15 totally amazing ‘last minute’ scholarship opportunities

Even if it is 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 may require persistence to find 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 kinds of applications, the work involved to enter is fairly trivial. In fact, you may find that you can dust-off a few of those college essays and re-purpose them for scholarships.

So for those of you who haven’t totally checked out for the summer, here are 15 late-deadline scholarship opportunities:

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 students currently registered in any accredited post-secondary institution.  Deadline:  June 15, 2015.
   
   
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 26, 2015.
   
   
3. Students who are enrolled or accepted for an undergraduate or graduate degree in a life science-related field are invited to apply by writing an essay on the topic, “The Future Application of Stem Cell Technologies in Neuroscience Research,” to compete in the Axol Science Scholarship. Deadline:  June 30, 2015
   
   
4. The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors a number of essay contests, one 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 $20,000 (one award).  Deadline:  October 23, 2015.
   
   
5. 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 19, 2015.
   
   
6. The Bruce Lee Foundation Scholarship is open to students who 16 or older and planning to enroll at a 2- or 4-year college or trade/vocational school in the US. Applications are available online.  Deadline:  June 12, 2015.
   
   
7. 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, 2015.
   
   
8. The Copyright Awareness Scholarship involves a collaborative effort between the National Music Council and the Music Publishers Association.  Applicants between the ages of 13 and 25 submit a short video (30 seconds to 3 minutes) presenting their viewpoint on the importance of intellectual property and copyright law.  Deadline:  June 15, 2015.
   
   
9. High school, undergrad and graduate students may enter the Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship Contest by writing a 500-word essay.  Deadline:  June 30, 2015.
   
   
10. The Digital Privacy Scholarship is open to high school, college, and graduate students who complete a short form and finish the following statement in 140 characters or less:  “I’m taking responsibility for my digital profile by….”  Deadline:  June 30, 2015.
    
    
11. 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 2015-16 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 10, 2015.
    
    
12. 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, 2015.
    
    
13. The Joe Foss Institute currently has two scholarship contests open—an essay competition with a summer deadline and a video competition .  Both offer winners very generous scholarships.  First deadline:  July 5, 2015.
    
    
14. High school seniors with a 3.5 GPA or higher are invited to apply for the LendingTree Scholarship by submitting an application together with a 200-word essay responding to a specific prompt.  Deadline:  July 15, 2015.
    
    
15. The National Foundation for Women Legislators together with the National Rifle Association will award six high school juniors or seniors $3000 college scholarships and all-expense-paid trips to NFWL’s 2015 Annual Conference in Oklahoma City.  Deadline:  June 12, 2015.