National scholarships, recognition awards, and major academic competitions worth real money or college credit.
Programs in this collection (14)
Coca-Cola Scholars Program: Coca-Cola Foundation. Scholarship, USA. Achievement-based $20,000 college scholarship given to 150 high school seniors each year, judged on leadership, academics and service rather than need. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or eligible residents at a U.S. high school with at least a 3.0 GPA, and they apply directly online.
Gates Scholarship: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scholarship, USA. Last-dollar scholarship that covers the full cost of attendance not met by other aid and the family contribution, for up to five years of a bachelor's degree. Applicants are Pell-eligible high school seniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents with at least a 3.3 weighted GPA.
Posse Foundation: Posse. Scholarship, USA. High school seniors nominated by their high school or a community-based organization in one of Posse's cities compete for full-tuition leadership scholarships from partner colleges. Posse supports Scholars from senior year through college, and the award is not need-based.
Dell Scholars: Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Scholarship, Texas, USA. Seniors graduating from a Texas high school who completed an approved college readiness program, are Pell Grant eligible, and have at least a 2.4 GPA can apply. Scholars get $20,000 for a four-year public Texas college plus a laptop, textbook credits, and teletherapy.
Horatio Alger National Scholarship: Horatio Alger Association. Scholarship, USA. A need-based college scholarship from the Horatio Alger Association for full-time U.S. high school juniors who have shown perseverance through adversity. Recipients receive up to $25,000 each, and 105 juniors were selected for the Class of 2027. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with financial need, community service, a minimum 2.5 GPA and an adjusted gross family income of $100,000 or lower, and must plan to earn a bachelor's degree.
Stamps Scholars: Stamps Foundation. Scholarship, USA. Merit scholarships offered through partner colleges and universities, with annual amounts from $20,000 to $98,000 set by each school. Students do not apply to the foundation; most partners consider applicants automatically, and some require a separate application or interview.
Ron Brown Scholar Program: CAP Charitable Foundation. Scholarship, USA. A $40,000 scholarship, paid as $10,000 a year for four years, for Black or African American high school seniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Selection weighs academics, leadership, community service and financial need. Funds can be used at any accredited four-year U.S. college.
Hagan Scholarship: Hagan Scholarship Foundation. Scholarship, USA. Seniors at any U.S. public, private, charter, magnet, or STEM high school with at least a 3.50 GPA who will enroll at a four-year not-for-profit college can apply. Awards are up to $7,500 per semester for up to eight semesters, and recipients must work 240 hours each year.
Regeneron Science Talent Search: Society for Science. Competition, USA. The oldest U.S. science research competition for high school seniors, run by Society for Science and open to students in their last year of secondary school in the U.S. and its territories, regardless of citizenship. Entries are reviewed by three or more PhD scientists, mathematicians or engineers. The 300 scholars and their schools each receive $2,000, and 40 finalists each win at least $25,000 plus an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC.
Regeneron ISEF: Society for Science. Competition, Worldwide. International science fair where students in grades 9-12 present an independent research project. You cannot apply directly: students qualify by winning at one of nearly 400 Society-affiliated fairs. Entrants must be under 20 and may enter only one project.
AMC 10/12: Mathematical Association of America. Competition, Worldwide. The gateway to the AIME and the USAMO, sat at a school, college, math circle or learning center that must register the site. The 2026-27 papers are on 5 November (A) and 13 November (B). A site new to the AMC must register by 15 October; only returning managers may use the 28 October late window.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Scholastic. Competition, USA. A national competition in which students in grades 7-12 who are at least 13 years old submit original art and writing in 28 categories through an online portal. Entrants must live in the U.S. or a U.S. territory or military base, and some students outside the U.S., including teens at U.S.-accredited schools abroad, also qualify. Entries cost $15 each or $40 per portfolio, fee waivers are available for financial need, and only graduating seniors may enter the Art Portfolio.
Voice of Democracy: Veterans of Foreign Wars. Scholarship, USA. An audio-essay scholarship competition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for students in grades 9 through 12. Students record an essay on a yearly patriotic theme and submit it with an entry form to a local participating VFW Post, with awards at the local, state, and national levels. The national first-place winner receives a $35,000 college scholarship, and each state first-place winner earns a trip to a youth leadership experience at Valley Forge.
National Arts Competition: YoungArts. Competition, USA. A national arts competition run by YoungArts for artists ages 15 to 18 or in grades 10 to 12, covering ten disciplines across the visual, literary, and performing arts, including film, dance, and jazz. Artists may apply in as many disciplines as they like. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or legally able to receive taxable income in the U.S. The fee is $35 per application, and fee waivers are available.