College scholarships, meant for high school seniors, help, to some extent, in solving financial difficulties that are preventing them from taking higher education. Know more about the scholarships, which you as a high school senior, can win easily.
It is a fact that the main obstacle, in the path of higher education, faced by students from lower income strata, is the cost of education. Only a few students can afford to pay their way through a college or university. Are there any easy college scholarships that a student can apply for?
Need for College Scholarships
On an average, cost of education for a student enrolled in a private 4-year college comes to $20,000 per educational year. If the student is enrolled in a public university, the average tuition cost per year falls to about $10,000. For a student attending a community college, it may cost about $5,000 annually. For this reason many bright students have to depend on financial aids, college grants and scholarships. It is estimated that the 90% of the students who are awarded government grants or financial aid such as Pell Grants, are from the low-income families.
Grants for High School Seniors
High school seniors aspiring to acquire higher education, but without enough funds to pay for it, must search for scholarships. There are several of these that have been specially instituted to encourage and help them. A student must take advice, as the first step in this direction, from the on-campus help, or visit a government officer and fill a Free Application for Federal Students Aid (FAFSA) and apply for the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant amount awarded largely depends on the enrollment status of the student and his financial needs.
After fulfilling the Pell Grant eligibility criteria, a student can expect as much as $5,550 (full-time course), $4,163 (three-quarter time course), $2,775 (half-time course) or $1,388 (less than half-time course) for the year 2011-2012. In addition, there are also college scholarships for high school seniors with disabilities. However, these student loans or scholarships must be searched and applied for with the help of an aid officer. The grants such as Pell Grants can be used for joining online education courses and acquiring a college degree.
List of College Scholarships
Proton Energy System Scholarships for High School Seniors
Any high school senior across the United States can apply for this scholarship. The candidates are evaluated and judged on the basis of financial needs, academic performance, leadership qualities, work ethics and community work. The selected candidates may get a 4-year undergraduate scholarships of up to $100,000 each. Candidates selected for Honorable Mentions receives $500 each. Log on the website to check the deadline for applying.
Bank of America Scholarships
This scholarship is awarded to the students participating in an 8-week paid internship program. Each candidate must also attend a week-long leadership summit for students in July (all expenses paid).
The Bank of America Joe Martin Scholarship program
Awards $1,000 to $5,000 for each year of full-time study for dependents of bank employees. The scholarship is renewable for up to an additional 3 years, depending on a candidate’s performance. The number of candidates selected for it and the amount awarded to each of them differs. Check for more information on the website.
Coca-Cola Scholarships
Any high school student wanting to take higher education can apply for it. The scholarship awards come to about $10,000 to $20,000 (over 4 years). Deadline for applying for it is October, 31.
Signet Classics Scholarships
To be eligible for this award of $1,000, high school seniors as well as juniors must write an essay. He or she has the choice of writing on one of the four topics chosen by the selection committee. This committee awards 5 scholarships for high school seniors each year.
AFA Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarships
This scholarship awards $5,000 to the winner, $500 to the 1st runner-up and $250 to the 2nd runner-up. Only one scholarship is awarded to the junior or senior high school student who manages to write on the topic of Alzheimer’s to win the essay competition. The scholarship is for a four-year accredited college or university course (winner must enroll within 12 months of winning the award). February, 15th of every year is the deadline for applying for it.
America’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program
Female students with their aims set on college education can qualify for this scholarship by participating in variety of contests held throughout the year. The amount awarded for this college scholarship is now $50,000 in cash.
Best Buy Scholarship
The twin criteria applied to select the recipients of this scholarship are: strong academic background and the community service put in by the students. There are 1,099 awards to be gained by applying for this scholarship. The amount of the award is $1,000.
College Matters Scholarship
The money awarded to the selected high school seniors, who is looking forward to full-time, four-year college or university education, is in range of $1,000 to $5,000. Deadline for applying for this scholarship is March, 15th.
Most Valuable Student Competition
This is one of the scholarships that a student has high chances of getting selected for. Only senior high school students holding US citizenship are considered for it. The criteria applied to draw a list of 500 award-winning students are leadership qualities and student’s financial need. The price money range from $1,000 to $15,000. There are two 1st-place awards ($15,000 each), two 2nd-place awards ($10,000 each), two 3rd-place awards ($5,000 each) and 494 4th-place awards ($1,000 each) per year. Deadline for applying for this 4-year scholarship is December 2, 2011.
American Planning Association High School Essay Contest
By applying for this contest and writing an essay, a high school senior student can hope to win this scholarship of $5,000. In addition to the winner, 10 candidates are selected for honorable mention and a $100 gift certificate each. Deadline is January, 15th.
CBAI Annual Scholarships
There are 13 scholarships of $4,000 to win by writing an essay. Any high school senior student from the U.S.A., can present his candidature for this scholarship. Deadline for applying for it is February, 13th.
Apple Scholars Program
An award in the form of $2,000, a MacBook Pro and iPod Nano is given to each of the 10 students for winning this scholarship. Deadline for this scholarship is May, 30th.
Sam Walton Community Scholarships
A college scholarship for high school seniors who are selected on the basis of financial needs, ACT/SAT scores, academic records as well as extracurricular activities. The awards range from $3,000 to $13,000 to help the selected students to attend US universities and colleges. Deadline to apply for this scholarship is from November 1st, 2011 to January 28th, 2012.
Youth Foundation Hadden Scholarships
The high school students from all the walks of education are qualified to apply for this scholarship. It is awarded to students who wants to attend a 4-year course at a university or college. The selected candidates are awarded $2,500 to $4,000. Deadline for applying for this scholarship is December, 1st 2011.
Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program
Every year Comcast Foundation awards one-time grant of $1,000 to community oriented high school seniors. In identifying these students, Comcast Foundation takes help from school principles and guidance counselors. More than 13,300 American students from all the walks of life have benefited from this program.
These scholarships help students by taking care of the financial problems so that they can fully concentrate on their studies. The purpose of these government grants, or scholarships that are privately funded, is to help a student take a college degree or career education which can help him in making a career.