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
• Upcoming 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 Giveaway

• Eligibility: Open to all all students and parents!
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 31, 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

Patriot’s Pen Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8
• Amount: Up to $5,000
• Deadline: October 31, 2021

Rubincam Youth Award

• Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6–8 at the time of submission
• Amount: $250 cash prize, a plaque, and a one-year NGS membership (non-print)
• Deadline: December 15th of each year

Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Youth Scholarship Program

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 21 who conduct an environmental stewardship project and submit an essay about it
• Amount: $1,750
• Deadline: December 31, 2021

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: December/January, 2022 depending on state

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 9, 2022

Summary of top scholarships for middle school students

1. Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveaway
2. Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship
3. Make Me Laugh Scholarship
4. Shout it Out Scholarship
5. Patriot’s Pen Essay Scholarship
6. Rubincam Youth Award
7. Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Youth Scholarship Program
8. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
9. Young Filmmakers Contest

Upcoming scholarships

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

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

Doodle for Google Scholarship

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

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
• Opens: September 2021

Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program

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

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

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

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

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

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)

We the Students Essay Contest 

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