20 Scholarships for College Students to Apply to in 2024

Most scholarships and financial aid available seem to be solely for high school seniors and students to prepare them for the next step in life, whether it is a community college, college, or graduate school. However, current college and graduate students also need help furthering their education and attending college. Scholarship opportunities are found far and wide, but attending college can financially strain some, even if they are not college freshmen.

Best Scholarships for College Students To Apply To

While some scholarship opportunities seem to be geared toward graduating high school seniors or high school graduates or high school students, current undergraduate and university students also need financial aid to attend college.

We have compiled a list of 20 college scholarships for graduate school students and current college students to apply to that can help pay for tuition, books, supplies, and more financial aid.

Peter T. Buecher Memorial Scholarship

The Peter T. Buecher Memorial Scholarship seeks to give $1000 to two student-athletes in Minnesota who give back to their community.

• Amount: $1,000
• Application Deadline: May 1, 2023
• Winner Announced: January 1, 2023

Cindy J. Visser Memorial Nursing Scholarship

To honor the memory of Cindy J. Visser, this $2,000 scholarship will be awarded to a student who shares her desire to help others through the nursing field.

• Amount: $2,000
• Application Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 1, 2022

David L. Burns Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship aims to provide $2,550 to a Missouri student who wants to go into a field to help people who struggle with addiction. These fields include but are not limited to nursing, counseling, and social work.

• Amount: $2,550
• Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 1, 2022

Wendell and Gwendolyn Clement Scholarship

To support black students seeking higher education, the Wendell and Gwendolyn Clement Scholarship seeks to grant $2,000 to an undergraduate student at Ohio State University who is majoring in education or business and has a GPA of 2.5 or higher.

• Amount: $2,000
• Application Deadline: August 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: August 31, 2022

Lionrock Recovery Scholarship 

Lionrock Recovery created the Lionrock Recovery Scholarship to support four high school seniors or first-year college students affected by substance abuse who want to become substance abuse disorder counselors or therapists with $2,000.

• Amount: $2,000
• Application Deadline: August 15, 2022
• Winner Announced: September 15, 2022

Cody Cochlin Memorial Scholarship

To honor the memory of Cody Cochlin, this scholarship will award $1,000 to one college student who rollerblades, roller skates, skateboards, or snowboards.

• Amount: $1,000
• Application Deadline: October 25, 2022
• Winner Announced: November 15, 2022

Cybersecurity Scholarship

For students who are interested in going into the field of cybersecurity, the Cybersecurity Scholarship will award one student $750 to cover industry certification or tuition costs.

• Amount: $750
• Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 1, 2022

#FinancialFreedom No-Essay Scholarship

All you need to apply for this scholarship is to have the drive and financial need. This $500, no scholarship essay is open to undergraduate, graduate, and high school students.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: October 30, 2022
• Winner Announced: November 30, 2022

Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

This scholarship will award $500 to a student of any education level who has struggled with mental health or has had someone close to them struggle with their mental health in memory of Sheri Rosser.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: October 30, 2022
• Winner Announced: November 30, 2022

“A Daring Path” No-Essay Scholarship 

This $1000 no-essay scholarship is open to students and non-students of all education levels who are bold and ready to take the world on. The monthly application deadline is a rolling deadline, but those who apply earlier within the application window have a better chance of winning.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: October 30, 2022
• Winner Announced: November 30, 2022

First-Year College Students: Jennie Gilbert Daigre Education Scholarship

The First-Year College Students: Jennie Gilbert Education Scholarship is open to undergraduate students to help offset the cost of textbooks. Despite its name, the scholarship is not exclusive to first-year students.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: September 30, 2022

Health & Wellness Scholarship

The Health & Wellness Scholarship seeks to grant $500 to students who think maintaining their health, even throughout college, is essential.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: October 1, 2022

Virginia Jeanette Drummond Kissane Women in STEM Memorial Scholarship

In honor of Virginia Jeanette Drummond Kissane, this $3000 scholarship is specifically for alumnae of Girls Middle School of Palo Alto, California, or alumnae of Presentation High School of San Jose, California.

• Amount: $3000
• Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: November 30, 2022

Servela Theodore Memorial Scholarship

This $700 scholarship, in honor of Servela Theodore, is open to any low-income female high school or undergraduate student of Caribbean descent pursuing human services.

• Amount: $700
• Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 1, 2022

Students for Animal Advocacy Scholarship

This scholarship is perfect for students who are advocates for animals. The Students for Animal Advocacy Scholarship is open to high school and undergraduate students with experience with a non-profit organization for animal advocacy or volunteer experience at an animal shelter.

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: September 30, 2022

John Alfred Smythe Memorial Scholarship

The John Alfred Smythe Memorial Scholarship seeks to honor the life of Dr. John Alfred Smythe III by supporting students pursuing degrees in material science engineering. This $11,700 scholarship is open to any undergraduate or graduate student.

• Amount: $11,700
• Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 1, 2022

Jimmy Cardenas Community Leader Scholarship

Created to honor the community work of Jimmy Cardenas, this $500 scholarship seeks to support undergraduates in Texas who are also building a better community through personal leadership activities while currently enrolled in a college or university criminal justice degree program. Underrepresented minorities and first-generation students are encouraged to apply. 

• Amount: $500
• Application Deadline: November 30, 2022
• Winner Announced: December 31, 2022

Curtis Holloway Memorial Scholarship

This memorial scholarship, created in honor of Curtis Holloway, seeks to honor his life by supporting a student who has lost a parent or lives in a single-parent household. This scholarship is open to any high school or undergraduate student at a four-year college who has lost a parent or lives in a single-parent home.

• Amount: $1,200
• Application Deadline: September 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: September 30, 2022

Jacob Naumann Memorial Scholarship

The Jacob Naumann Memorial Scholarship was created to honor the life of an aspiring audio engineer, Jacob Naumann, and support someone pursuing a career in music. This scholarship is open to any high school junior, senior, undergraduate, or graduate living in Missouri or Illinois.

• Amount: $2,000
• Application Deadline: August 1, 2022
• Winner Announced: August 31, 2022

Calvin C. Donelson Family

This scholarship seeks to honor the life of Calvin C. Donelson and support students with $1,000 who desire to follow a career path in skilled trades. Any trade school student may apply for this scholarship, but students pursuing carpentry or barbering are preferred.

• Amount: $1,000
• Application Deadline: August 30, 2022
• Winner Announced: September 30, 2022

About college students’ Scholarship

For the 2020-21 school year, according to CollegeBoard, tuition and fees for full-time undergraduates averaged $10,560 for public four-year-in-state colleges, $27,020 for out-of-state public colleges, and $37,650 for private non-profit colleges. 

Undoubtedly, college or graduate school is expensive, and those numbers are for tuition alone. Students have to worry about other expenses like textbooks, dining, and housing or gas, depending on whether they live on or off-campus. Of course, there are methods of paying for these costs, but not every student can rely on their parents or loans to cover the entire cost. That’s why scholarships are so important and helpful for students to go to college with as little debt after graduation. 

What are college students’ Scholarships?

College student scholarships are financial awards only open to applicants who are either already enrolled or set to be enrolled at a college or university in the coming school year. Some scholarships are available to students of all education levels that college students can also apply to. 

What Qualifies as a College Student Scholarship?

It is usually effortless to tell when a scholarship is explicitly meant for college students. All scholarships have specific requirements that applicants have to meet to be considered for the award. This can usually be found in the scholarship description or the essay entry prompt if there is a writing component. Many popular scholarship websites have sections labeled by type of scholarship so that you can find the scholarships you are likely to qualify for more easily.   

Types of college students’ Scholarships Available

Looking for scholarships available to all college students will give you almost too many options. For a more manageable list that may increase your chances of winning, here are some more types of scholarships for you to narrow down your search. 

Academic merit-based

These scholarships are based solely on your proven academic ability. These can be decided on the applicant’s grade-point average (GPA), standardized test scores (ACT, SAT, AP exams, etc.), or other academic scores.

Colleges may have academic merit-based scholarships for students who are part of their incoming class, so they’ll receive these scores when you apply. But, other organizations have academic scholarships, so you will have to submit these scores too. 

If you are accepting recurring award money from an academic scholarship from a college you are enrolled in or intend to enroll in, there may be a minimum GPA requirement you have to meet to keep getting the money each year or each semester. 

Athletic

Athletic scholarships are based on a student’s athletic ability, usually within a given sport. Often, coaches from interested schools will scout out students performing well during their sport’s season and decide whether or not to make an offer.  

Often the conditions for accepting award money from an athletic scholarship is that you are required to pay for the college team of the school sponsoring the scholarship. This will be a considerable time commitment, so consider if you can handle a college course load alongside time on the court or field.  

Identity-based

Scholarships with the qualification partially based on the applicant’s identity are open only to people within those groups. These scholarships exist from trying to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds and marginalized communities to giving awards to students attending a community college. 

Major-based

Major-based scholarships are financial awards only available to students who have declared a particular major. These scholarships can be as broad as only STEM majors or foreign language majors, or they can be as specific as only open to neuroscience majors. 

How to Find College Student Scholarships to Apply for?

Looking for scholarships can be a complicated and lengthy process, especially if you don’t know where to look. But, many resources are available to help students look for scholarships. 

The internet is the best place to start if you need help looking for scholarships. Many websites are dedicated to collecting and showcasing scholarships to students in need. These websites are helpful because you can filter out scholarships you know you won’t qualify for. You can also bookmark scholarships you don’t qualify for now but maybe suitable applicants in coming semesters. 

Your advisor or other students within your major or degree program are also great resources for finding scholarships. These people are likely familiar with scholarships that your school sponsors or may not be super popular, making your chances of winning better. Consulting with your advisor is always a good idea as their job is to help you succeed. If they can’t help you with applications or places to look for scholarships, they can refer you to another administrator or school resource for help. 

Another good place to look for scholarships is local businesses or organizations to see if they sponsor scholarships for college students. This is an excellent idea if you live in a city where the college has a significant presence, even off-campus. 

Finally, if you still need money to cover some college expenses, join a club or other organizations on campus. These groups may have scholarships for members that you have a chance at winning.

Tips for Winning college students’ Scholarships

So now you know where to look for scholarships, but how do you make sure you get chosen? Well, there is no way to guarantee that you’ll win all the scholarships you apply for, but you can increase your chances. 

For scholarships that require an essay, make sure that your essay answers all parts of the prompt. Look for any ramblings or extra information that doesn’t pertain to the subject of the fast. Also, make sure that your writing is clear and engaging. Having an essay that is boring and hard to read is an easy way to lose the sponsor’s attention when they try to read your response. 

Another way to increase your chances of winning is to go for scholarships with smaller award amounts. Many students go for the big-ticket dollar amounts to ” win big ” and get the most money possible. But, many students will apply for these same scholarships for this reason. Making the pool of students you’re competing against more minors gives you a better chance of winning. 

Another way to decrease the number of students you are competing with is to apply for scholarships only open to a particular type of applicant. Think about how many students can apply to a scholarship available to any undergraduate art student versus a scholarship only open to undergraduate art students who make realistic, digital art.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Scholarships for College Students

Still, have some questions about scholarships for college students? Here are some common questions that you might have. 

Are scholarships for college students legit?

Yes, scholarships for college students are legit. There are scams out there, so it is essential to be careful when applying for scholarships, especially if you are doing so online. 

An excellent way to avoid these scams is to use reputable sites that you or other students are familiar with. Also, be mindful of the information that you submit when you apply. Scholarships will not require your social security number, credit or debit card number, or bank information. If you are asked to submit any of this information, that scholarship is likely a scam. 

How can I improve my chances of winning college student scholarships?

You can do several things to improve your chances of winning college student scholarships.

• Go for scholarships with smaller dollar amounts
• Apply for scholarships that are looking for a specific type of applicant 
• Fully answer the prompt when an essay is required 
• Check the format requirements for written responses 
• Make sure you meet all the eligibility requirements 
• Make yourself stand out in your response 
• Apply earlier than the deadline  
• Look for awards that give awards to multiple winners 

How many scholarships for college students can you get?

There is no limit to the number of scholarships for college students you can get, so you don’t have to limit yourself when applying. 

Depending on the requirements for the scholarships you apply for, you may run into a situation where you have to turn down awards. For example, apply for multiple scholarships from colleges that are only open to students who intend to attend those colleges. You will have to turn down the awards from the colleges you don’t attend.  

Are scholarships for college students taxable income?

Generally, no scholarships are not considered taxable income. However, this is only true if you are enrolled at an eligible accredited college in a program and are using the funds for school-related expenses. These expenses include but are not limited to tuition, textbooks, parking fees, and lab fees.

If it is found out that you have used scholarship funds for expenses unrelated to your degree or accredited college expenses, then these funds may be considered taxable income. Check the description and other fine print of the scholarships you apply for to see if there is a requirement for how the awarded funds are used.

What’s the best way to apply for scholarships for college students?

For accredited college students applying for scholarships, online is probably the easiest way. You can filter scholarships you have already applied for vs. ones you want to keep in mind.