College Scholarships For High School Seniors

If you missed part one of this article series, we discussed some basics about free scholarships for high school students.  In this follow-up, we’ll get a little more specific about college scholarships for high school seniors in 2011, and how to go about applying for some of the more popular ones.

As you may already know, we are big fans of ScholarshipPoints.com.  They’re 100% free to join and grab a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship…that’s kinda nice too!  But what if you want more options than just ScholarshipPoints?

If you’ve already been conducting your scholarship search and are trying to uncover any, and every opportunity for free money for college, you are ahead of the game!  When it comes to scholarships, it’s a numbers game.  The more options you have, the better shot you have at winning one… so we are going to recommend some of the better college scholarships for high school seniors.

But before we do that, let’s talk about one of the easiest ways you could qualify for scholarships and/or grant money for college.  Simply by filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you could qualify for need-based grant or scholarship.  Depending on your parent’s income that gets reported as part of the FAFSA, you will recieve what is called an EFC, or Expected Family Contribution.  If that number is low enough, you could receive Federal Aid that is renewable every year you’re in college.  The only way to find out if you are eligible for this is to apply for the FAFSA.  It’s also free, and is available in January for high school seniors that are attending college that fall.

College Scholarships For High School Seniors

Now FAFSA and ScholarshipPoints aside, what else is out there for current seniors searching for scholarships?  Below are some options that you can explore to see if you meet qualifications for their scholarship.  Some of these have a higher dollar amount attached to them, but beware…these are National scholarships, meaning thousands of students can, and will be applying for them.  So the competition is high, but you have nothing to lose by applying.  Take a look…

1. AFSA Scholarship Program$2000 (10 total)Must register, read an essay then take a 10 question, “open book”, multiple choice test.  Each correct answer gets you one chance to win a $2000 scholarship.
2. NFIB Young Entrepreneurs Up to $10,000Must be a senior in high school and has founded or started their own business.
3. Healthy Respect Win-Win$500-$1000 with several possible maximum awards ranging from $5000 to $25,000Must complete the application form and follow all required steps
4. Healthy Lifestyles$5000Must write 2 essays and submit application
5. Sweet Diggity Dawg Zinch Scholarship$20,000Minimum GPA of 2.0 and must be a Zinch member.  Applicants compete against each other “March Madness” style based on your Zinch profile.
6. Young Epidemiolgy Scholars (YES) Competition$15,000 to $50,000Requires CollegeBoard registration, then “Yes Competition Form” completion.  Also requires submission of a research project.
7. American Legion Oratoricle CompetitionUp to $18,000Must compete in a public speaking competition.  10 minute speech on aspects regarding the U.S. Constitution is required.
8. Lowes Scholarship$2500 (140 total scholarships!)Must maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA and demonstrate a history of commitment to their community through leadership activities, community service and/or work experience.
9. Elk’s National Foundation$1000 – $15,000 per year (500 total scholarships!)Awarded based on scholarship, leadership and financial need.
10. AXA Equitable Achievement Scholarship$10,000 with potential to win $25,000 and an internship at AXA!Applicants considered must show ambition and drive, determination to set and reach goals, show respect for self, family and community, and much have the ability to succeed in college.
11. The Vantagepoint Memorial Scholarship$10,000Must be a child or spouse of local and state government employees who have died in the line of duty.  See site for other specifics.

This is just the first 11 college scholarships for high school seniors that we came up with.  As we research and uncover additional scholarship opportunities, we’ll be posting them to this page!  If you haven’t done so yet, sign up for our free newsletter (upper right hand corner) so you can receive updates as we get them to you!

If you have questions or other good resources for college scholarships, please let us know by commenting below!

UPDATE: 11/18

12.  American Liberty Scholarship

        $5000

       Quick, 3 minute scholarship application online

13.  NextStepU

        $10,000

       Online application form

14. American Academic Scholarship

       $5000

       Online Application Form

15. Ronald McDonald House Charities

       ?????

      Must participate in a RMHC Chapter and download appropriate application (See link)

16. KFC’s Colonel’s Scholars

       Up to $5000 per year

      Minimum GPA of 2.75, Pursuing a Degree in the U.S., a U.S. citizen and demonstrate financial need