11 amazing ‘last minute’ scholarship opportunities

These 'last minute' scholarships may take a little research and persistence

Even if it’s a little late in the game and many scholarship deadlines are long past, there are still a few organizations interested in giving money away to college-bound seniors starting this fall.

It just requires persistence to find the opportunities and some patience to sort out the requirements. 

And be aware that late-deadline competitions can sometimes be little more than lotteries requiring applicants to  sign-up for websites and mailing lists run by sponsoring organizations.

Nevertheless, extra money usually comes in handy, and once you get good at these things, the work involved to enter is fairly trivial.

So for those of you who haven’t totally checked out for the summer, here are 10 late-deadline scholarship competitions:

1. Abbott and Fenner Business Solutions offers $1,000 scholarships based on responses to an essay question that may sound very familiar if you’ve just completed the college application process.  The contest is open to all high school juniors and seniors as well as student currently registered in any accredited postsecondary institution.  Deadline:  June 14, 2014.
   
   
2. The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is offering a second “second chance” to win $1,000.  High school seniors must be willing to read an essay about fire sprinklers and take a quiz on what they’ve read.  For each question answered correctly, applicants will receive one entry into a drawing for one of five scholarships.  And if you miss a question, you can try again!  Deadline:  August 27, 2014.
   
   
3. The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors a number of essay contests, the last of which is based on Atlas Shrugged.  High school seniors, undergrads and graduate students are invited to submit an essay on one of three topics provided on the website.  And the money is quite substantial ranging from $50 (50 awards) to $10,000 (one award).  Deadline:  October 24, 2014.
   
4. The Big Sun Organization helps young athletes by offering one or more scholarships to deserving students based on a short essay answering a 3-part question.  All athletes are eligible to apply regardless of sport.  Deadline:  June 20, 2014.
   
5. The College is Power (CIP) scholarship is open to students 17 or older who plan to start or who are enrolled in a program of higher education within the next 12 months.  To enter, students must complete an online application, which includes a 150-word essay.  Deadline:  August 31, 2014.
   
6. College Jump Start is a scholarship offered to high school (10^th-12^th grade), college or non-traditional students.  The application requires an online application and a 250-word essay. Financial need is not considered.  Deadline:  October 17, 2014.
   
7. College Prowler offers a $2,000 “No Essay” Scholarship to any student planning to enroll in college within the next 12 months and willing to register for a free account on the Prowler website.  Winners will be determined by random drawing.  Next deadline:  June 30, 2014.
   
8. The Educational Research Center of America (ERCA) Community Contribution Scholarship competition is open to high school students who recognized a need or problem in their community, determined a way to address this need or solve this problem, and worked to put an action plan in place.  For the 2014-2015 academic school year, ERCA will be awarding $25,000 to 18 students throughout the country. The top prize will receive a $5,000 scholarship, two runners up will receive a $2,500 scholarship and 15 students will be awarded with a $1,000 scholarship for higher education expenses.  Deadline:  July 11, 2014.
   
9. The Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Writing Scholarships require applicants to submit 600-word blogs about their community and why tourists should visit there.  In addition to travel prizes, scholarships range from $200 to $1,000.  Applicants must sign up or the MyFamilyTravels.com community before submitting, and must be attending grades 8-12 (ages 13-18).  Graduating seniors are only eligible if they submit a completed travel blog on or before June 27, 2014.  Deadline (for all others):  July 27, 2014.
   
10. The Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship is targeted to high school, undergrad, and graduate students and is based on a 250-word personal statement.  Applicants are encouraged to reuse an essay that was written in class, for college admission, or for another scholarship completion.  Deadline:  July 31, 2014.
    
11. The Joe Foss Institute currently has two scholarship contests open—an essay competition with a summer deadline and a video competition with a fall deadline.  Both offer winners very generous scholarships.  First deadline:  July 13, 2014.