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Top 104 Scholarships for High School Freshman in January 2023
Freshman year is a year of transitions. Most students will be entering high school from a middle school or elementary school and go from being the oldest students in school to the youngest. But among all the excitement, be sure not to forget about scholarships for high school freshmen! The earlier you begin applying, the more funding you’ll get and the less work you’ll have your senior year.
We’ve combed through all the scholarships out there and collected the best of the best for you here. In this list, you’ll find our vetted scholarships for high school freshmen to get a jump on your university funding. Let’s get into it!
Jump ahead to:
- How to win scholarships for high school freshmen
- Tips for high school freshmen
- Frequently asked questions
- Explore these other scholarship categories
104 Scholarships for High School Freshman in January 2023
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:
- The scholarship requires a fee to apply
- The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
- The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
- Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
- The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
- The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
- The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
- There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
- The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
- There is no available contact information
If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students.
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
$25,000 No Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year.
EngineerGirl Writing Contest
Offered by EngineerGirl
Open to students who write an essay on how the world can reach one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals through engineering.
Davidson Institute Fellows Scholarship
Offered by Davidson Institute
Open to students 18 years or younger who produce significant and meaningful work in their chosen field through a project.
The Christophers High School Poster Contest
Offered by The Christophers
Open to high school students who design and submit a poster interpreting the theme: "You can make a difference."
Eco-Hero Awards
Offered by Action for Nature
Open to students aged 8 to 16 who carry out individual environmental action projects.
BBB Ethical Athlete Scholarship
Offered by Better Business Bureau
Arizona high school students in AIA sanctioned schools and participating in AIA sanctioned school sports. Applicants must be nominated.
Beauty & Wellness Professionals Scholarship
Offered by Beauty Schools Directory
Open to all students applying to or enrolled in an acreddited beauty school.
Veterans of Foreign Wars Scout of the Year Scholarship
Offered by Veterans of Foreign Wars
Open to scouts who are active members of a Boy or Girl Scout Troop, Venturing Crew, or a Sea Scout Ship and have received specific awards.
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest
Offered by The Gallery Collection
Open to high schoolers and college students over 14 years of age who submit an original greeting card.
Classic Center Cultural Foundation Performing Arts Scholarship
Offered by Classic Center Cultural Foundation
Open to high school students in Northeast Georgia who are involved in the performing arts.
Jeanette M. Russell Jazz Scholarship Program
Offered by Gold Coast Jazz Society
Middle, high school, and college vocal/instrumental music students pursuing a music education with an emphasis in jazz studies.
Kaplun Essay Contest
Offered by The Morris J. and Betty Kaplun Foundation
Open to students who write an essay that reflects on their values and Judaism’s contribution to civilization and culture
Horatio Alger Targeted Scholarships
Offered by Horatio Alger Association
Open to full-time high school students in the U.S. who demonstrate financial need and plan to go to college.
Cat Zingano Overcoming Loss Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to any student who has lost a loved one and submits an essay on how that loss influences what you want to "fight" to achieve in life.
4-H Youth In Action Awards
Offered by 4-H
Open to 4-H members and alumni who are between the ages of 15 and 19 and plan on attending a postsecondary institution.
$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Sponsored
Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school students.
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.
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How to win scholarships for high school freshmen
Now that you’ve got a list of scholarship opportunities at your disposal, let’s get into how you can win them. As a member of the class of 2026, you’re in a unique position, as you are applying before many of your classmates. You have less experience under your belt, which makes the way you showcase it all the more important.
Make sure to join extracurriculars in high school to bolster your applications. Not only will these look impressive on your scholarship resume, they will also offer great anecdotes to use in your scholarship essays. These essays can be the secret to standing out among the other candidates. There is a specific art to writing a good scholarship essay, and we can help you ace it. Check out these resources for some inspiration:
- How to start a scholarship essay
- How to write an essay about yourself
- “Show, don’t tell” essay primer
- How to write a 500 word essay
- How to write a 250 word essay
Tips for high school freshmen
Prioritize your schoolwork
The absolute best thing you can do as a freshman is establish a solid bedrock of grades. You’ll thank yourself later when you have a strong GPA, which is one of the biggest factors that colleges consider in admissions and scholarships. High school academics are different from middle school, so it may take some getting used to.
If you find yourself struggling, be proactive – meet with teachers, counselors, and go to after-school tutoring if it’s available. Form study groups and learn how to meet the new academic demands of high school. The earlier you get on top of it, the easier it’ll be!
Explore extracurriculars
Extracurriculars are an important part of the high school experience. They give students opportunities to explore their passions in the real world, make friends, and work as a team. Not to mention, they look very impressive on college applications! Now more than ever, colleges look for well-rounded students, and extracurriculars go a long way in demonstrating this.
As a first-year, it’s a good idea to explore lots of different types of extracurriculars, and stick with a couple of them that you are passionate about. Remember – it’s a great time to push your boundaries, so try showing up for some meetings for sports or activities you’re not sure if you’ll like. If you aren’t into it, you can just not keep going!
Keep notes on which classes you enjoy and succeed in
The other biggest thing a high school freshman can do to prepare for the next step is to take notes on their reflections from classes. Try to figure out which classes were tough, easy, rewarding, confusing, et cetera. If you write all of this down as it’s happening, you’ll have a reliable record to look back on later. You can try documenting everything at the end of each semester while it’s fresh in your mind. This could help you decide which advanced courses to take, and maybe even what to major in in college.
Frequently asked questions
Also see: High school checklist: freshman through senior year
