Top Scholarships for High School Seniors: Class of 2026

It's time to break out that picture of you as a kindergarten graduate. Place it on the mantel as a reminder that you'll soon attend your dream college or university. You wrapped up your junior year, and the school year you've been waiting on has FINALLY arrived. You're now leaders of your high school seniors class of 2026! Apply for those scholarships for high school seniors to keep your education affordable.

Goodwall #ScholarshipNow Challenge

Deadline: 7/31/25
Award Amount: $2,500
Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • Minimum Age 15 • Maximum Age 45 • Download Goodwall App Application Requirements: • Share Video Award Details: Participate in the #ScholarshipNow challenge for a chance to win $2,500! To participate, download the Goodwall app and simply share a video telling us how winning this scholarship would help you achieve your educational goals on the hashtag #ScholarshipNow.

New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship

Deadline: 8/25/25
Award Amount: $10,000 - $20,000
Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Juniors • High School Juniors • Download Zogo App Award Details: The New York Life Financial Empowerment Scholarship is available to high school juniors and seniors. To be eligible for this award, you must: 1. Have your parent register and share an access code with you. 2. Download the Zogo app and register with the access code. 3. Complete at least 25 learning modules in the Zogo app. 4. Submit an essay on the following topic: "What plans have you made to achieve your goals, and what challenges do you expect to encounter along the way? And if there's a financial dimension to this goal, how do you think you'll tackle that aspect of it?"

RealtyHop Scholarship

Deadline: 8/31/25
Award Amount: $1,000 Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Senior or • Current Undergraduate Student Application Requirements: • Submit Essay Award Details: The RealtyHop Scholarship is available to high school seniors and current undergraduate students. To be considered, you must submit a 500-word essay on the following topic: "Imagine yourself 10 years in the future after having graduated college and living the life of your dreams: find a listing on RealtyHop you picture yourself living in and write what your favorite room or feature is on the listing and why it is important to your future life."

Atlas Class $1,000 Scholarship

Deadline: 9/30/25
Award Amount: $1,000
Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • Minimum Age 14 Application Requirements: • Read the sponsor's book • Create an Instagram post Award Details: The Atlas Class $1,000 Scholarship is available to students who are 14 years of age or older. To be considered, you must post a photo or video holding your copy of How to Hack College on your Instagram account and in the caption, briefly answer the following question: "What was the most valuable thing you learned from How to Hack College."

Sustainability Essay Contest

Deadline: 10/17/25
Award Amount: $1,000 Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Junior or • High School Senior • 3.0 GPA Minimum Application Requirements: • Submit Essay Award Details: The Sustainability Essay Contest is open to high school juniors and seniors. You must submit an essay on a sustainable construction - related topic and have a minimum 3.0 GPA to be considered for this award.

Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition

Deadline: 10/31/25
Award Amount: $35,000 Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Students Application Requirements: • Submit Essay Award Details: The Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition is open to high school students. To enter, you must record an original three - to five - minute audio essay on the following topic: "How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?"

Huntington Learning Center College Scholarship Sweepstakes

Deadline: 12/31/25
Award Amount: $4,000
Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Students • Minimum age 14 • Opt-in to text messages Award Details: The Huntington Learning Center College Scholarship Sweepstakes is available to high school students who are 14 years of age and older. To be considered for this award, you must text a four - digit code to the sponsor and opt - in to text messages. Entrants who do not want to opt - in to text messages may submit a mail - in entry. Residents of Rhode Island are ineligible.

Posse STEM Program

Deadline: Varies
Award Amount: Full-Tuition Award Details: The Posse STEM Program is open to high school seniors who are leaders in their schools and communities. You must be a Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, or New York resident to be eligible to participate. Posse Scholars will receive leadership scholarships to attend Brandeis University, Bryn Mawr College, Middlebury College, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, or Texas A&M University. Nomination by a high school or community-based organization is required.

American Legion National Oratorical Contest

Deadline: Varies
Award Amount: $20,000 - $25,000 Renewable: No Eligibility Requirements: • High School Students •Application Requirements: • Submit Essay Award Details: The American Legion National Oratorical Contest is open to junior high and high school students under 20 and are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States. To be considered, you must prepare an oration on some aspect of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing citizens' duties and obligations to our government. A complete list of topics is available on the Legion's Web site. Each individual state winner certified into and participating in the first round of the national contest receives a $2,000

I'm a high school senior. Is it too late to apply for scholarships?

It's not too late to begin applying for scholarships in your senior year of high school. If you haven't started applying for scholarships regularly, you must jump right in and begin ASAP. Many 12th-grade students can begin feeling overwhelmed, so keep your mental health in mind. Start with small scholarship application goals you can achieve. As you progress and feel like you've established a solid scholarship application habit, challenge yourself by increasing your weekly or monthly application goal. Many successful scholarship applicants employ this technique to maximize their chances of receiving multiple applications. The more you apply for your senior year of high school, the better your chances of winning.

What's the easiest scholarship to get?

If you have a hectic week, consider applying for easy-to-apply scholarships. Fastweb's Featured Scholarships are quick to apply for. Most of them you can apply for in less than five minutes, and many people consider them the easiest scholarships to get.

What is a scholarship? What are the four types of scholarships?

Scholarships are a type of financial aid that is awarded to help students pay for college. They can be merit scholarships, essay scholarships, academic achievement-driven, or athletic. One of the most helpful aspects of scholarships is that winners do not have to pay them back like financial aid such as student loans do.