General Scholarships

General Scholarships

General scholarships are for everyone. Many students are unsure of their major. Some are adult students returning to school after years of absence. Others are average students struggling to enter college and need help attaining higher education. No matter what your situation or major, general scholarships help all types of students pay for the cost of higher education.

Have Fun and Be Yourself Earning A Scholarship
Who knew you could have fun, just be yourself and earn a scholarship at the same time? Students can do just that when they enter these scholarship competitions!

Horatio Alger Association Scholarships

These scholarships are awarded to students who who integrity and perseverance in overcoming adversity. Other criteria used to choose the winners include a GPA of 2.0 or higher, the desire to contribute to society and strength of character. Who knew you could earn a scholarship for being a good person? The Horatio Alger Association awards 100 $10,000 scholarships and 150 $1,000 scholarships annually to high schools seniors who are US citizens. The deadline for this scholarship is October 15. To find out more information, visit scholars.horatioalger.org/scholarships.
DEADLINE: March 15 2023

Discover Card Tribute Award

Students know credit card companies loan money then send a bill. But did you know they also award scholarships? The Discover Card Tribute Award awards up to a cool $1 million in scholarship each year to high school juniors across the country. Up to 300 state scholarships of $2,500 are awarded along with up to 10 national scholarships for $25,000. Scholarships are used for postsecondary education at two and four year colleges as well as trade or technical schools. Criteria for selecting winners includes special talents, overcoming an obstacle, community service and leadership. Applicants must have a GPA of 2.75 or higher in the ninth and tenth grades. For more about the Discover Card Tribute Award,
visit www.discover.com/student-loans/college-planning/scholarships.
Deadline: January 31

AXA Achievement Scholarship Program

Have you shown outstanding achievement in non-academic activities at school, in your community or at your job? If so, you might qualify for the AXA Achievement Scholarship Program. The program awards a lofty $1.3 million or more in scholarships annually to high school seniors who meet the criteria of the sponsor, AXA Foundation. Students must be US citizens or legal residents to qualify for scholarships of $25,000, $10,000 and $2,000. To get additional info and an application, statelinecf.org/axa-achievement-scholarship.
Deadline: February 1, 2023

Tammy Kerch (Scholarship Coordinator)
[email protected]
608.362.4228

KFC Colonel’s Scholars Program®

Are you a high school senior with an entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance and financial need looking to get to college? KFC might be able to help you achieve your dreams if you plan to attend a public in-state college or university. Students can receive up to $20,000 to complete a bachelor’s degree program. For additional details, visit kfcfoundation.org.

AFSA National Scholarship Essay Contest

The American Fire Sprinkler Association wants to educate and train people about the importance of fire sprinklers to save lives and property during a fire. They sponsor the AFSA National Scholarship Essay Contest with a deadline in early January. The national winner gets at $4,000 scholarship. Seconds and third prize winners receive $3,000 and $2,000. Four regional winners each get scholarships of $1,000. To learn more, visit afsa.org/afsa-scholarships.
Deadline: March 13, 2023

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Essay Contest

Mental health during adolescence is an important part of overall health, but we tend not to deal with or recognize our symptoms. Speaking Up About Mental Health! This is My Story is an essay competition for high school students ages 16-18 that addresses how to remove and/or reduce mental health stigma that young people may have to overcome when seeking mental health treatment.
Awards: multiple winners a total of up to $15,000 in cash prizes.
Deadline: April 30
Contact:  [email protected]

Voice of Democracy VFW $35,000 Scholarship

Are you patriotic and able to write a compelling essay? If you are an United States citizen with pride in America, you’re an ideal candidate for this scholarship. The 2010-2011 theme is “Does My Generation Have a Role in America’s Future?” A total of $3 million in scholarships are awarded in this audio-essay contest. The first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to their chosen American university, college, vocational or technical school. Other national scholarships range from $1,000 to $21,000 each. Each VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) first-place winners gets an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., March 5-9, 2011, sponsored by Target. To learn more, visit VFW.org.
Deadline: Oct. 31

Akash Kuruvilla Memorial Scholarship

Are you able to answer a simple question about what the American Dream means to you? If you’re ready to write a 750-word essay about your embodiment of the American Dream, you might win one of two $1,000 scholarships from the Akash Kuruvilla Memorial Scholarship Fund applicable to all fields of study. You will also need to submit a 500-word personal statement, a copy of your academic transcript and two letters of recommendation. To get additional information, visit www.akmscholarship.com.

Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest

This ducky contest is open to students who are US citizens who 14 year or older and attend a high school prom in the spring. What’s the catch? The student couple must attend the high school prom wearing an complete outfit or accessories made from duct tape. Submissions must include a color photo of the happy couple wearing duct tape prom attire. The first prize is a $2,500 scholarship for each member of the winning couple along with a $2,500 cash prize to the school hosting the prom. Second prize is $1,000, third prize is$500 and honorable mentions get Duck Tape sportswear. Criteria used to choose the winning couple includes originality, quantity of Duck Tape used, creative use of accessories, use of colors and overall workmanship. Visit Duckbrand.com/promotions/stuck-at-prom.aspx to see pictures of winning costumes and to find out more about this exciting scholarship opportunity.
Deadline: varies, November each year

Tall Clubs International Scholarships

If you stand tall and proud, you might qualify for this international scholarship. Every year at the TCI Convention, scholarship awards of up to $1,000 each are rewarded to tall students under 21 years old attending their first year of college the following fall. The only requirement is male recipients must meet the height minimum of 6’2” and females must be at least 5’10”. Get more details at tallclubfoundation.org/scholarship.

LPA (Little People of America) Scholarship

Are you one of the little people in America? Stand proud when you win an LPA scholarship for those of short stature. Membership is generally for those who are no taller than 4’10”. Prospective and current students attending college or vocational school in the US may qualify for awards ranging from $250 to $1,000 or more. Scholarships are given preferably to LPA member with a form of dwarfism, immediate family members of dwarfs and non-member people with dwarfism. Two awards are given for undergraduate studies and one for graduate studies beginning the 2010-2011 school year. To find out more, go to LPAOnline.org.

ScholarshipPoints.com $10,000 Scholarships

Register at ScholarshipPoints to qualify for multiple scholarship drawings each month. You can increase your chances of winning college money by taking surveys, reading blogs and other easy online activities. To find out more, visit ScholarshipPoints.com.

The Great Sallie Mae Giveaway

If you already have those dreaded student loans, why not try to get them paid off by the lending agency? The Great Sallie Mae Giveaway is a sweepstakes open to people who create a Manage Your Loans account on the Sallie Mae website. If you enroll with their online billing service, you get two more sweepstakes entries each month. Chosen winner have a maximum of $25,000 of their Sallie Mae loans paid off. Get the facts at salliemae.com/salliemae-sweepstakes-and-scholarships/plan-for-college-rules.

Free College Scholarships

Simply register at their website to be eligible to win a $10,000 scholarship. A winner is chosen on June 15. To register, visit FreeCollegeScholarships.net.

Scholarships4Moms

This is another $10,000 scholarship awarded. Mothers of all ages who register at this website are entered to win the scholarship.
To find out more visit Scholarships4Moms.net.
Deadline: February 15th, 2023

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarships

Students meeting a varied array of criteria might be eligible to receive scholarships from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. Each year, the Foundation supports more than 1,400 college students with annual scholarships totaling a significant $3.4 million. To find out how you can qualify to get some of that college cash, visit coca-colascholarsfoundation.org.

College Cash For Essays

You don’t have to be the next Walt Whitman to write a stellar scholarship essay. Writing from the heart and using all available resources to check spelling and grammar is a great way to earn college scholarships. If you aren’t afraid to speak out, there are many scholarships available for simply writing an effective essay.

Scholarships for Community Service and Surviving Adversity

Most students devote a portion of their time to some type of community service activities. Likewise, the majority of students strive to get past adversity in today’s difficult financial and social climates. What many students do not realize is everyday community service and adversities can earn them serious scholarship dollars.

College Scholarships Anyone Can Win

College scholarships do not necessarily require hard work. Some college scholarships are awarded in contests. If you’re not in it, you can’t win it! It certainly can’t hurt to compete for the following college scholarships.

A GPA Isn’t Everything Scholarship

Did you know you could earn college cash for creating a profile and talking about your volunteer, leadership and extracurricular activities? When you create a Cappex profile and discuss your activities, you qualify to be chosen as the sole winner.

As you can see, there are many scholarships available to students who have less than stellar grades. No matter what your circumstances, there is cash for college waiting for you!