Top Scholarships for Middle School Students in October 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.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 Scholarships360 newsletter for free!
Top Middle School Scholarships in 2021
Patriot’s Pen Essay Scholarship
- Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8
- Amount: Up to $5,000
- Deadline: October 31, 2021
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: TBD in November, but start getting ready now!
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
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 1, 2022
Paradigm Challenge Scholarship
- Eligibility: Students aged 4 to 18 (as of May 1) 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, 2022
Summary of top scholarships for middle school students
- Patriot’s Pen Essay Scholarship
- Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
- Rubincam Youth Award
- Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Youth Scholarship Program
- Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
- Young Filmmakers Contest
- Engineer Girl Writing Contest
- Paradigm Challenge Scholarship
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
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
- Opens: September 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
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)
- Opens: October 5, 2021
We the Students Essay Contest
- Eligibility: Students must be in grades 8 through 12
- Amount: $7,500
- Opens: December 15, 2021
