While most scholarship application deadlines occur between January and March, a number of large scholarship awards for high school seniors have deadlines that fall much earlier in the academic year. To make sure you’re not missing out on major sources of college funding, be sure to start your scholarship search when you start your college applications, if not sooner. If you haven’t gotten around to applying for scholarships yet, check out these awards with approaching deadlines for motivation. You may want to mark them on your calendar and clear some space in your schedule to apply.

Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program
Deadline: October 30
Dollar amount: $20,000
Who qualifies: High school seniors who plan to enter college next fall and to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Students must be U.S. citizens with grade point averages of 2.0 or higher and critical financial need (typically, a family adjusted gross income under $50,000).

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
Deadline: October 31
Dollar amount: $20,000
Who qualifies: Current high school seniors planning to enter college in the fall. Must have a minimum high school GPA of 3.0.

VFW Voice of Democracy
Deadline: November 1
Dollar amount: $30,000
Who qualifies: Any high school student in grades 9-12 who composes a taped response of 3-5 minutes to the question, “Does America Still Have Heroes?” Entries should be submitted through your high school or the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

Intel Science Talent Search
Deadline: November 18
Dollar amount: $100,000
Who qualifies: High school seniors who have individually completed a research project in science, math, medicine, or engineering. More information on qualifying projects is available on the contest website.

AXA Achievement Scholarship
Deadline: December 15
Dollar amount: $25,000
Who qualifies: High school seniors who plan to enroll as undergraduate students at a two-year or four-year university. Winners will be chosen based on outstanding achievements in school, work, or their community.

These are only a few of the scholarships for high school students in our database, and only a few of the awards with upcoming deadlines.  For more information about these and other scholarship opportunities, conduct a free college scholarship search.  If you qualify based on the information you provided, you will see a link to the award in your search results.

Posted: under High School, Scholarship Applications, Scholarships.
Tags: high school student scholarships, Scholarship Applications, scholarship information, Scholarship Search, Scholarships

Comments (0) Oct 14 2009

The fall semester is just around the corner, and in addition to the start of classes, students are also beginning to gear up for scholarship application season, the time from late fall to late spring when the majority of scholarship applications are due.  If you are just starting your scholarship search, there are a number of things to keep in mind when deciding which awards to apply for.  The size of the award, the application deadline, the amount of work required, and your likelihood of winning are all criteria you likely use in evaluating awards.  One other thing to think about before putting together an application, though, is whether there will be any costs associated with the scholarship contest.

Every scholarship application will have some degree of cost associated with it, whether it’s postage, time, or the costs involved in creating your application materials (for example, printing an essay or filming and editing a video).  However, some scholarship applications are going to be more costly than others, and when a scholarship charges an application fee on top of the time, energy, and money you’re already putting into it, it should be cause for some careful thought.

Scholarship opportunities are generally seen as altruistic offers made by organizations that want to help students succeed in college.  Sure, many scholarships have a promotional nature, as there are few better ways to attract interest in a company than by giving something away for free.  However, some companies actually charge students to apply for scholarships.  For example, we came across one scholarship essay contest that offered a $500 award and charged a $15 application fee.  The scholarship provider boasted of receiving 10,000 applications in a year, meaning they hauled in $15,000 and only gave away $500.  Unless they’re spending over $14,000 promoting the contest and paying people to judge the essays, it’s reasonable to believe they’re profiting off the scholarship in more ways than just boosting traffic to their site.  Not necessarily the most altruistic endeavor, huh?

This isn’t the only example of a scholarship contest charging a seemingly unnecessary application fee.  Offers like this aren’t necessarily scholarship scams, as legitimate awards are offered to people who apply.  However, why would you pay money for something when there are so many other ways to get it for free?

Posted: under Scholarship Applications, Scholarships, Tips.
Tags: applications, essay scholarship, scholarship information, Scholarship Search, scholarship tips, Scholarships, Tips, writing scholarship

Comments (0) Aug 05 2009

When Michael Jackson died, the world lost not only a talented pop musician, but also a notable philanthropist.  Over the course of his career, Michael Jackson donated over $300 million to at least 39 charitable organizations and also made generous financial contributions to numerous individuals, especially children and their families.  While many of his charitable acts focused on helping sick or injured children around the globe, he also made substantial contributions to education.

One of the charities Michael Jackson supported most generously and publicly was the United Negro College Fund, which helps support African American students in their college goals.  He first began supporting the UNCF in 1984 and participated in several fundraisers for the organization.  One of his donations established the Michael Jackson Scholarship, which has existed as an endowed scholarship since 1986, supporting students attending college with the goal of pursuing careers in the performing arts.  His generous contributions have allowed the UNCF to extend scholarship opportunities to hundreds of African American students over the last 25 years.

To learn more about the Michael Jackson Scholarship, you can visit the UNCF website. You may also want to do a scholarship search on Scholarships.com to find more scholarship awards for African American students and students interested in the arts.  All Michael Jackson, a Michael Jackson fan website, has more information about Jackson’s many charitable contributions.

Posted: under College News, Scholarships.
Tags: African American scholarships, art scholarship, college news, college scholarships, scholarship information, Scholarships

Comments (0) Jul 01 2009

As a means of promoting diversity and developing talent, Scholarships.com has created a new set of scholarship awards for high school students and undergraduate students. The Scholarships.com Area of Study College Scholarship competition consists of thirteen $1,000 prizes to be granted to students pursuing a college education in one of thirteen designated fields and 185 related majors.

Among them is the Scholarships.com College Health Scholarship, an award for students who are pursuing or planning to pursue a degree in a health-related field. To ensure that current and future medical students, nursing students, and others planning to use their education to promote health and wellness receive the funds they need to afford a quality education, we have created a scholarship opportunity especially for them.

If you’re interested in applying for the Scholarships.com College Health Scholarship, read the scholarship information below or check your scholarship search results to see if your major qualifies. Then complete the online scholarship application and submit an essay of 250 to 350 words in response to the following question (entries that fall outside of this word range will be disqualified):

“What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in health care/medicine?”

Prize:

$1,000

Eligibility:

1. Applicant must be a registered Scholarships.com user. Creating an account is simple and free of charge.  After you have created an account, conduct a free scholarship search to view and apply for this award.
2. Applicant must be a US citizen.
3. Applicant must be a current undergraduate student or a high school senior who plans to enroll in a college or university by fall 2009.
4. Applicant must have indicated an interest in one of the following majors:
   • Allopathic
   • Ambulatory Health Care
   • Audiology
   • Biology
   • Biomedicine
   • Chemistry
   • Chiropractic
   • Dental Assistant
   • Dentistry
   • Family Practice
   • Forensics(Medical)
   • Genetics
   • Health Care Administration
   • Health Education
   • Internal Medicine
   • Maxillofacial Radiology
   • Medical Assistant
   • Medical Lab Technician
   • Medical Office Specialist
   • Medical Technologist
   • Medicine
   • Microbiology
   • Neural and Behavioral Science
   • Neurosciences
   • Nursing/Nurse Practitioner
   • Nutrition Studies
   • Obstetrics/Gynecology
   • Occupational Therapy
   • Oncology
   • Ophthalmology
   • Optics
   • Optometry
   • Oral Radiology
   • Orthopedics
   • Orthotics/Prosthetics
   • Osteopathic
   • Pediatrics
   • Pharmacology
   • Pharmacy Technician
   • Physical Fitness
   • Physical Therapy/Rehabilitation
   • Physician’s Assistant
   • Podiatry
   • Psychiatry
   • Psychology/Counseling
   • Public Health
   • Radiology
   • Respiratory Care
   • Science (Health)
   • Speech/Language Pathology
   • Sports Medicine
   • Therapeutic Health Technician
   • Veterinary
   • Vision Rehabilitation

    

Deadline:

November 30, 2008

Required Material:

A 250 to 350 word response to the following question: “What has influenced your decision to pursue a career in health care/medicine?”

Further details about the application process can be found by conducting a free college scholarship search. Once the search is completed, students eligible for the award will find it in their scholarship list.

Posted: under Scholarship of the Week, Scholarships.
Tags: college scholarships, health, high school students, nursing students, scholarship information, Scholarship Search

Comments (0) Oct 06 2008