High school sophomores are thinking about college. They may not know where they want to attend or what they want to study, but they know they are going to college. But, how will they pay for it? Here are scholarships open to high school sophomores.

Ocean Awareness Student Contest
Sponsor: From the Bow Seat
Amount: Up to $1,500
Closing Date: June 8, 2026
Description: Contest is open to middle and high school students from around the world between the ages of 11 and 18 years of age. Applicant must focus on this year theme of “Your Story, Our Ocean: How Our Ocean Sustains, Protects, and Inspires Us” and submit a piece of art, poetry, prose, film or music on this year’s theme.

Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CCDHH)
Sponsor: Optimist International
Amount: $2,500.00
Closing Date: June 15, 2026
Description: Contest is open to young people through grade 12 in the United States and Canada, to CEGEP in Quebec and grade 13 in the Caribbean, who are educated in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean. Applicant must be deaf or hard of hearing. Closing date is the national closing date. Applicant should contact local Optimist Club for specific date.

Innovation in Education Scholarship
Sponsor: LaTutors
Amount: $500.00
Closing Date: June 20, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students currently enrolled in high school or college within the United States with at least 3.0 GPA. Applicant must be a citizen of, permanent resident, or hold a valid student visa in the United States or Canada. Applicant must have designed an innovative project that makes a difference in the lives of others and submit an essay describing the goal of the particular project and provide supporting documentation.

Young Filmmakers Contest
Sponsor: One Earth Film Festival
Amount: Up to $1,000
Closing Date: June 25, 2026
Description: Contest is open to students in grades 3 through college (ages 8 and up) from the United States. Student must create a film on one of many given topics (climate, energy, food, transportation, waste, water, Wildlife and Ecosystems) related to the Earth.

$2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsor: Niche
Amount: $2,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to high school, college, and graduate students and those planning to enroll within 12 months. Applicant must be a legal resident of the United States or an international student with a valid visa. Applicant must log in to Niche or create a free account to apply for the scholarship.

AOPA Flight Training Scholarship Program
Sponsor: AOPA Foundation
Amount: Up to $14,000
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents who are at least 15 years of age at the time of application and plan on becoming a pilot.

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.

Be Bold No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsor: Bold.org
Amount: $25,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students of all education levels, states, fields of study, and GPA. Applicant must create a Bold.org account and create a “bold” profile – bold does not mean “best,” or “most accomplished.” Being bold means being earnest, determined, and moving.

Do-Over Scholarship
Sponsor: Unigo
Amount: $1,500.00
Closing Date: June 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. Applicant must share what they would do “if they could turn back time.”

Huntington’s College Scholarship Sweepstakes
Sponsor: Huntington Learning Center
Amount: $4,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Sweepstakes is open to high school students and their parents or guardians who are legal residents of the United States.

Illustrators of the Future Contest
Sponsor: L. Ron Hubbard Library
Amount: $500.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Contest is open to new and amateur artists who have not been professionally published and paid for more than three black-and-white story illustrations, or more than one process-color painting, in media distributed broadly to the general public.

KAS Scholarships
Sponsor: Korean American Scholarship Foundation
Amount: Up to $5,000
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to Korean students who will be a full-time student and classified as a high school sophomore, junior or senior, undergraduate, or graduate student. Applicant must have at least a 3.0 GPA and demonstrate financial need.

Mental Health Awareness Scholarship
Sponsor: Delete Cyberbullying
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to high school students (9th-12th graders), college students, and graduate students attending or planning to enter an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicant must submit an essay on a topic related to mental health and cyberbullying.

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.

Scholarship Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Live Poets Society of New Jersey
Amount: Up to $500
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to all U.S. high school students. Applicant must submit an original poem with 20 lines or less.

School Survey Sweepstakes
Sponsor: Niche
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Sweepstakes is open to current high school students, high school alumni who graduated within the last four years, and the parents of those students or alumni. Individual must take a survey on a United States high school.

Too Cool to Pay for School Scholarship
Sponsor: Access Scholarships
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: June 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to high school, college, and graduate school students of all years who are U.S. residents, DACA and undocumented students, or international students currently studying in the U.S.

Savor Summer College Scholarship
Sponsor: Monica Matthews | How2WinScholarships.com
Amount: $500.00
Closing Date: July 1, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to U.S. citizens who are rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Applicant must submit an essay explaining how they will be using their summer vacation.

Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship Program
Sponsor: Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
Amount: Varies
Closing Date: July 15, 2026
Description: Scholarship program is open to low-income high school students to enroll in college courses from Nebraska college or universities, either through dual-enrollment or early enrollment agreements with the institutions. Deadline is for Summer term classes.

Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
Sponsor: Gen and Kelly Tanabe
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: July 31, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to students in grades 9-12, college, or graduate school students who are legal U.S. residents. Applicant must submit an essay answering why they deserve the scholarship or their academic or career goals.

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.

Don’t Text and Drive Scholarship
Sponsor: Digital Responsibility
Amount: $1,000.00
Closing Date: September 30, 2026
Description: Scholarship is open to high school students in grades 9-12 and current college or graduate school students. Applicant must complete a short form and share a 140-character statement explaining why they will not text and drive.

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.