Middle School students may not know where they want to go to college or what they want to study, but thinking about paying for college can be intimidating for their parents. Below are scholarships and contests for students in middle school. 

Appily Easy College Money Scholarship
Sponsor: Appily
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students 13 years of age or older who will be attending college in the future. Applicant must create a Appily profile (if they don’t have one already), share about their extracurricular, leadership, and volunteer activities, and then search Appily for scholarships.

No Sweat Scholarship
Sponsor: Cirkled In
Amount: $2,500.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students 13 years of age or older who are legal residents of the United States or the District of Columbia. Applicant must create a free Circkled in account.

My Friend Linkin Scholarship
Sponsor: My Friend Linkin
Amount: $500.00
Closing Date: July 1, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students in grades three through 12 who either experienced cancer personally or a friend or family member who supported them during their time with cancer. The students must apply together.

Book Your Summer Scholarship
Sponsor: Utah Educational Savings Plan
Amount: $2,000.00
Closing Date: July 31, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to Utah residents with valid U.S. social security numbers who are 18 years of age or younger. Student must participate in the 2026 summer reading program at their local public library.

Flavor of the Month Scholarship
Sponsor: Unigo
Amount: $1,500.00
Closing Date: July 31, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students 14 years of age or older who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia who are currently enrolled or plan to enroll in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education in the future. Applicant will need to submit a short response to a given prompt.

Student Activist Scholarships
Sponsor: Secular Student Alliance
Amount: Up to $3,000
Closing Date: July 31, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students currently enrolled full-time in a United States middle school, high school, trade school, university of college. Applicant must submit answers to questions related to secularism, as well as one to two references.

Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Youth Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Nicodemus Wilderness Project
Amount: Varies
Closing Date: August 31, 2026
Description: Scholarships are open to students between the ages of 13 and 21 who are candidates for a degree/diploma at a primary (middle school), secondary (high school), or accredited post-secondary educational institution from any country around the world. Applicant must conduct their own environmental stewardship project.

Fields of Corn Photo Contest
Sponsor: National Corn Growers Association
Amount: Up to $500
Closing Date: November 17, 2026
Description: Contest is open to legal residents of the United States. Applicant must submit a photo that helps tell the story of farming field corn in America.

Tommy Tranchin Award
Sponsor: The Dallas Foundation
Amount: Up to $3,000
Closing Date: December 31, 2026
Description: Award is open to North Texas students in grades 8-12 who have a physical, emotional, or intellectual disability.

Paradigm Challenge
Sponsor: Project Paradigm
Amount: Up to $100,000
Closing Date: May 1, 2027
Description: Challenge is open to students aged 4 to 18 years of age worldwide. Applicants may work in a team or alone to use kindness, creativity, and collaboration to help solve real-life problems.