Sophomore year of high school is very much a transition year for students. You are probably feeling more comfortable in school, but you are still a year away from having to worry about testing and the college admissions process. With this said, it is not too early to begin to think about paying for your college education. Luckily, there are some great scholarships for high school sophomores to apply for!

Jump ahead to:

• Top scholarships for 10th graders
• Tips for high school sophomores
• Summary of scholarships for high school sophomores
• Expired scholarships

Keep on reading to learn more about the top scholarships for sophomores including eligibility, amounts, and deadlines!

Top scholarships for 10th graders in 2021

Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveway

• Eligibility: Open to all high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

Tallo’s $1,000 ‘Raise Your Voice’ Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school and college students
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 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: April 30, 2021

$2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students who are at least 16 years old
• Amount: $2,222
• Deadline: April 28, 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: April 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: April 30, 2021

Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: All high school, college, and graduate students are eligible for this scholarship!
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: June 30, 2021

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

• Eligibility: Create a free account on CollegeXpress and complete registration
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2021

$2,000 CollegeXpress Spring Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13+ who answer one question and complete registration on CollegeXpress.com
• Amount: $2,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18
• Amount: $250,000
• Deadline: June 25, 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

Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

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: $905
• Deadline: June 13, 2021

Evie Irie Misfit Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school students who share an essay about why they feel like a misfit and how being a misfit shaped their dreams
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2021

FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school athletes who aspire to play sports in college
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

First-Generation, First Child Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to first-generation, firstborn students at all levels of education in any field of study to achieve their academic ambitions
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 4, 2021

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

• Eligibility: All high school students, college students, graduate students, and adult learners
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 31, 2021

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
• Deadline: June 30, 2021

Make Me Laugh Scholarship

• Eligibility: Must be a college or community college student by the fall of 2025
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

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
• Deadline: June 14, 2021

RJ Mitte Breaking Barriers Scholarship

• Eligibility: This scholarship will be awarded to a high school or undergraduate student with a mental or physical disability in need of support financing their education
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school, college, or university students with a minimum GPA of 2.5
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 15, 2021

Shout it Out Scholarship

• Eligibility: Must be a college or community college student by the fall of 2025
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: September 30, 2021

Taylor Price Financial Literacy for the Future Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school and college students who submit an essay.  Applicants from minority groups underrepresented in the financial world and those with non-profit or volunteering experience will be preferred
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: April 14, 2021

Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students who are currently enrolled or will be enrolled in college by 2026 who write a short essay.
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: July 31, 2021

WayUp Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all undergraduate and graduate students who create amazing job candidate profiles on the WayUp platform 
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

Tips for High School Sophomores

1. The National Merit Scholarship Program is a scholarship that is open for high school juniors and is based on your PSAT score. Take your PSAT as a sophomore to prepare and put yourself in the best position for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
2. Choose your junior year classes wisely. Junior year is an important year academically, so make sure that you take the most challenging classes you can handle.
3. Try something new! Whether it is a new club, sport, or class, sophomore year is a great time to explore so that you can develop your passions!

Summary of top scholarships for high school sophomores

1. Student Loan Hero $1,000 Giveway
2. $1,000 Tallo Scholarship
3. $1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
4. $2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship
5. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
6. $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship
7. Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship
8. $10,000 CollegeXpress $10,000 Scholarship
9. $2,000 CollegeXpress Spring Scholarship
10. Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship
11. Breanden Beneschott Fire Memes Scholarship
12. Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
13. Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
14. Evie Irie Misfit Scholarship
15. FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship
16. First-Generation, First Child Scholarship
17. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
18. Little Bundle Supermom Scholarship–High School Award 
19. Make Me Laugh Scholarship
20. Ocean Awareness Contest
21. RJ Mitte Breaking Barriers Scholarship
22. Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship
23. Shout it Out Scholarship
24. Taylor Price Financial Literacy for the Future Scholarship
25. Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship
26. WayUp Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship

Expired scholarships

Act Locally Scholarship 

• Eligibility: High school and undergraduates with an interest in volunteering or working to better their local community through social, environmental, or economic change
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: April 1, 2021

Air Force ROTC High School Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school students
• Amount: Full-tuition plus book, living, and travel expenses 
• Deadline: January 14, 2021

Cottage Inn Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school students
• Amount: $2,500, $1,000, and $500
• Deadline: May 31, 2020

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, but most are December 11

“Fight for Equality” Women in STEM Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to female high school students who have an interest in STEM fields
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: January 31, 2021

Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school and college students who are entrepreneurial self-starters 
• Amount: $500   
• Deadline: April 2, 2021

Grow the Game Volleyball Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at all educational levels who demonstrate passion, achievement, and leadership efforts in growing the game of volleyball
• Amount: $2,500   
• Deadline: March 31, 2021

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 15, 2021

Kaplun Essay Contest

• Eligibility: Students who are in grades 7 through 12 who submit an essay about their Jewish faith 
• Amount: $500 to $1,800
• Deadline: March 7, 2021

Nikhil Desai “Perspective” Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at all levels of education who submit an essay about a moment that changed their perspective on life. Preference given to first generation students
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: February 1, 2021

Nikhil Desai Reflect and Learn COVID-19 Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students in any field of study who best reflect the changes, both positive and negative, they’ve had to deal with through this unprecedented period of time
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: February 6, 2021

Princeton Prize in Race Relations 

• Eligibility: Open to all high school students who are involved in an activity that promotes positive race relations.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: March 1, 2021

Scholarcash Role Model Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all high school, college, and graduate students who submit any essay about role models
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: December 1, 2020

Share Your Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at every level who create a TikTok video about what a great day at their dream job would be like
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: January 15, 2021

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

• Eligibility: High school students who create prom outfits with duck tape
• Amount: $500 to $10,000
• Deadline: July 21, 2020

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships

• Eligibility: Open to high school students who are vegetarians or vegans
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: February 21, 2021 (Opens December 2021)

Zest for Cooking Culinary Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Open to students at every level who are pursuing a culinary career or are extremely passionate about cooking 
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: April 1, 2021