How to Get the Best Full Ride Scholarships For Graduating High School Seniors

Where Can You Find Easy Scholarships for High School Seniors?

Your child has just entered their last year of high school and now it’s crunch time for affording college. Or maybe they graduated last year, and you’re still figuring out how to find easy scholarships for high school seniors and recent graduates. Good news…you have options!

The price of college can be daunting to any family, with tuition, fees, room and board, costs can add up fast. But if you know there to look for full ride scholarships for high school seniors, your student can reach their full potential without a big financial sacrifice.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and fees have increased 63 percent since January 2006. That’s a huge jump that’s hard for families to afford unless they use one of the merit scholarships for high school seniors or grants for high school seniors to help pay the costs.

Student loans are an option, but no one wants to saddle a graduating college student with thousands of dollars of debt when they’re just starting out their new life.

Using grants and scholarships for high school seniors, the financial burden both during and after college or university are greatly reduced, and students can get a top quality education and prepare for a successful career without starting out under a cloud of debt.

Categories of the Best Scholarships for High School Seniors

You may be wondering, “What do scholarships for high school seniors pay for?” Or, “What is the difference between essay scholarships for high school seniors or merit based scholarships for high school seniors?”

We’re going to go over in detail all the different types of college scholarships for high school seniors and where to apply for them in this article, but first we’ll give you an overview of the main categories below.

Academic/Merit Scholarships
Athletic Scholarships
Business or Organization Scholarship
Community Service Scholarships
Creative/Talent Scholarships
Essay Scholarship Contests
Government Grant
Needs-Based Scholarships

By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have lots of great application options for scholarships for seniors in highschool and may even find scholarships for high school seniors of 2016, just because it’s been a year since graduation, doesn’t mean you can’t still take advantage of money for school.

What’s the Difference Between Grants for High School Seniors and Scholarships for High School Seniors?

Many people used interchangeably the terms “college scholarships for high school seniors” and “grants for high school seniors.” While both allow students to get money for their college education, there are some differences between a scholarship and a grant.

Image Source: Pixabay.com | Full Ride Scholarships for High School Seniors

According to The College Board | BigFuture™, some of the differences include:

Scholarships

Most of the full ride scholarships for high school seniors are merit based, which means they’re awarded to students with particular academic or athletic abilities. Maintaining a particular grade point average (GPA) is often a requisite for earning and keeping the merit scholarships for high school seniors.

Grants

Grants for high school seniors that help them afford going to college or university are typically need based. So they’re awarded based upon a family financial situation to allow a student to continue an education when they may not have been able to otherwise.

The FAFSA and Why You Need to Know About It

If you’re looking to qualify for a federal aid grant or financial aid at state colleges, many scholarships for high school seniors in 2017 use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to award financial grants and other easy scholarships for high school seniors.

Just about every student is eligible for financial aid and filling out a FAFSA can help you take the first step towards getting some of the best scholarships for high school seniors, grants or student loans.

The FAFSA application for the following school year is currently available the October before the June graduating year to time closely with the college application process and timing for application of scholarships for seniors in high school.

Eligibility Requirements for Federal Student Aid for Scholarships for High School Seniors in 2016, 2017 and beyond:

Be a citizen or eligible noncitizen of the U.S.
Have a valid Social Security Number
Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, or have completed homeschooling
Be enrolled in an eligible program as a regular student seeking a degree or certificate
Maintain satisfactory academic progress
Not be in default on a student loan or owe a refund on a federal student grant
Register (or already be registered) with the Selective Service System
Not have a conviction for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid

Types of Federal Grants for High School Seniors Available:

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The Best Full Ride Scholarships for High School Seniors to Apply For

If you’re very lucky, you can get one of these full ride scholarships for high school seniors that cover more than just tuition. Being awarded one of the best scholarships for high school seniors is like hitting the jackpot, because they also cover expenses like room, board, and textbooks.

However these can be rare.

According to CBS news, less than 20,000 students each year receive merit scholarships for high school seniors that pay all their expenses. Many end up applying for more than one of several types of scholarships for high school seniors and combining them to pay costs.

But that being said, there are some easy scholarships for high school seniors to apply for that are considered “full ride.” Here are some you may want to check out.

USDA/1890 National Scholars Program

This is one of the excellent full ride college scholarships for high school seniors planning to go into the fields of agriculture, food technology, nutrition, or similar related fields.

There are 19 schools to choose from when applying for scholarships for seniors in high school under this program, and you do need to have been accepted at one or more of them.

Covers: Tuition, room and board
Location Requirement: Must go to a 1890 Historically Black Land-Grant University
GPA Requirement: 3.0 or higher
Who Can Apply: high school seniors, rising college sophomores and juniors
Find Details Here

Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program

The foundation set up to honor and continue to the work of Jack Kent Cooke, entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins NFL team, offers 40 full ride scholarships for high school seniors each year.

In addition to scholarships for high school seniors 2017 and beyond, they also offer a young scholars program and an undergraduate transfer scholarship. These are financial need based, rather than just sports or essay scholarships for high school seniors.

Covers: Tuition, room and board, books, living expenses
Location Requirement: None
GPA Requirement: 3.5 or higher
Who Can Apply: high school seniors that demonstrate financial need
Find Details Here

Gates Millennium Scholars Program

Set up by Microsoft founder and his wife, Bill and Melinda Gates, Gates Millennium Scholars is one of the merit based scholarships for high school seniors created to provide an opportunity for African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander, American and Hispanic American students.

This is one of the college scholarships for high school seniors that started in the millennium school year of 1999-2000, and has funded over 20,000 students since that time.

Covers: Support for cost of education not met by grants or other means
Location Requirement: None
GPA Requirement: 3.3 or higher
Who Can Apply: high school seniors meeting the ethnicity and need requirement

The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program

If you’re looking for easy scholarships for high school seniors pursing a degree in one of the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, then this Department of Defense (DOD) program is a great choice in scholarships for high school seniors in 2017 and beyond.

Another great benefit of the SMART program is that it is one of the best scholarships for high school seniors that also offers gainful employment upon college graduation.

Covers: Tuition, stipend and miscellaneous supplies allowance
Location Requirement: Regionally accredited U.S. institutions offering science related degrees
GPA Requirement: 3.0 or higher
Who Can Apply: Those 18 years and older that are U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand or UK citizens

College and University Full Ride Scholarships for High School Seniors

If you’re reviewing colleges to apply for, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that one or more of your choices offers scholarships for high school seniors in 2016, 2017 or other years, and that there is less competition to win one.

Here are some great listings of colleges and universities you can reference to find essay scholarships for high school seniors or other types of full ride scholarships.

Other Types of Merit Scholarships for High School Seniors You Should Know About

There’s no reason to be worried if your student doesn’t get one of the full ride easy scholarships for high school seniors, because you can easily piece together many other cash award and merit scholarships for high school seniors to pay for their entire tuition and other living expenses during school.

Image Source: Pixabay.com | Best Scholarships for High School Seniors

Some of these are essay scholarships for high school seniors based upon writing contests (more tips on that coming up!) or they can be academic or needs based. But even if they aren’t classified as “full ride” they can still be some of the best scholarships for high school seniors to pay for college.

Many of the merit scholarships for high school seniors are cash prizes granted from winning a particular contest, so you’ll want to get your game face on for those!

But even if you’re not the competitive type, there are also easy scholarships for high school seniors to apply for that can be used to help pay a portion of tuition, room, board and other expenses.

Regeneron Science Talent Search

The Society for Science & the Public offers one of the country’s most prestigious science research competitions for scholarships for seniors in high school. It first began in 1942 in partnership with Westinghouse, then with Intel, and now with Regeneron.

Students compete on the basis of their independent research in the field of science, math or engineering, and annually compete for $1.6 million in awards that can be used as college scholarships for high school seniors.

Earn: From $250,000 for 1^st place to $150,000 for 3^rd place, or other prizes
What to Do: Submit essay and research report
Who Can Apply: Students attending their last year of secondary school
Find Details Here

Microsoft Tuition Scholarship Program

Computer icon Microsoft awards tuition scholarships for high school seniors to encourage studies in the STEM fields. While it may not be a “full ride” it does cover partial tuition and is one of the best scholarships for high school seniors going for a degree in computing, science, or engineering.

This is one of the merit scholarships for high school seniors that you can apply for after you’ve started college to help beyond other scholarships or grants for high school seniors you may have already received. You have to already be enrolled in college to apply.

Earn: Partial tuition covered for one academic year
What to Do: Maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA out of a possible 4.0
Who Can Apply: Students enrolled full time in a bachelor’s degree program at a four-year college or univerisity
Find Details Here

ASDSO Scholarship Program

You may not associate the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) with some of the best scholarships for high school seniors, but they absolutely have an excellent scholarship program.

Their program combines financial need and work experience with essay scholarships for high school seniors. Their cash award can be a big help to undergraduates that are enrolled in a civil engineering or related degree field.

Earn: From $5,000 to $10,000
What to Do: Have a GPA of 2.5 for the first three years of college and receive a recommendation
Who Can Apply: Students enrolled in accredited programs in engineering or related fields planning careers related to design, construction or operations of dams
Find Details Here

The American Legion National High School Oratorical Contest Scholarship

Do you have a silver tongue and love public speaking? Then this American Legion offering may just be one of the easy scholarships for high school seniors to apply for.

This is one of the competition based scholarships for high school seniors of 2017 and beyond where cash prizes can be earned at the district, county, state, and national levels of the competition.

Earn: From $1,500 to $18,000
What to Do: Be great at oratory and public speaking
Who Can Apply: Students planning to attend college or university
Find Details Here

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship

Are you looking for one of the easy scholarships for high school seniors that is talent based and anyone, no matter their GPA, can win? Then The Gallery Collection’s Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship is the one you’ve been searching for.

Just design an awesome greeting card, and you not only earn one of the merit based scholarships for high school seniors, you also win $1,000 for your school. How cool is that?!

Earn: $10,000 + $1,000 for your school
What to Do: Design an amazing greeting card
Who Can Apply: Students that are at leat 14 years old and enrolled in high school or college/university
Find Details Here

The Coca-Cola Scholars Program Scholarship

This is one of the easy scholarships for high school seniors who are high achievers. It’s awarded to students recognized as leaders and who make a positive impact on their schools and communities.

There are 150 Coca-Cola Scholars chosen each year, which makes this one of the best merit scholarships for high school seniors to apply for with a pretty high monetary benefit for your education.

Earn: $20,000
What to Do: Submit a list of your volunteer activities, clubs, awards and honors
Who Can Apply: Students that are current high school or home-schooled seniors attending school in the U.S.
Find Details Here

Where to Find More Best Scholarships for High School Seniors

These merit scholarships for high school seniors are just the tip of the iceburg. There are multiple other types of both full ride scholarships for high scool seniors and the cash award or tuition only scholarships for high school seniors that you can apply for to piece together a fully paid college education.

Sites to find more easy scholarships for high school seniors:

Tips To Make Your Essay for Part or Full Ride Scholarships for High School Seniors Stand Out

Whether you’re applying for scholarships for seniors in high school for a particular field of study or just one of the general merit scholarships for high school seniors, you’re most likely going to have to submit an essay.

Here are a few tips to help your essay stand out above all the others applying for the best scholarships for high school seniors.

Be Personal and Real

Write from your own experience and don’t be afraid to add some emotion. Personal story-telling is the best way to connect to the reader and make yourself relatable to the person granting merit scholarships for high school seniors.

Keep it Flexible

If you’re applying for more than one of the best scholarships for high school seniors, you may be tempted to just copy/paste that essay you worked so hard on. But if you have an intro and ending portion that is flexible, you can easy edit to personalize it to the specific college scholarships for high school seniors you’re trying to get.

Have an Editor

You may not want to show your essay to anyone, because you don’t want the micro-managing. But truly, if you want the best shot at getting one of those easy scholarships for high school seniors, you’ll have a trusted friend or family member read it and give you constructive input.

Know What the Merits Are

Are you applying for one of the scholarships for seniors in high school that is based upon a STEM field? Or is the foundation giving grants for high school seniors looking for community service leaders?

Know and speak to what is important to those granting the scholarship and you’ll have a much better chance at nabbing one of the best scholarships for high school seniors.

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Conclusion – How to Get Full Ride Scholarships for High School Seniors

When you’re looking at the cost of tution, room, board, books, and fees, college can seem out of reach financially for many of us. But if you know where to find merit scholarships for high school seniors, whether “full ride” or several that are pieced together, it can help you breathe easier.

A little research goes a long way when it comes to easy scholarships for high school seniors. There are well-known scholarships and others that are more obscure, but they all can make a big difference in the cost of your child’s future and help them start life after college without a huge debt burden.

The time it takes to research and apply for the best full ride scholarships for high school seniors is time well spent. It not only can pay for a complete college education but can also give the student the best chance at a successful future.

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How to Get the Best Full Ride Scholarships For Graduating High School Seniors | Guide