By Ansharah Asif
There are plenty of scholarship opportunities available for high school students, but it can be challenging to know when and where to start looking. These scholarships are offered by various organizations to help students pay for their college education since costs from textbooks, tuition, supplies, housing and more add up quickly.
It’s important to start researching different scholarship opportunities to see what the requirements are, when the deadlines are and what types of scholarships are available. Some scholarships have early deadlines, so you should start researching and applying for these scholarships during the summer of your junior year and the fall of your senior year.
“I have been searching for scholarships since sophomore year,” junior Emroz Sandhu said. “It helps relieve much of the stress about applying and attending to college as knowing that there is a chance where I can be granted a scholarship, [and] makes this journey a lot more fun and possible.”
Scholarships may have different requirements but most of them expect a student to write an application essay, maintain a certain grade point average, demonstrate financial need or participate in extracurriculars.
Here are some scholarships that may be of interest:
Household Names’ Scholarships
1. Ford Empowering America Scholarship
The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation and the Ford Motor Company Fund work together to offer one student $3,000 and one student runner up $2,000 for telling the stories of women empowering others. The deadline to apply is May. 1, 2021. An essay, recommendation letter, application form and official transcript are required.
2. Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway
In this giveaway, over $1,000,000 is offered to help students pay for their education. The requirement is that the student needs to be from 18 to 24 years of age and have to film a video of the applicants introducing themselves and stating why they are interested. The scholarship opens in September 2021.
Community Involvement Scholarships
3. Spirit of Giving Scholarship
This scholarship is offered to high school seniors. It offers a $1,000 grant and requires a 500- to 750-word essay talking about ways you have helped your community. Three winners are selected every year and applicants cannot be a family member of the Wine Country Gift Baskets or Houdini Inc. In addition, students have to be planning on attending a university in the U.S.
4. Nordson BUILDS Scholarships
This scholarship offers $2,000 to $10,000 dollars to students who fill out and qualify for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Nordson Corporation is catered towards students interested in business and STEM and grants three categories of scholarships: Career & Technical, University Scholars and Creating Equity in Industry. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2021.
Writing and Creativity Scholarships
This scholarship is offered to students by google where a student is granted a $30,000 scholarship grant in addition to a $50,000 tech grant to your school for designing a Google logo. Google hardware is also granted to the student who wins the scholarship. Finalists receive a $5,000 scholarship grant as well as Google hardware. The deadline to enter a doodle and apply is Feb. 15, 2021.
6. Ayn Rand Institute “Anthem” Scholarship
The first-place student wins $2,000. Three students can win second place and are granted $250. Five students can win third place and are granted $100. Students must essay about author Ayn Rand’s novella “Anthem.” The institute has a similar scholarship, wherein students write an essay about Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead.” The entry deadline for both scholarships is April 29, 2021.
Military/Public Service Dependent Scholarships
7. Wings over America Scholarship
This organization grants scholarships to fifty students whose families are part of the U.S. Navy personnel. They are judged based on merit, extracurricular activites and community service. The scholarship opens Oct. 1, 2021.
This scholarship honors the service of those who died in the line of duty as public safety officers by granting the families of these individuals scholarships to help them pay through college.
The Pell Grant award will be increased to the maximum annual Pell Grant amount, and other awards will be calculated as if the student has an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of zero. EFC is the amount of college tuition money a family is projected to pay.
Scholarships For Students With Illnesses or Disabilities
9. National Federation of the Blind (NFB) Scholarshipco
This scholarship grants blind students $3,000 to $12,000 dollars across the nation. Finalists are announced every spring and are invited to attend their national convention in July when the winners of each individual scholarship are selected. To be eligible, the applicant must be blind in both eyes, reside in the U.S., the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico, pursue a college degree, and attend all sections of the NFB National Convention.
