Junior year is when high school students start to think about the admissions process in earnest! Eleventh graders will take the PSAT, meet with their guidance counselor to begin college planning, and may start to visit specific colleges and universities.

This is also a great time to begin applying for scholarships to pay for college! One of the biggest mistakes that students make in the admissions process is waiting until the end of senior year to apply for scholarships. There are plenty of great scholarships for high school juniors to apply.

Jump ahead to:

• Top scholarships for high school juniors in 2020
• Tips for high school juniors
• Summary of scholarships for juniors
• Expired scholarships for 11th graders

Keep on reading to learn more about the great scholarship opportunities for 11th graders!

Top scholarships for high school juniors in 2020

Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship

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

$15,000 Tallo Scholarship

• Applicants must be legal U.S. citizens physically living in the U.S., at least 13 years of age, and attending a post-secondary institution in 2021
• $15,000
• December 31, 2020

$10,000 “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students, including high school, college, and graduate students
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: November 30

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students must attend one of the nearly 900 CollegeXpress partner colleges
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: May 31, 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: November 30

$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: November 30

$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: November 30

$1,000 CollegeXpress “What Are You Thankful For” Scholarship 

• Eligibility: This scholarship is open to all students who are 13 years or older and legal residents of the United States or DC.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: November 30

$1,000 Tallo “Easy November” Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school and college students who set up a Tallo profile
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: November 30

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

“Be Bold” No-Essay Community Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students who register to Bold.org and has invited many friends
• Amount: $5,000
• Deadline: November 19

Bezos Scholars Program

• Eligibility: High achieving high school juniors with demonstrated financial need 
• Amount: All expenses for the Program are covered, including transportation, lodging, meals, and all passes for the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado. Also includes opportunities to apply for $1,000 seed grants to design and implement ideas
• Deadline: January 11, 2021

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

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: December 1

Gabriella Carter Failure Doesn’t Define Me Scholarship

• Open to students at every level who reflect, regroup, and rejoice as they improve and learn from past mistakes
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: December 1 

Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship

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

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

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

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: February 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

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: January 1, 2021

Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all high school student athletes
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: December 1

Nikhil Desai Asian-American Experience Scholarship

• Eligibility: All Asian-American (including Middle Eastern) students who are juniors in high school or older are eligible to apply. First-generation applicants will be preferred. An essay about growing up Asian-American is required
• 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

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

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

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

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: December 1

Survey Junkie Brand Influencer No-Essay Scholarship

1. Eligibility: Open to all students who join Survey Junkie to share opinions on products and services
2. Amount: $1,000
3. Deadline: December 1

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

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships

• Eligibility: Open to high school students who are vegetarians or vegans
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: February 20, 2021

Visionary Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Any student in grades 9-12 in the United States with academic achievement (scholarship selection is based on merit)
• Amount: $1,000 to 5,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2021

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Tips for high school juniors

1. Junior year is the most important academic year for both the admissions and college merit scholarship selection process. Make sure that you finish the year strong with a strong set of grades!
2. Letters of recommendation are another important part of the admissions process and can be required for scholarships. Asking teachers to write rec letters for you is a must before the end of junior year!
3. You can also get a jump start on scholarships for seniors that have fall deadlines. This will put you ahead of the game come back to school time.

Summary of scholarships for juniors

1. Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship
2. $15,000 Tallo Scholarship
3. $10,000 “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
4. $10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
5. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
6. $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship Scholarship
7. “$1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
8. $1,000 CollegeXpress “What Are You Thankful For” Scholarship 
9. $1,000 Tallo “Easy November” Scholarship
10. Act Locally Scholarship
11. Be Bold” No-Essay Community Scholarship
12. Bezos Scholars Program
13. Denny’s Hungry for Education Scholarships
14. Evie Irie Misfit Scholarship
15. FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship
16. Gabriella Carter Failure Doesn’t Define Me Scholarship
17. Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship
18. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
19. JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest
20. Kaplun Essay Contest
21. Little Bundle Supermom Scholarship–High School Award 
22. Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship
23. Nikhil Desai Asian-American Experience Scholarship
24. Scholarcash Role Model Scholarship
25. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
26. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
27. Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship
28. Share Your Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship
29. Survey Junkie Brand Influencer No-Essay Scholarship
30. Taylor Price Financial Literacy for the Future Scholarship
31. Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship
32. Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships
33. Visionary Scholarship

Expired scholarships for 11th graders

Ayn Rand Fountainhead Essay Contest

• Eligibility: Open to high school juniors and seniors who write an essay about Ayn Rand’s book The Fountainhead.
• Amount: up to $10,000
• Deadline: May 28th

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

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

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 15

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

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

Upakar Indian-American Scholarship

• Eligibility: High-achieving Indian-American high school and college students with financial need
• Amount: $8,000
• Deadline: May 15th

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