LibGuides: Financial Aid & Scholarships: Incoming First Year Students

Scholarship Search

Use these scholarship search tools to find scholarships, internships, loans, and other financial aid you can apply for based on factors such as major, anticipated career field, minority/ethnic group membership, and disability status

College Board Scholarship Search
This search tool from College Board can help you find scholarships, internships, loans and other financial aid you can apply for based on factors such as field of interest, anticipated career, minority/ethnic group membership, and disability status.
Peterson's Aid and Scholarship Search
More Information About Paying for College
More information about paying for college from The College Board.
Nursing Scholarship Search
RNtoBSN.org offers information for students interested in Nursing. Scroll down for a scholarship search tool specific to nursing students.

Scholarships for College Applicants

These are some of the many scholarships that high school students can apply for in their senior year. Some are intended for students planning to major in specific subjects, some require membership in a specific group (e.g. African-Americans, persons with disabilities, etc.). Most have requirements regarding minimum G.P.A. and/ or SAT or ACT scores.

Some scholarships are renewable, others are one-time only. Renewable scholarships typically require recipients to re-apply each year.

19th Annual Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest
$1,000 scholarship open to high school juniors and seniors. Essay topics are related to a selected work of literature published by Penguin Books Signet Classics.
Abbott & Fenner Scholarship
$1,000 scholarship essay contest. Open to all majors. High school juniors and seniors as well as currently enrolled undergrads may apply.
Air Force ROTC Scholarships
Open to all majors but technical, engineering, and foreign language majors are strongly preferred. Scholarship recipients must pass a physical exam, complete air force reserve training, and serve active duty in the Air Force after graduation.
Against the Grain Arts Scholarship for Asian/Pacific Islander students
Applicants must be at least 50% Asian or Pacific Islander and a citizen, national, or legal permanent resident of the United States. Open to high school seniors. Must be planning to major in visual arts, performing arts, or communications. Other requirements apply.
United Federation of Teachers Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund
Applicants must be New York City public high school seniors who will graduate from a vocational, academic or alternative school or will receive an equivalency diploma from a public evening school or a New York City Board of Education alternative educational program. Must also be eligible for Pell Grants. See scholarship instructions for family income requirements. Appears to be open to all majors.
American Chemical Society Scholarships
Open to high school seniors who are planning to study chemistry, biochemistry, or a related field. Students planning to study medicine are not eligible.
AFT Robert G. Porter Scholarship
$8,000 scholarship open to dependents of American Federation of Teachers members. No restrictions on intended major.
American Legion Legacy Scholarship
Those eligible to apply for the scholarship shall be the child/children or legally adopted child/children or a child of a spouse by a prior marriage or dependent child as defined by the United States Armed Services of active duty United States military and National Guard, and military reservists who were federalized and die on active duty on or after September 11, 2001.
Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund
The Fund offers numerous scholarships for Asian-American and Pacific Islander-American students. Some are open to incoming freshmen. See individual scholarship details for additional requirements, such as residency, intended major, and GPA.
Ayn Rand Essay Contests
Essay contests for "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" are open to 12th-grade students.
Bowling Scholarships
Several scholarships are open to high-school seniors who compete in the sport of bowling.
Bureau of Indian Education Higher Education Grants
Must be a member of, or at least one-quarter degree Indian blood descendent of a member of an American Indian tribe which is eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States through the Bureau of Indian Education because of their status as Indians.
Congressional Black Caucus Scholarships
The Congressional Black Caucus Scholarship Fund offers scholarships for students pursuing studies in the performing arts, visual arts, education, and health fields.
Dale Fridell Scholarship
Daughters of the American Revolution Society Scholarship
The NSDAR awards multiple scholarships to students showing dedication to the pursuit of degrees in diverse disciplines including history, law, nursing, and education.
David and Dovetta Wilson Fund
$1,000 scholarships for high school seniors who are active in religious or community organizations.
Discover.com Scholarship
$1,000 scholarship; 40 winners are randomly determined.
Elks Foundation Scholarships
Open to all majors. Applications must go through a local Elks Lodge.
Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund
The purpose of the Fund is to provide education assistance for postsecondary study to financially needy dependents of those people killed or permanently disabled as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and during the rescue activities relating to those attacks.
Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund Scholarships
Federal employees with at least three years service, their spouses, and their dependents are eligible to apply. Dependents and spouses must be full-time students, employees may be part-time students. Must have 3.0 GPA.
Gates Millenium Scholars Program
Scholarships for minority students who have at least a 3.3 cumulative high school GPA and meet eligibility criteria for federal Pell grants.
Generation Google Scholarship (Computer Science)
The Generation Google scholarship is open to high-school seniors who are planning to major in Computer Science and are members of an underrepresented group (African-American, Hispanic, Native American, female, or a person with a disability).
Golden Krust Foundation Scholarships
Open to high school seniors who have demonstrated community service.
Herbert Lehman Education Fund Scholarship
Open to students entering their freshmen and sophomore years who have demonstrated outstanding leadership potential and community service.
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Students must have 3.0 GPA and be a US Citizen or legal permanent resident. The Hispanic Scholarship Fund administers numerous scholarships; check individual program details to verify eligibility.
Horatio Alger Scholarships
A variety of scholarships open to high school seniors planning to pursue a baccalaureate degree.
Jackie Robinson Scholarships
The Jackie Robinson Foundation offers scholarships of up to $24,000/four years to minority high school students showing leadership potential and demonstrating financial need to attend an accredited 4-year college or university. Must have a minimum SAT score of 1,000 combined on the math and critical reading sections or a composite ACT score of 21; and demonstrate financial need.
League Foundation Scholarships
The League Foundation offers scholarships for self-identifying Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender students. Must have a 3.0 GPA and demonstrate community involvement.
NAACP Scholarships
$2,000 scholarships for African-American students. Must have a 2.5 GPA and demonstrate financial need.
National Black Police Association Scholarship
Scholarship open to high school seniors planning to major in Criminal Justice.
Pan Hellenic Scholarship
Open to students of Hellenic descent who are registered for full time study in the fall after high school graduation. Must have a 3.5 gpa. All majors are eligible.
National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program
$20,000 scholarship for students enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a four-year program leading to a career in biomedical, behavior, and social science health-related research. Includes paid research training at the NIH. Must have 3.3 GPA or be in the top 5% of your class, and family income restrictions apply.
Random House Inc. Creative Writing Awards
Writing contest for high school seniors. Submissions may be poetry, fiction, drama, personal essay or memoir, or a graphic novel.
US Bank Scholarship Fund
Offers $1,000 scholarships, awarded by random drawing. Students who complete 8 financial literacy modules will also be entered in a drawing for a $5,000 scholarship.
US Health Resources and Services Administration Scholarships
NURSE Corps Scholarship Program enables students accepted or enrolled in a diploma, associate, baccalaureate or graduate nursing programs, including RN to BSN Bridge Program are eligible to receive funding for tuition, fees and other educational costs in exchange for working at an eligible Critical Shortage Facility upon graduation.
US Marine Corps Scholarships
Scholarship program for children of: active duty or reserve U.S. Marines, active duty or reserve Navy Corpsmen; and veterans of US Marines or Navy Corps who were honorably discharged or killed in action.