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
• Upcoming 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: August 31, 2021

Tallo’s $1,000 Go for the Gold Scholarship

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

$500 CollegeVine Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. residents
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: Weekly

$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: August 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: August 29, 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: August 31, 2021

$2,000 CollegeXpress Class of 2023 Scholarship

• Eligibility: High school students graduating in the class of 2023
• Amount: $2,000
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

$1,000 CollegeXpress Last Chance Summer Scholarship

• Eligibility: High School Freshman, Sophomores, or Juniors
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship

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

Annual Catholic College Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students who are a current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending a Catholic university or college.
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to students who are a current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior interested in attending a Protestant university or college.
• Amount: $1,500
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

Next College Athlete No-Essay Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to all high school student athletes
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: August 31, 2021

Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school and college students who are entrepreneurial self-starters 
• Amount: $500   
• Deadline: September 1, 2021

Breanden Beneschott Fire Memes Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students who submit their favorite memes. Bonus points for originality!
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: October 1, 2021

Better Food, Better World Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students at every level of education who share their passion for natural foods & the environment
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: November 30, 2021

Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students at every level of education who write a short essay about mental health
• Amount: $500
• Deadline: December 1, 2021

Curt Pozan Trades Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students currently pursuing or planning on a trade certificate in construction trades, remodeling, carpentry, painting, interior design, architecture, building materials science, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, green building, general contracting, sustainability, masonry, and welding
• Amount: $2,143
• Deadline: December 8, 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: December 31, 2021

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship

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

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up in grades 7 through 12
• Amount: $500 to $10,000
• Deadline: Depending on your state, December 2021 through January 31, 2022

Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship

• Eligibility: Open to high school freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior or a current or entering college or graduate school students
• Amount: $1,000
• Deadline: January 30, 2022

Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships

• Eligibility: Open to high school students who are vegetarians or vegans
• Amount: $10,000
• Deadline: February 20, 2022

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: April 28, 2022

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: $900
• Deadline: June 14, 2022

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

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 Go for the Gold Scholarship
3. “$1,000 Cappex Easy College Money Scholarship
4. $2,222 ScholarshipOwl ‘You Deserve It’ Scholarship
5. $10,000 ScholarshipPoints Scholarship Program
6. $500 CollegeVine Scholarship
7. $2,500 Christian Connector Scholarship Scholarship
8. $2,000 CollegeXpress Class of 2023 Scholarship
9. $1,000 CollegeXpress Last Chance Summer Scholarship
10. $10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
11. Annual Catholic College Scholarship
12. Annual Protestant Faith Based College Scholarship
13. Galactic Fed Young Entrepreneurs Scholarship
14. Breanden Beneschott Fire Memes Scholarship
15. Better Food, Better World Scholarship
16. Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
17. Curt Pozan Trades Scholarship
18. Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
19. Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship
20. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
21. Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship
22. Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarships
23. Ayn Rand Fountainhead Essay Contest.       
24. Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship
25. Denny’s Hungry for Education Scholarships

Upcoming scholarships for high school juniors

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

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
• Opens: Fall 2021

Breakthrough Junior Challenge Scholarship

• Eligibility: Students ages 13 to 18
• Amount: $250,000

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   

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

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

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

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

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

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

Selectblinds $1000 Scholarship

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

Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest

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

Upakar Indian-American Scholarship

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

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