I hope last month’s “Five Tips for Finding College Scholarships” post inspired many of you to start looking for college scholarships, but if you need a few suggestions, here are 10 scholarships available to high school seniors that have application deadlines within the next few months. Even if you don’t have an amazing GPA, there are plenty of scholarships you may be eligible for! And don’t forget, PUC’s scholarship deadline is March 2nd!
1. Education Matters Scholarship
Deadline: November 31, 2014
These days, there’s a lot in the news about whether or not college is worth it. Spoiler alert: It is. This scholarship asks students to write a short essay in response to the question of “What would you say to someone who thinks education doesn’t matter, or that college is a waste of time and money?” The winner receives $5,000.
2. Gates Millennium Scholars Program
Deadline: January 14, 2015
Every year, the Gates Millennium Scholars Program awards scholarships to 1,000 minority students who have demonstrated leadership skills by participating in extracurricular activities and community service. Students must be African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American and have a minimum unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.3.
3. Tall Clubs International Scholarship
Deadline: February 15, 2015
Are you tall? To be more specific, are you a guy that’s at least 6’2” or a girl that’s at least 5’10”? If you are, you should apply for this $1,000 scholarship! You will need to write an essay on the subject of “What Being Tall Means to Me.” Contact Tall Clubs International for more information.
4. Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarship
Deadline: February 15th, 2015
The Jackie Robinson Foundation provides college scholarships of up to $24,000 over four years to minority students that show “leadership potential and dedication to community service” and also demonstrate financial need. Typically 60 students are awarded each year.
5. Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest
Deadline: February 18, 2015
If you have even one artistic bone in your body, it’s worth taking the time to apply for this $10,000 scholarship. The contest is to design the front of a greeting card and the winning entry will actually be made and sold as a real greeting card!
6. Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship
Deadline: February 20, 2015
The Vegetarian Resource Group awards scholarships to graduating high school students who have helped to promote vegetarianism in their school or local community. One award of $10,000 is given as well as two awards of $5,000.
7. Frame My Future Scholarship Contest
Deadline: March 3, 2015
Applicants must submit a collage, drawing, graphic design piece, painting, photograph, poem or another creative entry discussing what they hope to achieve in both their personal and professional life after college. Five winners receive $1,000, and the grand prize winner also receives an additional $1,000 to be given to their college.
8. Common Knowledge Scholarship
Deadline: None
Think of this ongoing scholarship program like taking BuzzFeed quizzes, only if you do well, you can receive scholarship money. Competitions include one or more quizzes on topics that range from academic subjects or even books and movies, and the student with the highest score at the end of each competition wins. Students can compete more than once, and are able to receive up to $5,000.
9. Zinch.com $1,000 Weekly Scholarship
Deadline: Weekly
Each week, Zinch posts an essay topic question and the winner with the best answer receives $1,000. The “essays” are limited to 280 characters, which is essentially two tweets on Twitter – hardly anything! Set a reminder on your phone and apply for this scholarship once a week.
10. Niche.com “No Essay” Scholarship
Deadline: Monthly
This $2,000 scholarship is essentially entering a random drawing every month. I don’t think scholarships get any easier. I don’t want to hear any excuses about it, you are all capable of doing this!
Editor’s note: This is dated material and does not necessarily reflect how the student financial services office at PUC and the financial process currently operates. Please contact your financial counselor for more information.