SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

Many students think that they should begin looking at college scholarships once they actually start applying to college—so some time early in their senior year. Although it's true that many big-name scholarships require applicants to be high school seniors, there are some great awards out there for younger students as well.

So why not get a head start on applying for scholarship awards? You could win money for college, sure, but you'll also get experience in the scholarship application process before submitting even more applications during your senior year.

I've compiled a list of scholarships for high school juniors. This list will be a great place to start, but you might also want to search for more targeted awards (e.g., by geographic area). You can browse the scholarships below based on whether they're competitions or merit-based scholarships. Read to the end for tips and strategies on getting the most scholarship money possible!

Do you have the brains and passion to become an engineer but worry about the cost of the education? You're not alone. Fortunately, you can offset some of these costs by applying for scholarships that can help you pay for college.

The following list of scholarships will show you that you have nothing to fear. Students of all backgrounds will find that there's an engineering scholarship out there that can help make their education more affordable.

In this article, we'll cover many of the prominent engineering scholarships, as well as others that you might not have heard of before. Read on to see what engineering scholarships you might be eligible for!

Aside from grants and loans, private scholarships are some of the best ways to help fund your college education. There are thousands of scholarships out there for high school seniors, all with different eligibility requirements, deadlines, and award amounts, so it's definitely worth your time to do some research.

Senior year is prime crunch time when it comes to your college scholarship search. If you're just starting the search process and need a little help getting off on the right foot, you've come to the right place. I've compiled a list of some of the best college scholarships for high school seniors based on availability and award amounts. These scholarships are generally flexible (so you'll be able to use them at any accredited college you attend), and they also don't have any geographical restrictions (so you're eligible to apply no matter where you live in the US).

Scholarships are awesome resources if you're checking out different ways to pay for college. It's free money after all—what's not to love?

As it turns out, most scholarship programs have application processes that aren't exactly lovable. Students generally have to submit a lot of information about themselves: transcripts, GPAs, test scores, resumes, community service activities, and so on. There might even be a few essays and grade requirements thrown in as well. You don't want to complain—because, again, free money—but these applications sure are tedious when you're working on college apps, high school courses, and financial aid applications all at the same time.

The following easy scholarships have application processes that are a bit more manageable. Some ask you to write short essays, while others don't require any essays at all! The awards might not be as large as some other scholarships out there, but when the application process is so easy, you really don't have much to lose. I'll start off with some words of warning before getting into the good stuff: essay and no-essay scholarships that are so easy to apply for, you might end up applying to all of them!

To be considered for federal financial aid, you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Most states, colleges, and universities also use the FAFSA to award other types of institutional financial aid, including state- and college-sponsored financial aid, such as grants, educational loans, and work-study programs.

If you don’t get your FAFSA submitted by the deadline, you might be missing out on free money. Don’t do that. Make sure you know all the applicable federal, state, and college deadlines. Get that money!

In this article, we'll discuss when you should submit the FAFSA and how to ensure you don't miss any important deadlines. We'll also explain the financial aid process after you submit your FAFSA.

If you’re a high school senior of Hispanic or Latinx heritage, you'll definitely want to learn more about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). With more than 150 types of scholarships available through this program, there’s a lot to learn—and a lot to win!

When you submit an HSF award scholarship, you’re actually submitting yourself for consideration for many different awards (much like when you submit a FAFSA). I’ll talk about all the details you’ll need to take into consideration before submitting your own application for Hispanic scholarships. Then, we'll take a look at application strategies for current high school seniors.

The Florida Bright Futures scholarships are great funding options for Florida residents who want to stay in the state for college or vocational school. All three awards are easily renewable, which means you could significantly cut your college expenses for several years.

You might think there’s some complicated paperwork involved in submitting the Florida Bright Futures scholarship application. As it turns out, much of the process is streamlined and automated —you actually don’t have to jump through too many hoops to apply. The eligibility requirements are a bit of a different story, but once you meet those, the application process should be pretty easy.

In this post, I'll briefly explain about eligibility requirements before moving on to the application timeline. I'll end with tips and strategies you can use to submit the best possible Bright Futures application. 

The Florida Bright Futures scholarship programs are great resources for Florida students who plan on staying in-state for college. To date, the Bright Futures program has helped 725,000 Florida students go to college!

As with any scholarship program, though, there's a lot of information to process about the awards. Just sifting through all the eligibility requirements and award limitations can be overwhelming, never mind figuring out how to actually submit an application.

In this guide, I've compiled all the information you need about the Bright Futures scholarships. I'll talk about the different award programs, their eligibility requirements, the application process, and strategies to help you win your own.

The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship programs are awesome education funding options for Florida state residents—if you can get through the application process, that is. The scholarships offered are particularly nitpicky and tedious about their eligibility requirements: the official handbook outlining these criteria is its own 14-page book chapter. (Luckily, we've created an overview for you in a different, much shorter post.)

Not to worry! I’ve outlined all the eligibility criteria for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships (general and specific, for each scholarship, with every single exception or special circumstance) in a way that’s a bit easier to get through.

I’ve also included information about when to expect notification about your eligibility. Once you’re considered eligible, you’re one (big) step closer to winning a Bright Futures Scholarship. After you’ve processed all this information, I’ll get to the good stuff—how to increase your chances of winning your own Bright Futures award.

College is a costly investment. For the 2018-19 academic year, the College Board reported that the average annual budget was $25,890 for an in-state public college and $52,500 for a private college. These are the averages, but just how much are the most expensive colleges in the US? Which ones have the most expensive college tuition?

Here, I’ll give you a list of the 51 most expensive colleges in the US. I’ll first explain why they’re so pricey and then go over how you can attend one regardless of your financial situation.

Did you know that your extracurricular activities can earn you money for college?

In particular, there are a lot of scholarships available to students who have chosen to spend their free time helping out others in their communities through volunteer work.

Read on for the most complete lists of volunteer scholarships available. We've divided the scholarships by type so you can tell easily if you qualify.

Paying for college can be challenging for many students. College is expensive and the financial aid process isn't always transparent or easy to navigate.

Fortunately, if you're willing to spend some time looking, there are many different resources out there that can help you figure out how to pay for college. If you're a first generation college students, there are many first generation scholarship opportunities that you can apply for.

In this article, we'll explain what first generation college student scholarships are and give a list of scholarships for first generation college students that you can apply for.

College in the US is expensive—too expensive, in fact, for the average student to be able to afford on their own. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 85% of first-year students at four-year colleges were receiving financial aid in 2016-17. Financial aid is good in all its forms, right? If it helps college students afford their educations, what could be the problem?

Unfortunately, not all financial aid is created equal—and not all schools can afford to give out "good" student aid. Here, I'll briefly talk about the types of financial aid available (the "good" kinds and the "bad" kinds) before introducing the colleges with the best financial aid programs in the country.

One of the most important questions you'll have to ask yourself during the college selection process is whether or not your top-choice school is affordable for your family.

Affordability has a huge impact on college decisions. Some students will luck out and be offered a nice scholarship by their school that will make things affordable; others will win independent scholarships. Usually, though, both of these options for financing your education are based on merit, and there is a lot of competition.

But did you know that some schools are committed to making sure all admitted students can afford to attend, regardless of whether they are scholarship recipients? Read on to see a list of colleges that meet full need, or provide for 100% of their students' demonstrated financial need.

Are you considering applying for federal financial aid? If so, you might have heard of the Perkins loan program. Perkins loans are government-backed, low-interest loans that are meant to help students pay for school. They come with a lot of great perks, including the opportunity for loan cancellation (that's exactly what it sounds like it is⁠—imagine taking out a loan for school and not having to pay it back!).

If you want to get a Perkins loan for yourself, you've come to the right place. Read on for easy-to-follow instructions on exactly how to apply for a federal Perkins loan.

Note: As of 2017, the Perkins loan program is no longer being run. But don't worry⁠—we'll still give you a few options for what you can do for aid instead!