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. 

$500 Easy Scholarship: Ripple Effect
Sponsor: DoSomething
Amount: $500.00
Closing Date: September 30, 2026
Description: Most of the pollution impacting our waterways originates in our very own communities, due to improper trash disposal. And, 80% of our litter can actually be found on our coastlines. When trash isn’t disposed of correctly, it can be carried by rainwater into storm drains and eventually into rivers, lakes, and oceans, where it pollutes water, harms wildlife, and disrupts ecosystems. Create + submit your very own Ripple Effect PSA. You’ll help raise awareness about proper trash disposal and inspire others to protect our waterways. You’ll be eligible for a $500 scholarship! (For AZ, CA, CO + TX members).

Appily Easy College Money Scholarship
Sponsor: Appily
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: September 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: September 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.

Shout It Out Scholarship
Sponsor: Unigo
Amount: $1,500.00
Closing Date: September 30, 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 and are currently enrolled (or will 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.

George Montgomery/NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest
Sponsor: National Rifle Association of America (NRA)
Amount: Up to $1,000
Closing Date: October 1, 2026
Description: Contest is open to students in grades 1-12, including home-schooled students. Student must submit a piece of art on a given topic related to North American game birds or animals that may be legally hunted or trapped.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up Annual Art Contest
Sponsor: Nvigate
Amount: Up to $1,000
Closing Date: October 9, 2026
Description: Contest is open to students attending a public, private, religious, charter or home school located within the State of Nevada and who are enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, or 1st through 12th grades. Applicant must submit a piece of art on the prompt: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest
Sponsor: Optimum and TelevisaUnivision
Amount: Up to $3,000
Closing Date: October 15, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to legal residents of the United States who attend school in an Optimum serviceable area of Arkansas, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, or West Virginia. Applicant must be enrolled in the 6th-12th grade. In 500 words or less, applicant must share what connects them to Hispanic Culture.

Congressional App Challenge
Sponsor: Internet Education Foundation
Amount: Varies
Closing Date: October 26, 2026
Description: Challenge is open to U.S. students in middle school or high school who live in a Congressional district that is participating (check website for details). Applicant must create any type of app they like on any platform they like.

Patriot’s Pen Competition
Sponsor: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
Amount: Up to $5,000
Closing Date: October 31, 2026
Description: Competition is open to students in grades 6-8 in the United States, its territories and its possessions. Applicant must submit an essay on the following theme: “What a Veteran Taught Me About America.”

Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award
Sponsor: From the Top
Amount: Up to $10,000
Closing Date: November 9, 2026
Description: Award is open to classical instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers between the ages of 8 and 18 who have not yet entered college during the 2026-2027 academic year.

Youth Art Contest
Sponsor: Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
Amount: UP to $200
Closing Date: November 13, 2026
Description: Contest is open to students 18 years of age or younger who are directly or indirectly affected by cancer. Applicant must submit an original piece of artwork or photo.

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.