National Scholarship Search Sites
The sites listed below offer thousands of scholarship opportunities, searchable by student achievements, interests, backgrounds, or even hair color. Be sure to create an account, as you will get notified when new scholarships match your profile! Never pay for a scholarship search site. One consideration when spending time on these sites is that while students can and do win scholarships they find on these sites, the applicant pool is national and therefore typically more competitive.
Automatic Scholarships from Colleges
The bulk of student scholarships are "automatic" merit-based scholarships. An automatic scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded to students who meet pre-determined academic criteria, such as specific GPA and ACT/SAT scores. Unlike other scholarships that require essays or separate applications, these are granted automatically by the college to attract top students and are often determined by a chart based on a student's academic record.
Competitive Scholarships from Colleges
Most colleges also have "competitive" scholarship portals that allow students to earn scholarships over and above any automatic scholarship they will receive. After admission, students may apply for scholarships within a given department, for students with specific interests or backgrounds, or various other criterion. These scholarships can range from rather small to the value of total cost of attendance.
National Competitive Scholarships
Some of the most prestigious national competitive scholarships are listed below.
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program: Awards 150 high school seniors a $20,000 scholarship based on academic achievement, leadership, and community service.
The Gates Scholarship: A "last-dollar" scholarship for outstanding, low-income minority high school seniors that covers the full cost of attendance not met by other financial aid.
National Merit Scholarship Program: A prestigious academic competition based on high PSAT scores that awards scholarships to the nation's top students.
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program: Supports high-achieving high school seniors with financial need, offering up to $55,000 per year for undergraduate studies.
Dell Scholars Program: A scholarship for high-achieving, low-income students who participate in a college readiness program, awarding $20,000 to help overcome financial barriers.
Ron Brown Scholar Program: Awards $40,000 to academically gifted and community-focused Black/African-American high school seniors.
QuestBridge National College Match: Connects high-achieving, low-income students with full four-year scholarships to top-tier colleges and universities.
Regional and Local Scholarships
Local and regional scholarships are targeted to students in our state, region, or high school. The scholarship sponsors are often local businesses and organizations, and the applicant pool is limited to a much smaller number of students. These scholarships are usually offered later in the school year; we will post them below as they become available and we will also send out ParentSquare/StudentSquare messages, as well.