Unlocking Your Potential: A Guide to Writing Scholarships for High School Students

For high school students with a passion for writing, the dream of pursuing higher education can be significantly supported by writing scholarships. These scholarships not only provide financial assistance but also recognize and encourage young talent in various writing genres. This article explores a range of writing scholarships available to high school students, offering insights into eligibility criteria, application processes, and the unique opportunities each scholarship presents.

Why Pursue Writing Scholarships?

Many high school students interested in writing choose to hone their craft through a college or university education. Studying writing can help build a foundation of valuable skills that prove useful in a wide range of career fields. Writing skills can help students in many different sectors, from computer science to business and financial journalism. Students entering a variety of fields can benefit from studying writing, and writing scholarships are an excellent way to fund that education. There are many financial aid resources available for high school seniors and college students who want to study writing in college.

Types of Writing Scholarships

Writing scholarships are financial awards given to students based primarily on written work, though other factors are usually taken into consideration as well. Most writing scholarships involve a prompt or series of prompts to which applicants must respond.

Personal Essay Scholarships: These involve writing on a topic related to your own experience. Prompts often include questions about how your experiences have influenced your choice of major or your career aspirations. Just about every scholarship these days has a personal essay component of some kind. This is because personal essay responses both demonstrate writing skills and give the judges a clear sense of each applicant’s goals.
Critical Essay Scholarships: These are more in line with what students might consider “academic” essays. The prompts typically ask applicants to analyze works of literature. However, unlike open-ended English class essays, most critical essay scholarships provide a very specific prompt. Critical essay scholarships can also involve non-literary subject matter. Some may ask applicants to evaluate a historical event or figure; others may ask them to defend their stance on a political or legal issue.
Short Fiction Scholarships: These include scholarships for short stories, one-act plays, poetry, and any other form of fiction that isn’t a novel or full-length script. Short fiction scholarships tend to be easier to find than long-form fiction scholarships, since most judging panels don’t have time to read more than a few thousand words per entry.
Journalism Scholarships: These are for students interested in pursuing a career in news, magazine, and/or online journalism. These scholarship applications almost always ask for writing samples to show the candidate’s interest. Depending on the organization, they may prefer topical news reports, informative articles, thinkpieces, or a mix.
Portfolio Scholarships: These are the most rigorous kind of writing scholarship, requiring a substantial body of work from each applicant - usually 5-10 pieces of writing, if not more. If you decide to apply to a portfolio scholarship, make sure you have several strong pieces of work in your oeuvre, and consider writing a few new pieces as well.

Featured Writing Scholarships

Here are some writing scholarships to help make the most of this time and begin applying for - and perhaps win - scholarships:

The Scholarships360 "No Essay" Scholarship: Open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. This scholarship will be awarded to students who get the most out of Scholarships360 scholarships and content. You will be a strong applicant if you apply to scholarships with the Scholarships360 platform. This scholarship has rolling monthly application deadlines. Students applying earlier will have a greater chance of winning.
Pen to Paper Scholarship for Storytellers: This scholarship is open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who enjoy crafting stories and expressing ideas through the arrangement of words on paper. Please note that applicants will be reviewed based on both the quality of their essay and quantity of scholarships applied for on the Scholarships360 platform. Scholarships360 users who are more active on the platform will be given higher consideration.
John Carlton Myatt Writing Scholarship: Attention, North Carolina high school seniors! The John Carlton Myatt Writing Scholarship program supports graduating high school seniors from Guilford County, North Carolina. Applicants should display a creative, innovative, and courageous spirit in writing.
Carol and Jonathan Price Memorial Fine Arts Scholarship: Are you a college-bound high school senior from Bedford County, Tennesee with a demonstrated passion for any art form? Each year, the scholarship awards $1,000 to one (1) young artist currently in their final year of high school at any school in Bedford County, Tennesee. Eligible art forms include: Visual Arts, Creative Writing, Music, Theatrical Arts, or Dance. To be considered for the scholarship, interested students must submit a resume, a 750-word essay, one recommendation from a teacher or coach in their artistic area/genre, and examples or a small portfolio of their art.
Alyssa Sandmeier Foundation Creative Writing Scholarship Competition: Are you a college-bound, Nebraskan high school senior with a passion for creative writing? Each year, the scholarship awards $1,500 to the applicant who submit the best original piece of creative writing. Acceptable forms include, but are not limited to, poetry or song lyrics, works of fiction, play/movie/television scripts, and fictional monologues or memoirs.
Lantos Activist Artist Scholarship: The Lantos Activist Artist Scholarship recognizes and supports the work of activist artists in New Hampshire who tell human rights stories in unique, inspiring, and significant ways. Applicants are challenged to examine the influence of a particular activist artist or create their own piece of activist art. Acceptable forms of media include film, writing, theater, dance, music, painting, poetry, and drawing.
The Bobette Bibo Gugliotta Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writing: The Bobette Bibo Gugliotta Memorial Scholarship for Creative Writing is open to students majoring in the creative writing field who have demonstrated creative writing ability. To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate a passion for creative writing, be graduating high school seniors or be graduates of a public or private high school in San Mateo County or Santa Clara County, and be planning to enroll or be currently enrolled in a four-year college or university as a full-time student. United States citizens and eligible non-citizens may apply.
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Are you a middle or high school student with a love for creative writing or artwork? The contest is broken up into 28 separate categories/competitions, each with its own age requirements and prompts. Winners will receive between $500 and $12,500, depending on the category.
Ruth DeYoung Kohler Scholarship for Artistic Excellence: Introducing the Ruth DeYoung Kohler Scholarship for Artistic Excellence - an amazing opportunity for graduating seniors from Sheboygan County! Applicants must have a passion for the arts and be attending high school in Sheboygan County (Wisconsin) or be homeschooled and residing in Sheboygan County. This incredible opportunity awaits those who dream of pursuing a career in writing, theater, music (both instrumental and vocal), music composition, visual arts, dance, and more. The Kohler Foundation values exceptional talent above all else, not placing emphasis on grades or test scores.
Arts For Life! Scholarship: Arts For Life! recognizes the creativity and artistic talents of high school students throughout Florida. Thus, annually, the Arts for Life! Scholarship awards $1,000 each to 25 Florida high school seniors who demonstrate academic and artistic excellence in creative writing, dance, drama, music, or the visual arts.
Archibald Rutledge Scholarship Program: The Archibald Rutledge Scholarship Program offers twelfth-grade students (enrolled in a public school in South Carolina) the opportunity to compete for a scholarship in creative writing, dance, music, theater, or visual arts.
F. Lammot Belin Arts Scholarship: Are you interested in becoming a professional artist? The scholarship is open to individuals planning to become professional/fine artists who are residing in or formerly resided in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Waldorf University's Creative Writing Scholarship: Are you studying Creative Writing (as a major or minor) at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa? Each year, renewable scholarships that can be worth up to $16,000 are awarded through this program.
Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship: Amazon Future Engineer students can boost their future for themselves and their community with the support of college funding, paid internships, and industry mentors.

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

Sallie Scholarship: Sallie will award $2,000 each month to eligible entrants.
Niche $25,000 No Essay Scholarship: Apply for the Niche $25,000 No Essay Scholarship and focus on your education, not your finances. The winner will be selected by random drawing by April 15th.
The H. Eugene Webb Jr. Scholarship (Columbia High School): The H. Eugene Webb Jr. Scholarship is awarded to graduating seniors from Columbia High School, South Carolina, who is active in community service and participate in school activities, teams, and clubs.
The Kathryn Holden Slater Scholarship: The Kathryn Holden Slater Scholarship is available to graduating seniors from Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville, Virginia. Students who express an interest in teaching or coaching at the primary or secondary school level upon graduating from college are encouraged to apply.
Easy $2,500 scholarship from CollegeXpress: Easy $2,500 scholarship from CollegeXpress- open to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors! To apply, simply fill out the CollegeXpress registration page.

More Scholarship Options

Jean Allison Memorial Scholarship: This $4,000 scholarship will support graduates or recent students of Muleshoe High School. To continue her loving and determined legacy, the Jean Allison Memorial Scholarship exists and will support one student who has faced tremendous adversity but continues to persevere through it all toward a better future.
Tam and Betsy Vannoy Memorial Scholarship: This $1,500 writing scholarship will financially support high school seniors from West Virginia who want to further their writing education. Any high school senior in West Virginia who is planning on studying journalism or English may apply for this scholarship.
Richard Neumann Scholarship: This scholarship aims to support high school students who are creative so they can find innovative solutions to today’s problems. Any creative high school senior who likes to make things or find solutions to problems may apply for this $1,000 scholarship.
Matt Preziose Creative Scholarship: This $1,000 scholarship aims to honor the life of Matt Preziose by supporting students attending the State University of New York at New Paltz. Any undergraduate student pursuing an art-related major at the State University of New York at New Paltz may apply for this scholarship.
Bold Wise Words Scholarship: In an effort to allow students to reflect on the wise words they’ve been told, the Bold Wise Words Scholarship will go to award students in any field of study who have heard some profound and life-changing words they’d like to share. This $500 award will help financially support five students.
Bold Deep Thinking Scholarship: As one way to encourage more thinking, the Bold Deep Thinking Scholarship exists to support any student who is passionate about thinking deeply and making a positive impact on the world. The application deadline for this $500 scholarship is June 5, 2022.

Essay-Based Scholarships

Essay scholarships are financial aid awards that require a written component to apply. These scholarships may be presented as essay contests, whose winners are chosen based on their essay submissions alone, or they may simply include essay components as a part of a longer application.

Read also: How to Write a Scholarship Essay

Key Considerations for Essay Scholarships

Essay Contests vs. Essay Components: Essay contest scholarships are likely to have fewer restrictions on the use of their funds than other essay scholarships.
Targeted Scholarships: Some essay scholarships may only be open to certain groups or encourage applications based on students with particular interests. There are essay contests specifically offered to minority students, while others are open to any group.
Merit-Based vs. Need-Based: Some might also consider applicants’ financial need or be solely merit-based.

Applying for Essay Scholarships

Sign Up and Match: The best way to apply for essay scholarships is to sign up for a free account on Scholarships.com. In under 5 minutes, you can input your demographic and academic information to match with all the scholarships for which you are eligible.
Basic Requirements: At minimum, most scholarships with essays will require your basic demographics, like your age and year in school, as well as at least 1 typed essay, which you will usually submit as a digital file.
Follow Instructions: When writing your essay, make sure to follow the scholarship provider’s instructions. There will usually be an essay prompt, a required word count, and specifications about the file format. Some essay scholarships may require you to anonymize your essay document before submitting.
Original Work: It’s important to note that scholarship committees need to read your essay in your own words to fairly and accurately choose a winner.
Word Count: Different scholarships and contests will have different word count requirements.
Essay Prompts: In general, scholarship committees will outline a prompt to which students must respond in their essay submissions. Whether it is open-ended or very specific and argument-based, the prompt for a scholarship essay is the rubric by which scholarship providers will judge submissions.

Examples of Essay Scholarships and Prompts

$5,000 OUTbio LGBTIQ+ Scholarship Program: Open to LGBTQ+ college students and graduating seniors in New England going into STEM fields, requires many supplemental documents to apply.
Naval Intelligence Essay Contest: Also worth up to $5,000, but its parameters are much different.
Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship: Is an example of an award with a personal statement-type essay as one of its requirements.
$10,000 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest: On the other hand, entails a research paper-style essay as its written component.
Apex Hosting’s $2,000 Minecraft Scholarship: Prompts applicants to write at least 500 words about the impact of Minecraft as an educational tool.
IWSH Scholarship Essay Contest: Is worth the same amount, but its topic is sanitation processes and access to clean water.
Queer Youth of Faith National Essay Contest: Worth $2,000, this award invites LGBTQ+ seniors of any practicing religion or faith to write an essay about intersectionality between queerness and faith.

Reusing Essays

If your scholarship essay has not been officially published online or in print anywhere, you may be able to submit it to multiple scholarship providers, effectively re-using the same essay for multiple scholarships. If you aim to re-use a scholarship essay, make sure you tailor it based on the different requirements of each scholarship.

Additional Scholarship Programs

Lumiere Scholars Essay Award: The Lumiere Scholars Essay Award is a global essay competition open to high school students worldwide. Winners from categories such as Humanities, STEM, and Social Sciences will receive cash prizes and scholarships. Entries are judged by professors from top universities and focus on originality, analysis, evidence, structure, and presentation.
Davidson Fellows Scholarship: Organized by the Davidson Institute, this program offers scholarships to students who complete a significant piece of research work. Students interested in writing can opt for the Literature category, where they must submit a portfolio of creative work with genres like fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama/screenplay.
Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation: The Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation stands as a non-profit research program tailored for gifted students from low-income backgrounds. The foundation provides access to independent research experiences at zero cost, pairing students with Ph.D. mentors to work on a research project.
Optimist International Essay Contest: This program is a good way to hone your critical thinking and writing skills. Do keep in mind that you will have to contact your local Optimist Club in order to apply. Club-level winners will then move to the district-level competition.
YoungArts Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award: The National YoungArts Foundation hosts a competition for budding artists in different categories, one of which is writing. Participants can submit novel excerpts, poetry, non-fiction, scripts, or spoken word. One finalist of the writing category, a high school senior, is then awarded the Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award which offers a generous scholarship to help you pursue your higher education.
Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards: As one of the world’s largest publishing houses, a Penguin Random House award is prestigious and will boost your writing career. Winners also get to attend a virtual development week with one-on-one coaching with Penguin. Your written submission can belong to poetry, spoken word, fiction/drama, personal essay/memoir, or the book bans prompt (a written piece about a banned book that changed your life).
Immerse Essay Competition: Immerse Education is an educational institute based in the UK that provides young students with academic programs. The essay competition directs participants to write a response to a pre-set question in a specific category (while a wide range of categories are available, English Literature and Creative Writing are generally included). The scholarship can be redeemed against summer schools in New York, Cambridge, London, Sydney and more, making it ideal for students specifically looking for summer experience.
The Richard G. Zimmerman Scholarship: This scholarship is organized by the National Press Club and is meant for students who are pursuing a career in journalism. Your application must include writing samples which can be articles or multimedia stories.
National Society of High School Scholars’ Creative Writing Scholarship: This scholarship is primarily for writers of poetry and short fiction. You can either submit a poetry piece of any style or a short fiction piece of any genre, or both if you feel like.
New York Women in Communications’ Scholarship: Any student pursuing communications-related fields like advertising, broadcasting, journalism, digital media, public relations, etc., should consider this scholarship.

Tips for Finding and Applying for Writing Scholarships

Search Online: Students can find writing scholarships by searching the Bold.org scholarships page or by browsing the "Writing" category.
Check University Resources: Some schools offer writing scholarships for their students, so remember to check your university's financial aid office for more information.
Start Early: Students over 14 years of age are eligible to begin applying for scholarship aid. High school students, especially students in their junior year or senior year, should begin researching and applying for writing scholarships as soon as possible.
Read Eligibility Requirements: Each writing scholarship will have different eligibility requirements, so it's important to closely read the scholarship description to avoid applying for scholarships you won't be considered for.
Follow Application Instructions: Different writing scholarships will have different application processes, so always follow the specific instructions in the description of that scholarship.

Maximizing Your Chances of Success

Tailor Your Application: Always check application deadlines and eligibility requirements before applying for scholarships to give yourself the best chance at success and avoid wasting your time.
Focus on Your Strengths: Students should also look for scholarships geared toward their strengths; for example, students with a specialty in a specific genre should consider applying for scholarships whose applications call for particular types of writing samples like poetry, essays, or short story.
Apply for Many Scholarships: Applying to writing scholarships is a huge undertaking, especially if you’re pursuing multiple scholarships at once. It can sometimes feel like the effort isn’t worth it, or that you have little chance of actually winning any awards. Scholarships for larger amounts do attract more applicants, but that doesn’t mean they’re impossible to land - only that you have to work a little harder to stand out. And you can definitely sway the odds in your favor by applying to lots of small scholarships ($500 or less) for which you’ll have fewer competitors. Remember that every little bit helps!
Use Existing Work: For scholarships that require writing samples, you’ll simply submit what you’ve already written in the past - and even for scholarships with specific prompts, you rarely have to write more than a couple of pages.

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