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

$2,500 March Madness Scholarship Contest

• Eligibility: Students ages 13+ who answer one question and complete registration on CollegeXpress.com
• Amount: $2,500
• Deadline: March 31, 2021

Student Loan Hero Smart Money Giveway

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

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

• Eligibility: Create a free account on CollegeXpress and complete registration
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: May 1, 2021

Tallo’s $1,000 ‘1st March Easy’ Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school and college students who set up a Tallo profile
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: March 15, 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: March 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

$25,085 “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students, including high school, college, and graduate students
• Amount: $25,085
• Deadline: March 31, 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: March 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: March 31, 2021

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, 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

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: March 31, 2021

First-Generation, First Child Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to first-generation, firstborn students at all levels of education in any field of study to achieve their academic ambitions
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: April 4, 2021

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: July 31, 2021

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

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: 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: March 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

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

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

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

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: March 31, 2021

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

Upakar Indian-American Scholarship

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

“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

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

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. $2,500 March Madness Scholarship Contest
2. Student Loan Hero $1,000 Giveway
3. $10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
4. $1,000 Tallo Scholarship
5. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
6. Scholarships360 No Essay Scholarship
7. $25,000 “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
8. $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship Scholarship
9. “$1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
10. Act Locally Scholarship
11. Ascent Social Cause Scholarship Task on YouTube 
12. Be Bold” No-Essay Community Scholarship
13. Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship
14. Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
15. Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
16. Evie Irie Misfit Scholarship
17. FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship
18. First-Generation, First Child Scholarship
19. Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship
20. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
21. Grow the Game Volleyball Scholarship
22. Kaplun Essay Contest 
23. Little Bundle Supermom Scholarship–High School Award 
24. Make Me Laugh Meme Scholarship
25. Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship
26. Ocean Awareness Contest
27. RJ Mitte Breaking Barriers Scholarship
28. Selectblinds $1000 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. Upakar Indian-American Scholarship
33. Visionary Scholarship
34. “What Moves You” Scholarship
35. Zest for Cooking Culinary Scholarship

Expired scholarships for high school juniors

Angelica Song Rejection is Redirection Scholarship

• Eligibility: This scholarship is open to students at all levels who have experienced rejection, and used it as redirection
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: December 11, 2020

Ascent Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and 18 years or older who share about how they support their communities
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: February 15, 2021

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

Austin Kramer Music Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Open to students at all levels who share an inspiring song, curate a 10-20 track playlist, and then submit a paragraph (under 100 words) explaining your playlist.
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: January 2, 2021

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

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18
• Amount: $250,000
• Deadline: June 25, 2020

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

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, 2020

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

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

Nikhil Desai “Perspective” Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students at all levels of education who submit an essay about a moment that changed their perspective on life. Preference given to first generation students
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: February 1, 2021

Nikhil Desai Reflect and Learn COVID-19 Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students in any field of study who best reflect the changes, both positive and negative, they’ve had to deal with through this unprecedented period of time
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: February 6, 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

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, 2020

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

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

• Eligibility: High school students who create prom outfits with duck tape
• Amount: $500 to $10,000
• Deadline: July 21, 2020

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)