniors
- Amount: Up to $50,000
- Deadline: November 15, 2021
Future Designer Scholarship
- Eligibility: To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be an incoming (graduating high school senior) or college student who designs a holiday greeting card
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: November 21, 2021
Better Food, Better World Scholarship
- Eligibility: Students at every level of education who share their passion for natural foods & the environment
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: November 30, 2021
Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
- Amount: $500
- Deadline: December 1, 2021
Ted Rollins Eco Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to undergraduate students and high school seniors planning on earning a business or sustainability degree
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: December 1, 2021
Curt Pozan Trades Scholarship
- Eligibility: Students currently pursuing or planning on a trade certificate in construction trades, remodeling, carpentry, painting, interior design, architecture, building materials science, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, green building, general contracting, sustainability, masonry, and welding
- Amount: $2,143
- Deadline: December 8, 2021
Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors, college students, community college students, or graduate students who write an essay about cyberbullying
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: December 31, 2021
Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
- Eligibility: All high school students, college students, graduate students, and adult learners
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: December 31, 2021
Pettable Pet Lovers Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to all high school, college, and graduate students who submit their favorite pet photos with a short caption, including their Instagram handle and pet’s name
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: January 5, 2022
Ron Brown Scholars Program
- Eligibility: High school achieving Black/AfricanAmerican students with demonstrated financial need
- Amount: $10,000 per year for a total of $40,000
- Deadline: January 9, 2022
JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest
- Eligibility: United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools
- Amount: 15 Awards range from $100 to $10,000
- Deadline: January 14, 2022
Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to all high school students and current or entering college or graduate school students
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: January 30, 2022
Greater Than Gatsby Annual Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors accepted to college, undergraduate and graduate students in the USA
- Amount: $10,000
- Deadline: May 1, 2022
Rover Scholarship
- High school seniors and college student who write an essay about the impact of technology on their lives
- Amount: $2,500
- Deadline: May 1, 2022
Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
- Eligibility: Open to students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
- Amount: $900
- Deadline: June 14, 2022
Big Sun Scholarship
- Eligibility: Student athletes who are high school seniors or in college
- Amount: $500
- Deadline: June 19, 2022
Navigate Your Future Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors planning a career in the general aviation field
- Amount: $2,500
- Deadline: June 24, 2022
Solar Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school seniors, college and graduate students with an interest in solar energy
- Amount: $1,000
- Deadline: July 1, 2022
Michael Moody Fitness Scholarship
- Eligibility: High seniors, college students, and graduate students interested in pursuing a career in health, wellness, or fitness
- Amount: $1,500
- Deadline: August 1, 2022
Denny’s Hungry for Education Scholarships
- Eligibility: All high school and college students with at least a 2.5 GPA who share their ideas to fight childhood hunger
- Amount: $1,000 to 3,000
- Deadline: Varies
Tips for High School Seniors applying for scholarships
- Always complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid–this will help you unlock the millions of dollars in need-based financial aid.
- Apply to scholarships early and often. Once you are accepted to college, continue to applying for scholarships that might be due in the spring or summer.
- Don’t be afraid to recycle essays! Chances are that you wrote personal statements and supplemental essays for college admissions. These could be a great fit for some of the many essay scholarships out there.
- It is sometimes possible to appeal for more money in scholarships! If you feel like you are deserving, this can be worth investigating!
Senior year is an extremely busy year for students. College applications, challenging classes, standardized tests, and extracurricular commitments take up a lot of time. As college is right around the corner, students also need to think about how to pay for college. While need-based financial aid is very important (you will be well acquainted with the FAFSA), merit scholarships are also an important way to pay for college. After all, you want to minimize the amount of student loans you take out!It is never too late to start applying for scholarships, so you should give every scholarship available for seniors a serious look!
Summary of top scholarships for 12th graders
- College Board Opportunity Scholarships
- Student Loan Hero $1,000 Giveaway
- $2,000 Nitro College Scholarship
- Chapter’s $500 No Essay Scholarship
- $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
- Tallo’s $1,000 “What Do You Think” Scholarship
- $500 CollegeVine Scholarship
- $10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
- $1,000 CappexEasy College Money Scholarship
- $1,000 CollegeXpress Last-Chance Summer Scholarship
- $2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship
- $2,000 CollegeXpress Rule the School Scholarship
- $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship
- #WeBelongInCollege Scholarship
- HireAHelper Skilled Trade & Technology Scholarships
- Cameron Impact Scholarship
- Jones T-Shirts “Love Your Career” Scholarship
- “Choose Courage Over Comfort” No-Essay Scholarship
- Breanden Beneschott Fire Memes Scholarship
- Lounge Lizard Web Design Scholarship
- Heisman High School Scholarship
- GraphicDesignDegreeHub.com Creativity Scholarship
- Elks Most Valuable Student Scholarship
- Future Designer Scholarship
- Better Food, Better World Scholarship
- Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
- Ted Rollins Eco Scholarship
- Curt Pozan Trades Scholarship
- Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship
- Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
- Pettable Pet Lovers Scholarship
- Ron Brown Scholars Program
- JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest
- Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship
- Greater Than Gatsby Annual Scholarship
- Rover Scholarship
- Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
- Big Sun Scholarship
- Navigate Your Future Scholarship
- Solar Scholarship
- Michael Moody Fitness Scholarship
- Denny’s Hungry for Education Scholarships
Upcoming scholarships
Krylon Clear Choice Art Scholarships
- Eligibility: High school seniors and freshman/sophomore college students
- Amount: $1,000
Little Bundle Supermom Scholarship–High School Award
- Eligibility: Open to all high school level single moms, children of single moms, or people whose lives have been impacted in positive ways by single moms
- Amount: $1,000
Little Bundle Superdad Scholarship — High School Award
- Eligibility: High school seniors who are either single fathers or are the children of single fathers are eligible to apply
- Amount: $1,000
NeW Essay Contest
- Eligibility: Female students in senior year of high school and undergraduate students
- Amount: $500
Ocean Awareness Contest
- Eligibility: Students ages 11 to 18 who create a work of art in their chosen genre, including visual art, film, music, poetry, prose, and interactive and multimedia
- Amount: Scholarships worth from $100 to $1,500
Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship
- Eligibility: High school, college, or university students with a minimum GPA of 2.5
- Amount: $1,000
