For many students, receiving a scholarship can make all the difference in being able to afford higher education. Scholarships not only provide financial assistance, but also recognition for academic achievements and hard work. If you are a merit-based student looking for opportunities to fund your education, look no further. We have compiled a list of 18 scholarships specifically for students like you. These scholarships range from local to national, and cover a variety of fields and majors. Keep reading to discover the perfect scholarship for you!
CIRI Foundation Achievement Annual Scholarship – Up to $8,000
Offered by the CIRI Foundation, the Achievement Annual Scholarship is a merit scholarship awarded to students with a passion for community service, civic activities, and contribution to the Alaska Native community. Each applicant must be a CIRI original enrollee or direct lineal descendant, have a high school diploma or GED, be a full-time student enrolled in a degree program at an accredited institution, and meet a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0. Students who apply for the CIRI Foundation General Scholarships and meet the minimum requirements of the Achievement Annual Scholarship will be considered automatically.
CIRI Foundation Excellence Annual Scholarship – Up to $10,000
Offered by the CIRI Foundation, the Excellence Annual Scholarship is a merit scholarship awarded to students with a passion for community service, civic activities, and contribution to the Alaska Native community. Each applicant must be a CIRI original enrollee or direct lineal descendant, have a high school diploma or GED, be a full-time student enrolled in a degree program at an accredited institution, and meet a minimum GPA requirement of 3.5. Students who apply for the CIRI Foundation General Scholarships and meet the minimum requirements of the Excellence Annual Scholarship will be considered automatically.
CIRI Foundation Special Excellence Annual Scholarship – Up to $20,000
The CIRI Foundation is an organization dedicated to promoting education, self-development, and economic self-sufficiency among Alaska Natives who are original enrollees of the Cook Inlet region and their descendents. The Special Excellence Annual Scholarship is a merit scholarship awarded to students with a passion for community service, civic activities, and contribution to the Alaska Native community. Each applicant must be a CIRI original enrollee or direct lineal descendant, have a high school diploma or GED, be a full-time student enrolled in a degree program at an accredited institution, and meet a minimum GPA requirement of 3.7. Students who apply for the CIRI Foundation General Scholarships and meet the minimum requirements of the Special Excellence Annual Scholarship will be considered automatically.
FEEA Scholarship – $1,000-$5,000
The Federal Employee Education Assistance Fund (FEEA) offers merit-based scholarships to the children, stepchildren, and legal dependents of certain federal employees. The sponsoring federal employee must be a full- or part-time permanent federal civilian or postal worker who has been employed with the federal government for more than 3 years. Spouses of eligible sponsors and eligible federal and civilian postal workers may also apply. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic and personal achievement, community service record, recommendations, and the quality of writing in the application submission.
Navajo Nation Scholarship – Varies
The Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance (ONNSFA) offers several scholarships to students who are members of the Navajo Nation to help them pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Financial Need-Based Award of $2,500 per term is offered to undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. The No-Need-Based Award of $1,000 per term is offered to undergraduate students without considering financial need. The Chief Manuelito Scholarship of $3,500 per term is a merit-based scholarship for high-achieving high school graduates who meet a GPA and commensurate ACT score requirement, as well as undergraduate students who meet a minimum 3.0 GPA. The Part-Time Undergraduate Award is offered to part-time undergraduate students at varying amounts. The Graduate Award of $2,500 to $5,000 per term is for graduate students who are pursuing a master’s, doctorate, medical, law, or veterinary degree and meet minimum GPA requirements. The Part-Time Graduate Award is offered to part-time graduate students at varying amounts. Applications are open twice a year: March-June and September-November.
AFSA Merit-Based Scholarships – Varies
The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) offers scholarships for students whose parents or guardians are Foreign Service employees and members of the AFSA. Applicants must be high school seniors and the legal dependents of a U.S. government Foreign Service employee. Two merit scholarships are offered: the Academic Merit Scholarship and the Art Merit Scholarship.
Gordon Hay Scholarship – $5,000
Charlotte, North Carolina’s Blumenthal Performing Arts Center offers the Gordon Hay Scholarship Fund, a merit scholarship intended for students studying toward a career in non-performance theater (including but not limited to playwriting, set costume, lighting or sound design, arts administration, stage management, production management, and technical direction). Applicants must be high school seniors or college freshmen or sophomores. The award is worth $5,000 and is intended to be used toward out-of-the-classroom learning opportunities, such as conferences, seminars, workshops, and unpaid internship positions. Scholarship funds may not be used toward college tuition, fees, or living expenses.
CIA Undergraduate Scholarship Program – Up to $18,000 (Up to $25,000 for STEM)
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offers one of the most unique scholarships available. The CIA Undergraduate Scholarship is a merit and needs-based scholarship that offers students an award up to $18,000 per calendar year (STEM recipients receive $25,000) plus a full starting salary in return for working summer internships at the CIA during their tenure. Recipients of this scholarship are also required to accept continued employment with the CIA after graduation for a period equal to 1.5 times the length of the college sponsorship they received from the CIA.
Flinn Foundation Scholarship – Full Tuition, Fees, Housing and Meals (worth $130,000+)
The Flinn Foundation Scholarship is a competitive merit-based award for Arizona high school seniors that covers the full cost of tuition, plus housing and meals, at an Arizona public university, sends students on a study abroad trip, helps them build professional networks, and more. Each applicants must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and be an Arizona resident for two full years before entering university. Additionally, applicants should meet a minimum GPA requirement of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, be in the top 5% of their graduating class, and demonstrate leadership in a variety of extracurricular activities.
Kappa Kappa Gamma Scholarships – $3,000
Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) annually offers a range of scholarships to its members. To be eligible for any of KKG’s scholarships, applicants must be initiated members, be in good standing with the fraternity, be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree, have paid any necessary financial dues, and meet minimum GPA requirements. The minimum GPA requirement for KKG’s undergraduate and graduate merit scholarships is 3.2. The minimum GPA requirement for KKG’s need-based scholarship is 3.0.
Morehead-Cain Scholarship – Full tuition, room and board
Established in 1945 and inspired by the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, the Morehead-Cain Scholarship is a merit scholarship awarded by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill to “exceptional student leaders.” The program covers four years of tuition, room and board. It also provides and funds “life-changing summer enrichment and extracurricular learning experiences.” To qualify, applicants must be on track to graduate high school in the spring, be a competitive applicant to UNC Chapel Hill, and either be nominated by their high school or an affiliate program, or are applying independently.
National Merit Scholarship – $2,500
The National Merit Scholarship is an annual award granted to approximately 7,500 graduating high school seniors each year. To qualify, students must score in the 99th percentile of their state on the PSAT/NMSQT exam and complete a multi-step application process. [Students who missed the PSAT/NMSQT due to a legitimate reason may apply for the National Merit Scholarship through a process called Alternate Entry.] Of the 1.6 million high school juniors who take the test each year, approximately 50,000 qualify for recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Of these, some 34,000 receive letters of commendation that can be listed in college applications. The 16,000 students who rank in the top 1% of test-takers in their state are designated National Merit Semifinalists and may submit an application for a National Merit Scholarship. To be named a National Merit Semifinalist, students must score at or above their state’s Selection Index cutoff score. There are three types of Merit Scholarships awards: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships, and College-sponsored Merit Scholarships.
Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans – Up to $90,000
Each year, the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans supports 30 immigrants or the children of immigrants who are pursuing graduate or professional degrees in the United States. Each Fellowship, worth up to a total of $90,000, supports one to two years of graduate study in any field and in any advanced degree-granting program in the United States. Applicants must be a New American who is 30 or younger as of the application deadline, and who is planning on starting or continuing an eligible graduate degree program full-time in the United States in the upcoming academic year. Students may apply to the Fellowship when they’re applying to graduate or professional school, or when they’re in the first two years of the academic program they’re seeking funding for.
Posse Scholarship – Full tuition
The Posse Foundation, a nonprofit organization, provides four-year, full-tuition scholarships for students from 20 recruitment cities to attend partner colleges and universities in the United States. The Posse Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that’s open to students of all backgrounds. To qualify, students must be nominated by their high school or a community-based organization, be in the first term of their senior year in high school, demonstrate leadership within their high school, community or family, and demonstrate academic potential. Depending on the Posse city or program, nominations are accepted in the spring and summer before senior year begins.
PPEF Four-Year College Scholarship for High School Seniors – $9,000 (need-based scholarship), $5,000 (merit-based scholarship)
Promotional Products Educational Foundation (PPEF) is a nonprofit organization that helps fund the education of students whose parents work in the promotional products industry. PPEF offers 10 Four-Year scholarships of each year, including both need-based and merit scholarships. Four-Year need-based scholarships are worth a total of $9,000 ($2,250 annually) and merit-based scholarships are worth $5,000 ($1,250 annually). In order to qualify, all applicants must have one parent employed in the promotional products industry.
Gus Archie Memorial Scholarship – $5,000 per year (for up to 4 years)
Offered by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Gus Archie Scholarship is annually awarded to a college-bound high school senior who is interested in petroleum engineering. Applicants must intend to enroll full-time in a recognized petroleum engineering program and plan to become an SPE member when eligible. To maintain the scholarship, students must remain in a petroleum engineering program, take at least 2/3 of a full course load, and maintain good grades. This is a competitive merit scholarship that is typically awarded to students in the top 3% in both class ranking and standardized test scores.
Stamps Scholarship – $5,400-$75,000
Launched in 2006 at the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech, the Stamps Scholars Program is now available at 36 partner colleges and universities. It is a multi-year, merit-based program, with awards ranging from $5,400 to $75,000 each year (four-year awards total an average of $21,600-$300,000) plus extra funding for study abroad, academic conferences, leadership training, and other enrichment activities. The program looks for students “who demonstrate academic merit, strong leadership potential, and exceptional character.” Each year, approximately 250 Stamps Scholars are selected. To be considered for the scholarship,you must apply to one or more of the program’s partner schools.
Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarships – $5,000
Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarships are annual awards meant to provide need-based and merit-based aid to undergraduate students in Georgia and South Carolina. Applicants must be residents of one of 18 Georgia and South Carolina counties, and must be a college-bound high school senior or current undergraduate student at a 4-year, regionally-accredited, non-profit colleges and universities.
In conclusion, the journey to finding the perfect scholarship doesn’t have to be daunting. Whether you’re just beginning your search or looking to expand your options, our comprehensive scholarship directory offers a wide range of opportunities catering to diverse academic interests and backgrounds. For a more personalized approach, consider leveraging the power of TUN AI, our innovative tool designed to match you with scholarships uniquely suited to your profile. Start exploring today and take a step closer to securing the financial support you need for your educational journey.