Home / Scholarships / Need-based
Get the financial details from your actual records. Don’t estimate a number because it feels embarrassing to ask about it. Read which year’s income and which household information the sponsor wants. Also check how an award interacts with other aid: a headline maximum may be different from what a particular student can receive.
13 scholarships in our database
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
$165,000
Dec 9, 2026 · Community college · Undergraduate transfer
The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship supports high-achieving community college students moving to a selective four-year college. It can provide up to $55,000 per year for up to three years, after institutional aid, along with advising and transfer support. Th…
The Gates Scholarship
$80,000
Sep 15, 2026 · High school senior
The Gates Scholarship is a last-dollar award for outstanding, Pell-eligible incoming freshmen. It covers the cost of attendance that grants and other aid do not — tuition, housing, books, and a laptop. Selection weighs academics, leadership, and financial need. You will need a…
Burger King Foundation
$60,000
Dec 15, 2026, or when 30,000 applications are received · High school senior · Undergraduate · Technical / vocational
The Burger King Scholars Program supports high school seniors, Burger King employees, and eligible employee families. Awards range from $1,000 to $60,000 and can be used at a two-year or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school. Selection considers GPA, wo…
Hagan Scholarship Foundation
$60,000
Dec 1, 2026 · High school senior
The Hagan Scholarship is a nationwide need-based merit award for high school seniors who plan to attend a four-year college. The 2027–28 application opens September 1, 2026 and closes December 1, 2026. The program can provide up to $7,500 per semester for eight semesters, plus…
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
$55,000
Nov 11, 2026 · High school senior
The Cooke College Scholarship is one of the largest undergraduate awards for high-achieving students with financial need. It can pay up to $55,000 a year toward tuition, living costs, books, and required fees at four-year colleges. Applicants are U.S. high school seniors gradu…
CAPSTONE-Simpson Endowment / Ron Brown Scholar Program
$40,000
Nov 1, 2026 (early); Jan 9, 2027 (final) · High school senior
Ron Brown Scholars are academically talented Black high school seniors who lead in their communities. The award is $10,000 a year for four years, plus a network that is the real product. The program is small — a handful of new scholars each year — so the essays have to be spec…
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
$40,000
Jan 5, 2027 · High school senior
The GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship awards $10,000 a year, renewable for four years, to high school seniors who demonstrate leadership, drive, and integrity at work, school, or in the community. U.S. citizens with a 3.0 GPA who plan to enroll full-time at an accredited four-y…
Elks National Foundation
$30,000
Nov 12, 2026 · High school senior
The Elks Most Valuable Student contest is a national scholarship judged on scholarship, leadership, and financial need. The 2027 contest lists 500 national awards: twenty top awards of $30,000 and 480 runners-up awards of $4,000. You apply as a high school senior through the E…
Jackie Robinson Foundation
$30,000
Jan 14, 2027 at 5 p.m. ET · High school senior
The Jackie Robinson Foundation scholarship is a four-year award for minority high school seniors, with mentoring and leadership programming attached. Financial need and a strong academic record both matter. Recipients attend the foundation’s extra requirements — this is not a…
Horatio Alger Association
$25,000
Oct 25, 2026 · High school senior
Horatio Alger scholarships go to students who have faced significant adversity and still plan to go to college. National awards can reach $25,000; state programs add more seats. The association looks for critical financial need, perseverance, and a record of work or family res…
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
$20,000
Dec 1, 2026 · High school senior
Dell Scholars is built for students who already did the hard part: finishing an approved college-readiness program (Avid, Upward Bound, and others on their list) while dealing with personal challenges. The award is $20,000 plus a laptop and textbook credits, with advising that…
$5,000
Varies by partner fund; many close in spring · High school senior · Undergraduate
UNCF is a portal, not a single scholarship. One profile puts you in front of hundreds of partner funds for Black students — some tied to HBCUs, some open more broadly. Award sizes vary. You will still write essays and upload transcripts, but you do it once instead of twenty ti…
Community Trust (local fixture)
$2,500
Nov 30, 2026 · Undergraduate
A local need-based award for enrolled undergraduates. Household income, a short statement, and proof of enrollment. GPA floor is 2.5. There is no long personal essay — the statement is a paragraph on the gap, not a life story. This is the kind of money that dies in a PDF if no…
Create a profile to organize your details and application plans. 13 awards in this list.
Create your profileEvery setup question is optional