Top Scholarships for 2026: Your Complete Guide

Most students treat scholarship searching like a once-a-year sprint in the spring, but any student, regardless of year in school, can apply for scholarships throughout the year. Major scholarships open every single month of 2026, and students who spread their applications throughout the year increase their odds of winning by ultimately applying to more scholarships. This comprehensive guide will give you a strategic roadmap for the entire year. You'll discover national awards, subject-specific opportunities, easy-to-apply-for scholarships, and hidden gems. Furthermore, we’ll be updating it frequently throughout the year so you’re up to date on the latest and greatest offerings.

2026 Scholarships to Apply For

A new year offers new funding opportunities. January sets the stage for the whole year, offering major national awards, prestigious scholarships, and opportunities that have just opened. Start 2026 by submitting strong applications while most students are on winter break.

Grind Naturally Growing Excellence Scholarship

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 1/5/26 Available to: High School, College, and Graduate Students The Grind Naturally Growing Excellence Scholarship is open to high school, college and graduate students. You must demonstrate a commitment to healthy eating or wellness, and submit a short essay of 200 words or less on the following prompt: "Describe a specific moment in your life when you realized the importance of healthy eating. How did this realization change your eating habits, and what steps have you taken to promote healthier eating within your home, school or community? How do you plan to continue advocating for better nutrition and wellness as you pursue your education and career?" in order to be considered for this award.

Taco Bell Live Más Scholarship

Award amount: $5,000 - $25,000 Deadline: 1/6/26 Available to: High School, College, and Graduate Students The Live Más Scholarship is available to innovators, creators, and dreamers between the ages of 16 and 26. To be considered, you must create and submit a film, animation, or a simple testimonial of up to two minutes in length that tells the story of your life's passion.

Abacus Life Scholarship

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 1/6/26 Available to: College Students The Abacus Life Scholarship is open to undergraduate students. You must submit a video of no more than three minutes that describes what makes you unique in order to be considered for this award.

Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship

Award Amount: Up to $55,000 Deadline: 1/7/26 Available to: College Students The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is available to community college and other two-year institution students who plan to transfer to a four-year institution in the fall. You must have sophomore status, a minimum 3.5 GPA and demonstrate significant financial need to be eligible for this award. Selection is also based on academic achievement and ability, persistence, leadership, and desire to help others.

Go City Scholarship

Award Amount: $4,000 Deadline: 1/9/26 Available to: College Students The Go City Education Scholarship is open to currently enrolled students who are studying in the U.S. You must submit a short statement of no more than 280 characters on one of the sponsor's destinations and tell them what attractions you think should be added to their sightseeing passes and why in order to be considered for this award. The winner will be determined by an applicant’s eligibility under the scholarship requirements and the strength of an applicant’s entry as determined by the selection committee.

PRINT IT Scholarship for Aspiring Content Creators

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 1/11/26 Available to: College Students The PRINT IT Scholarship for Aspiring Content Creators is available to current college students who are actively involved in the creation of unique and engaging video or audio content or wish to pursue it in the future. To be considered, you must submit a five- to 10-minute video that explains how your content will be engaging and tell a unique story.

Mensa Foundation U.S. Scholarship

Award Amount: $2,000 Deadline: 1/15/26 Available to: College Students The Mensa Foundation U.S. Scholarship is available to students currently enrolled in a degree program at an accredited U.S. institution. To be considered, you must submit an essay of up to 550 words explaining your career, academic, and/or vocational goals and how you plan to achieve those goals.

Virginia M. Wagner Educational Award

Award Amount: Varies Deadline: 1/15/26 Available to: College and Graduate Students The Virginia M. Wagner Educational Award is available to female undergraduate and graduate students. You must be a resident of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Kentucky to be eligible for this award.

Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest

Award Amount: Up to 10,000 Deadline: 1/20/26 Available to: College Students The Elie Wiesel Prize In Ethics Essay Contest is open to full-time undergraduate students attending four-year institutions. To be considered, you must articulate with clarity an ethical issue that you have encountered, and analyze what it has taught you about ethics and yourself.

Orange Scholars Program

Award Amount: $2,500 Deadline: 1/20/26 Available to: College Students The Orange Scholars Program is open to high school seniors and current college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. You must be a dependent of an hourly associate of The Home Depot and its subsidiaries to be eligible for this award.

Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 1/30/26 Available to: High School, College, and Graduate Students The Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship is available to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. To be considered, you must submit a 140-character statement that completes the following sentence: "Instead of spending time with technology, I'd rather..."

Media Plan Case Competition

Award Amount: $3,000 Deadline: 2/1/26 Available to: College Students The Media Plan Case Competition is open to undergraduate students who are interested in strategic media sales, research, planning, and placement. To participate, you must create a strategic media plan for a hypothetical special election referendum issue. A step-by-step guide to participation, along with a suggested reading list, is available.

One for Two Scholarships

Award Amount: Up to $25,000 Deadline: 2/1/26 Available to: High School Seniors and College Students The One for Two Education Foundation Scholarship is available to high school seniors and current college students. You must have a minimum 3.7 GPA to be eligible for this award. Recipients of this award must pledge to pay for a comparable scholarship grant for two persons, who are not related by blood, adoption, or marriage, during their lifetime.

Truman Scholars Program

Award Amount: $30,000 Deadline: 2/3/26 Available to: College Juniors The Truman Scholars Program is open to full-time college juniors who plan to attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in public service. Recipients of this award are required to attend Truman Scholars Leadership Week in Liberty, MO.

The Christophers Video Contest for College Students

Award Amount: Up to $2,000 Deadline: 2/15/26 Available to: College and Graduate Students The Christophers Video Contest for College Students is open to undergraduate and graduate students. To be considered, you must create a five-minute film or video on the following theme: "One Person Can Make a Difference." You must also follow the sponsor on Instagram.

Dell Scholars Program

Award amount: $20,000 + laptop + ongoing support Deadline: 2/15/26 Available to: High School Seniors The Dell Scholars Program is open to graduating high school seniors. You must have a minimum 2.4 GPA, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and demonstrate financial need to be considered for this award. Also, you must participate in an approved college readiness/college access program in grades 11 and 12. Additionally, you must plan to enter a bachelor's degree program at an accredited higher education institution in the fall immediately following high school graduation.

McDonald's HACER National Scholarship

Award Amount: Varies Deadline: 2/17/26 Available to: High School Seniors The McDonald's HACER National Scholarship is available to high school seniors. You must be under 21 years of age and have a minimum GPA of 2.8 to be eligible for this award. Selection is based on academic achievement, community involvement, and financial need.

Delete Cyberbullying Social Media

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 2/28/26 Available to: High School, College, and Graduate Students The Delete Cyberbullying Social Media Scholarship is available to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. To be considered, you must submit a maximum 500-word essay on one of the following topics: "Why is it important to work to delete social media cyberbullying?" or "How has social media cyberbullying personally affected you?". Selection is based on the written essay and focus on commitment to the cause of deleting cyberbullying.

Act of Kindness Scholarship

Award Amount: $1,000 Deadline: 2/28/26 Available to: High School, College, and Graduate Students The Act of Kindness Scholarship is open to high school junior or senior, undergraduate and graduate students. You must be currently enrolled or plan to be enrolled part-time or full-time in an accredited U.S. college or university, have a minimum 2.5 GPA or higher and be committed to helping others in your schools or communities in order to be eligible for this award.

Create-a-Greeting Card Scholarship

Award Amount: $10,000 Deadline: 3/9/26 Available to: High School, College, or Graduate Students The Create-A-Greeting Card Scholarship Contest is open to students who are at least 14 years of age. To enter, you must submit an original design for a Christmas card, holiday card, birthday card, or all-occasion greeting card. All designs or photographs must be the original work of the applicant.

Goals for Scholarship Wins in 2026

As we start the new year, include your scholarship journey as part of your New Year’s Resolutions for 2026. Be sure to shape your scholarship goals to fit your schedule.

Set Realistic Monthly Goals

As you reflect on 2025, think about how much time you spent on school work, extracurriculars, and any part-time jobs. Realistically, how many hours per week could you spend on scholarship applications? It’s ok if you can just start with an hour and one scholarship application per week. That’s four applications per month, and 48 for an entire year. Not too shabby. Here are examples of realistic scholarship application goals per student type: • High School Juniors: 10 - 15 to practice (1 per month) • High School Seniors: 20 - 40 applications across the year (2-4 per month) • College Students: 15 - 25 applications (focus on renewal + new opportunities) • Graduate Students: 10-20 highly targeted applications (research or field-specific grants) While the above may seem overwhelming, you can streamline the application process by using a scholarship application checklist. You can also diversify your applications by setting goals to apply for specific types of scholarships throughout the year, like: • Apply for one Featured Scholarship per week. • Apply for five video scholarships in 2026. • Apply for at least four essay scholarships throughout the year. Navigating the diverse applications and meeting your scholarship goals will be easy if you’re prepared.

Create Your Scholarship Toolkit

A year-long scholarship search and application journey requires organization. Before the start of the year, create an electronic folder that holds all of your important scholarship documents. This will make applying for scholarships easier. Your folder should include: • Transcripts • Student resume, or brag sheet • Personal statements • Recommendation letters • Videos • Financial documents • Essay drafts Having everything in one place will actually enable you to apply for more scholarships. Minimum organization leads to maximum results.

Make It a Habit

The best way to reach your scholarship goals is to create habits and stick to them. Start by implementing a weekly scholarship routine: • Sunday: Take 15 minutes and check Fastweb for new matches (15 minutes) • Tuesday/Thursday: Spend 1 - 2 hours on these days to work on applications • Friday: Submit completed applications and celebrate At the end of January, assess how you did: • Monthly check-in: • Review your tracking spreadsheet • Celebrate submissions (not just wins) • Adjust goals if needed Creating habits and congratulating yourself for meeting your goals will keep you on track and motivated to do more.

Your Custom 2026 Scholarship Matches Await

These scholarships are just the beginning. Hundreds of scholarships are waiting for you that are specific to your major, background, interests, and goals. To meet your scholarship goals and stay informed of the latest opportunities, be sure you have a profile on Fastweb. It’s free to create, and you can update it throughout the year based on new clubs you join, jobs you receive, and accomplishments you make. Make 2026 the year of scholarships. Start with these scholarships, create your Fastweb profile, and commit to applying consistently. Your scholarship success story starts today.