Preparing for college? Here are some high school freshman scholarships that you should apply for to save your money.
As a first-generation student, I did not know there was something as magical as scholarships until I stumbled across it on the bulletin board in the counselor’s office.
From there I started my journey of starting and applying for scholarships. The sooner you start applying, the higher your chances of winning a scholarship.
Plus, you can gain experience by applying for scholarships.
This post is about high school freshman scholarships that you can apply for.
It is never too late or early to start so start now!
High School Freshman Scholarships to Apply For Today
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Deadline: June 30, 2024
Award: $10,000
Eligibility:
- Open to all students of any grade level or college level
- Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Requirements:
- Sign up for a Scholarships360 account
- Apply through the app
Student Cam Scholarship
Deadline: January 19, 2024
Award: Includes 150 student prizes and 50 teacher prizes totaling $100,000
Grand Prize: 1 Award; Student(s): $5,000 cash prize, Teacher/School: $750
1st Prize: 4 Awards; Student(s): $3,000 per entry, Teacher/Schools: $500
2nd Prize: 16 Awards; Student(s): $1,500 per entry, Teacher/Schools: $250
3rd Prize: 32 Awards; Student(s): $750 per entry, Teacher/Schools: $125
Honorable Mentions: 97 awards; Student(s): $250 cash prize per entry
Eligibility:
- Must be in grades 6-12
- Open to participants enrolled in middle or high school in any state in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories
- International students in the equivalent of U.S. grades 6-12 or aged 18 years or younger can also participate
- Students may enter the competition individually or work in teams of 2 or 3 people
Requirements:
- Create a 5-6 minute documentary related to the theme:
- “Looking Forward while Considering the Past”
- Entries must include either end credits or works cited list
- Must use topically-related C-SPAN clips to show support or opposing views in your documentary
Christopher’s High School Poster Contest
Deadline: February 16, 2023
Award: 1st Prize: $1,000
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $250
Honorable Mention: 5 Awards; $100 each
Eligibility:
- Open to all high school students living in the United States
- Must be in grades 9-12
Requirements:
- Create a poster that interprets the theme:
- “You Can Make a Difference”
- Posters must be 16 by 20 inches in size (including border and mat if used)
- Include the following on the back of the poster:
- Student’s name
- Mailing address
- E-mail (if available)
- Phone number
- School
- School address
- Teacher’s name
- Grade
- Posters may be submitted by mail or email (if created digitally)
- Posters will be judged on overall impact, effectiveness in conveying the theme, originality, and artistic merit
Need help on how to apply for scholarships? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Win Scholarships (From a Full-Ride Recipient).
Create a Greeting Card $10,000 Contest
Deadline: March 1, 2024
Award: $10,000 cash scholarship and a $1,000 prize for their school
Eligibility:
- Open to all high school, college, and university students
- Must be a legal resident of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, as well as American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico
- International students who have a student visa to attend school in the U.S. is also eligible
- Applicants must be 14 years of age or older
Requirements:
- Entries should not exceed 16” by 23”
- Fill out the entry form and upload artwork or photograph in JPEG
- Cards will be scored based on:
- Overall aesthetic appeal
- Quality of execution
- Creativity and originality
- Successful incorporation of design elements
- Appropriateness for use as a greeting card
- Attractiveness to The Gallery Collection’s corporate and consumer customers
- Suitability as a design in Prudent’s Gallery Collection greeting card line
Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award
Deadline: April 15, 2024
Award: Up to $10,000 to apply towards instrument purchase, summer camp tuition, college
audition travel expenses, private lessons, or other music-related needs
Eligibility:
- Must be classical instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers
- Must be ages 8-18 who are full-time elementary, middle, or high school students, and have not yet entered college
- Must have strong musical ability and a willingness to participate in the Learning and Media Lab Fellowship
Requirements:
- Submit at least two unedited, un-enhanced video or audio samples of your music for upload into the application portal
- Contact information for two teachers (an academic and a music teacher) who are willing to write you recommendations
- A copy of your family’s most recent tax forms including all:
- Schedules
- Attachments
- W2 forms
- A copy of your recent academic transcripts
National High School Essay Contest
Deadline: April 1, 2024
Award: $2,500 along with a paid trip to the nation’s capital from anywhere in the U.S. for the
winner and his or her parents, and an all-expense paid educational voyage
Runner up: $1,250 and full tuition to attend a summer session of National Student
Leadership Conference’s International Diplomacy program
Eligibility:
- Must be in grades 9-12 in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories, or if they are U.S. citizens/lawful permanent residents attending high school overseas
- Students whose parents are not in the Foreign Service are eligible to participate
Requirements:
- Write an essay that is at least 1,000 words but does not exceed 1,500 words
- Explore how diplomats can continue to evolve their craft to meet the needs of an ever-changing world that brings fresh challenges and opportunities to the global community and America’s place in it.
- In the essay:
- Over the past 100 years the Foreign Service has faced a multitude of challenges such as world war, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian disasters, global pandemics, and economic crises. Identify what you believe will be the biggest challenge to face the Foreign Service in the future.
- Describe the challenge and clearly define how American diplomats can help mitigate it.
- Use past or current diplomatic efforts to support what you believe to be the best course of action to tackle this obstacle.
Districts Make the Difference Video Contest
Deadline: March 31, 2024
Award: 1st Place: $2,000
2nd Place: $1,000
3rd Place: $500
Eligibility:
- Open to all high school students in the United States in grades 9-12
Requirements:
- Make a fun and informative short video (60 seconds max) on the one or more of the following areas:
- A unique program, service or infrastructure project that a special district is currently promoting
- How an individual, a group of individuals, or a community is affected by special districts
- How special districts are formed and how they can provide essential services to the community
- Video will be scored based on:
- Accuracy and effectiveness
- Creativity and originality
- Production quality
- Entertainment value
Interested in more high school freshman scholarships? Check out Best List of Scholarships to Apply for Monthly.
Engineer Girl Writing Contest: Better Great Achievements
Deadline: February 1, 2024
Award: 1st Place: $1,000
2nd Place: $750
3rd Place: $500
Eligibility:
- Open to students in three competition categories:
- Elementary school students (grades 3-5)
- Middle school students (grades 6-8)
- High school students (grades 9-12)
- Open to students in the United States
Requirements:
- Submit an online entry form
- For high school essays:
- Select an item that interest or fascinates you, then think about the following:
- 1. What materials is the object made of? Where did these materials originate? (i.e., wood came from trees, metals came from mining, etc.) This will be the beginning of the object’s life story.
- 2. How do you use the object? Is this the object’s intended use? This will be the middle of the object’s life story.
- 3. What will you do when you’re done using the object? (Donate, recycle, etc.) Where does the object end up? This will be the end of your object’s story.
- 4. Now think about how the object got from its beginning to its middle to its end. Think about the different kinds of engineers involved and their specific contributions. Think about the object’s path through the supply chain.
- 5. Who was involved in the creation, transportation, and distribution of the object? How many of these individuals were engineers?
- 6. Thinking specifically of the engineers involved, what portions of the object’s life story are a result of their work? What did this work look like?
- 7. How do you think the pandemic-related disruptions to the supply chain affected the object’s lifecycle?
- Select an item that interest or fascinates you, then think about the following:
- Essays must not exceed 1.200 words
- Essays need to include a reference list of up to 8 resources resources using APA style (does not count towards the essay’s word count)
World’s Only Minecraft Scholarship
Deadline: July 31, 2024
Award: $2,000
Eligibility:
- Must be a United States citizen
- Must currently be enrolled in college or high school
- Must carry a 3.0 or higher GPA
Requirements:
- Write a short essay not exceeding 500 words on the topic:
- How Minecraft can be a positive influence on education and career development
- Submit an entry form
Morris J. & Betty Kaplun Essay Contest
Deadline: March 12, 2024
Award: 1st Place: $1,800
The next 5 winners in each level will receive: $500
Entrance prizes for the first 50 essays received in each level: $18
Eligibility:
- Level 1 is open to students in grades 7,8, and 9
- Level 2 is open to students in grades 10, 11, and 12
- Open to any school, including home school, anywhere in the world
Requirements:
- Level 1: Grades 7-9 topic:
- What do Jewish values tell us about our obligations to one another during a crisis? Give an example of a time you saw this in action – or not in action.
- Essay may not exceed 1,000 words
- Level 2: Grades 10-12 topic:
- The concept of Tikkun Olam obligates us to do our part to “repair the world.” What does this mean to you and describe a way in which you have put this into practice and what that experience was like for you.
- Essay may not exceed 1,500 words
These high school freshman scholarships are great to apply for as early as possible. Try to create a timeline and list all the scholarships that you plan to apply for.
It’s never too late to start early and earn some money towards college!
