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.

Here are the top scholarships for high school juniors:

The “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all students, including high school, college, and graduate students
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: July 31

The “Be Bold” No-Essay Community Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students who register to Bold.org and has invited many friends
• Amount: $5,000
• Deadline: July 31

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18
• Amount: $250,000
• Deadline: June 25th JUST ENDED! Check back next year

$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: July 31

Christian Colleges No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: To be eligible, students must be a current high school student interested in attending a Christian university or college.
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 31

The 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: July 31

CollegeXpress $1,000 Summer Vacation Scholarship Contest

• 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: July 31

CollegeXpress $10,000 Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students must attend one of the nearly 900 CollegeXpress partner colleges
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: May 31, 2021

FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship

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

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

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

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 JUST ENDED! Check back next year

ScholarshipOwl “You Deserve It ” Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all high school and college students
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: July 29th

ScholarshipPoints $10,000 Scholarship Program

• Eligibility: Open to all high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: July 31

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

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

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: July 31

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

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

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: July 31

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 31st

Upakar Indian-American Scholarship

• Eligibility: High-achieving Indian-American high school and college students with financial need
• Amount: $8,000
• Deadline: May 15th JUST ENDED! Check back next year

The 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 JUST ENDED! Check back next year

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships

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

Visionary Scholarship 

• Eligibility: Any student in grades 9-12 in the United States.
• Amount: $1,000 to 5,000
• Deadline: May 31st JUST ENDED! Check back next year

Back to top

Tips for high school juniors applying for scholarships

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.

Here is a summary of the top scholarships for high school juniors in 2020:

1. The “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
2. The “Be Bold” No-Essay Community Scholarship
3. Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship
4. $1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
5. Christian Colleges No-Essay Scholarship
6. The Christian Connector Scholarship
7. CollegeXpress $1,000 Summer Vacation Scholarship Contest
8. CollegeXpress $10,000 Scholarship
9. FieldLevel Athletic Recruiting No-Essay Scholarship
10. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
11. Ocean Awareness Contest 
12. ScholarshipOwl “You Deserve It ” Scholarship
13. ScholarshipPoints $10,000 Scholarship Program
14. Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship
15. Share Your Dream Job No-Essay Scholarship
16. Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest
17. Survey Junkie Brand Influencer No-Essay Scholarship
18. Unigo Flavor of the Month Scholarship
19. Upakar Indian-American Scholarship
20. The Ayn Rand Fountainhead Essay Contest
21. Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships
22. Visionary Scholarship 

Back to top