Junior year is when high school students really start to kickoff their college admissions process. 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 2021
• 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 high school juniors including award amounts, deadlines, and eligibility requirements!

Top scholarships for high school juniors in 2021

Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveaway

• Eligibility: Open to all high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

Tallo’s $1,000 Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school and college students who set up a Tallo profile
• Amount: $1,000
• 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: May 31, 2021

$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: May 31, 2021

$2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students who are at least 16 years old
• Amount: $2,222
• Deadline: May 28, 2021

$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: May 31, 2021

Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: All high school, college, and graduate students are eligible for this scholarship!
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: June 30, 2021

$2,000 CollegeXpress Favorite Color Scholarship

• Eligibility: High School Freshman, Sophomores, or Juniors
• Amount: $2,000
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

• Eligibility: High School Freshman, Sophomores, or Juniors
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2022

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: July 1, 2021

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18
• Amount: $250,000
• Deadline: June 25, 2021

Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school seniors, college students, community college students, or graduate students who write an essay about cyberbullying
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: June 30, 2021

Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
• Amount: $905
• Deadline: June 13, 2021

FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school athletes who aspire to play sports in college
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

• Eligibility: All high school students, college students, graduate students, and adult learners
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 31, 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: June 30, 2021

Make Me Laugh Meme Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school seniors and college students who submit a meme/funny picture and a brief essay on why it means something to them. Must have a 3.0 or above GPA and be involved in your community
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2021

Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all high school student athletes
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: May 31, 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

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

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

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

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

“What Moves You” Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school students who share a motivational quote that inspired them to pursue their goals
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: June 14, 2021

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 high school juniors

1. Student Loan Hero $1,000 Giveaway
2. Tallo’s $1,000 Scholarship
3. “$1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
4. $2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship
5. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
6. $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship Scholarship
7. Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship
8. $2,000 CollegeXpress Favorite Color Scholarship
9. $10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
10. Act Locally Scholarship
11. Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship
12. Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship
13. Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
14. Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
15. FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship
16. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
17. Little Bundle Supermom Scholarship–High School Award 
18. Make Me Laugh Meme Scholarship
19. Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship
20. Ocean Awareness Contest
21. Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship
22. Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest
23. Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship
24. “What Moves You” Scholarship

Expired scholarships for high school juniors

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 28, 2020

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 (opens Fall 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

Grow the Game Volleyball Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at all educational levels who demonstrate passion, achievement, and leadership efforts in growing the game of volleyball
• Amount: $2,500   
• Deadline: March 31, 2021

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: January 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

Princeton Prize in Race Relations 

• Eligibility: Open to all high school students who are involved in an activity that promotes positive race relations.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: March 1, 2021

RJ Mitte Breaking Barriers Scholarship

• Eligibility: This scholarship will be awarded to a high school or undergraduate student with a mental or physical disability in need of support financing their education
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 30, 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:  January 31, 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: January 31, 2021

Upakar Indian-American Scholarship

• Eligibility: High-achieving Indian-American high school and college students with financial need
• Amount: $8,000
• Deadline: April 30, 2021

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships

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

Zest for Cooking Culinary Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Open to students at every level who are pursuing a culinary career or are extremely passionate about cooking 
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: April 1, 2021