One of the most common questions we get from students and parents is “are there any scholarships for middle school students?”

After all, some students want to start their scholarship search as early as possible and fear that all of the great scholarships are for high school students.

There is some truth to this as the majority of scholarships are for high school, college, and graduate students. However, we have found a number of great scholarships that are open to more students, including middle school students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.

Jump ahead to:

• Top Middle School Scholarships in 2021
• Summary of top scholarships for middle school students
• Expired scholarships

Keep on reading to learn more about some of the scholarships that middle school students may be eligible for. If you are looking for more scholarships and advice, you can join the free Scholarships360 newsletter!

Top Middle School Scholarships in 2021

Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveway

• Eligibility: Open to all all students and parents!
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

$2,000 CollegeXpress Spring Scholarship

• Eligibility: High School Freshman, Sophomores, or Juniors
• Amount: $2,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

We the Students Essay Contest 

• Eligibility: Students must be in grades 8 through 12
• Amount: $7,500
• Deadline: April 25, 2026

Paradigm Challenge Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Students aged 4 to 18 (as of May 1, 2021) around the world are invited to enter the Paradigm Challenge individually or as teams of any size
• Amount: Up to 100,000
• Deadline: May 1, 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

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18 who create a physics, life sciences, or mathematics video project 
• Amount: $250,000
• Deadline: June 25 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

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

Simple and Sweet Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students at least 13 years of age who submit an essay
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: February 28, 2022

Summary of top scholarships for middle school students

1. Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveway
2. $2,000 CollegeXpress Spring Scholarship
3. We the Students Essay Contest 
4. Paradigm Challenge Scholarship 
5. Ocean Awareness Contest 
6. Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship
7. Make Me Laugh Scholarship
8. Shout it Out Scholarship
9. Simple and Sweet Scholarship

Expired scholarships

Doodle for Google Scholarship

• Eligibility: This scholarship is open to all students in grades kindergarten to Grade 12
• Amount: $5,000 to $30,000
• Deadline: February 26, 2021

Engineer Girl Writing Contest 

• Eligibility: The contest is open to individual girls and boys in the following three competition categories: Elementary School Students (grades 3-5), Middle School Students in (grades 6-8), or High School Students (grades 9-12)
• Amount: $250 to $500
• Deadline: February , 2021

Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program

• Eligibility: This scholarship program is for high-achieving 7th graders with demonstrated financial need.
• Amount: Varies
• Deadline: March 22, 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

Patriot’s Pen Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8
• Amount: Up to $5,000
• Deadline: October 31, 2020

Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

• Eligibility: Student volunteers in grades 5-12 as of November 5 who are legal residents of the US
• Amount: $1,000 to $11,000
• Deadline: November 10, 2020

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

• Eligibility: Scholarships are open to students ages 13 and up in grades 7 through 12
• Amount: $500 to $10,000
• Deadline:  January 31, 2021

Stephen J. Brady Stop Hunger Scholarships

• Eligibility: Applicants ages 5-25 who demonstrate an on-going commitment to their community by performing unpaid volunteer services impacting US hunger within the last 12 months
• Amount: $1,000 to $5,000 (and an additional $5,000 for charity of winners’ choice)
• Deadline: December 5, 2020

Young Filmmakers Contest 

• Eligibility: Students in grades 3 up through age 25 who submit films of 3 to 8 minutes about our earth and sustainability 
• Amount: $200 to $2,000
• Deadline: January 5, 2021