Top 10 Scholarships for Middle School Students 2026
reviewed by Jessica Kaminski
Updated on March 5, 2026
Many parents face significant financial troubles providing their children with the education they deserve. This article lists the 10 best scholarships for middle school students that can help you minimize the financial burden on your family without compromising the quality of your child’s education.
Key points
- Scholarship programs for middle school students often focus on specific subjects, such as science, social studies, or arts.
- To earn financial aid, you should research diligently, find multiple opportunities, be proactive, balance between school and extracurricular activities, and stay organized.
Top middle school scholarship options include the Brighterly Math Equity Scholarship, the Joan Myers Brown Equity Scholarship, the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, and more.
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Top scholarships for middle school students
- Brighterly Math Equity Scholarship
- Joan Myers Brown Equity Scholarship
- Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
- Doodle for Google
- StudentCam
- EngineerGirl Writing Contest
- Ocean Awareness Art Contest
- Rubincam Youth Award
- World of 8 Billion Student Video Contest
- Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program
Brighterly Math Equity Scholarship
Grade levels: Grades 1-8
The Brighterly math and reading learning platform offers math-specific easy scholarships for middle school students (and elementary school students). Each scholarship provides a cash award of $500 and 6 months of free 1:1, math online lessons. The math program follows the US state standards and gets customized to the unique learning needs of each winner. Classes are taught by Brighterly’s math tutors, who are professional, experienced teachers. Students also benefit from free access to math worksheets that offer practice questions to sharpen skills.
The Brighterly Math Equity Scholarship aims to help children in difficult financial situations build strong math foundations and advanced skills that will help them succeed at school and beyond. It’s established on the belief that math knowledge is crucial for all spheres of education as it supports critical thinking, problem-solving, and confidence-building.
Eligibility criteria:
- 6-14 years of age
- Brief statement of family financial need
- Enrollment in the United States federal education system (public or private school or homeschooling)
- Passion for math, demonstrated in an essay
- Recommendation letter from a teacher, school counselor, or mentor
- Commitment to attending at least 80% of free online math classes
Application deadline:
Applications for the Spring Scholarship are currently open. All submissions must be received by April 30. Note: Brighterly Math Scholarship runs three application cycles each year, with finalists selected in April, August, and December.
Joan Myers Brown Equity Scholarship
Grade levels: Grade 2-college
The Joan Myers Brown Equity Scholarship offers financial aid for dance programs to support those who have historically faced restrictions in accessing equitable dance education. It celebrates the iconic Black dancer Joan Myers Brown. This middle school scholarship for aspiring dancers covers 25%-100% of the dance program tuition.
To qualify, students need to demonstrate strong dancing skills and financial need. Applications must include a video with a solo or class performance, a personal essay, a letter of recommendation from a teacher or director, and financial documents.
Eligibility criteria:
- 7-22 years of age
- Intermediate or advanced dancer
- At least 2 years of consistent technical training
- At least 3 hours/week of ballet classes
- Promise for potential as a future professional dancer
- Financial need
Application deadline:
Students should apply by February 2nd for summer programs and September 10th for fall programs to increase their chance of success.
Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes
Grade levels: Grades 3-12
The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes celebrates young people with leadership skills who have implemented projects to help others or the environment. Every year, the scholarship for middle school students and beyond gives 25 inspiring youth $10,000 to apply to their service project or higher education.
Eligible students need to be implementing a qualifying project at the moment or have done so over the last 12 months. They need to work alone or in pairs at maximum. Candidates have to apply themselves and cannot be nominated by others.
Eligibility criteria:
- 8-18 years of age
- US or Canada permanent, legal resident
- Organizing and leading an extraordinary service activity bringing clear benefits to other people or the planet as a whole (currently or in the past 12 months)
- Showing inspirational value to others
- Demonstration of heroic characteristics
Application deadline:
The deadline for the pre-application is March 15th, and for the full application – April 15th.
Doodle for Google
Grade levels: Grades K-12
Doodle for Google gives creative students the opportunity to have their art displayed on the Google homepage in the form of a doodle. The national winner of this middle school scholarship (and beyond) gets $45,000 in a college scholarship plus $50,000 in a school tech package. The 5 finalists receive $10,000 in a college grant and Google tech and merch gifts. Moreover, they all have their art featured on the homepage of the search engine.
Submissions for the contest need to be entered by adults or an institution representing the children. All applications need to follow a theme, express the theme through the art and a written description, use the Google logo colors, and show imagination.
Eligibility criteria:
- Enrolled in K-12 grades in a US-based school, including homeschooled
- Entries are usually submitted by parents, teachers, non-profit organizations, and different after-school programs
- Only one entry/student
- No use of AI tools to create the doodle
Application deadline:
The deadline for the 2025-2026 awards was December 10th, 2025. You can expect a similar date each year.
StudentCam
Grade levels: Grades 6-12
StudentCam is an annual competition where students can submit a short documentary video that shows critical thinking about a topic affecting the community or the nation. Popular themes include race, gender, and religion. The total distributed funds equal $100,000 per year and are awarded to the 150 best applicants. The grand prize is $5,000 in cash, while the 4 first prices are $4,000 each.
To be eligible, students can participate on their own or in a small group. Their videos have to last between 5 and 6 minutes.
Eligibility criteria:
- Enrolled in secondary education, grades 6-8 for a scholarship for middle school and grades 9-12 for a scholarship for high school
- Compete individually or in teams of 2-3 students
- Include clips of C-SPAN videos related to the topic
- Documentaries of a length of 5-6 minutes
- Include credits or citations
Application deadline:
The deadline for the 2026 competition was January 20th, 2026. You can expect a similar deadline in upcoming years.
EngineerGirl Writing Contest
Grade levels: Grades 3-5
The annual EngineerGirl Writing Contest inspires children to think and show how engineers create a better world. While this competition focuses on the role of engineering in our world, it’s not limited to students enrolled in STEM programs for kids. It’s open to everyone. The cash prizes are $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place, and $500 for third place.
Applicants need to submit an artwork that shows the impact of engineers. Additionally, they have to write a statement explaining how their piece of art shows the positive effect of engineering.
Eligibility criteria:
- Grades 3-5 for elementary school scholarships, grades 6-8 for middle school scholarships, and grades 9-12 for high school scholarships
- Individual students only (no group work)
- Can be enrolled in school or homeschooled
- Open to international students too
- Can’t apply twice for the same age group
Application deadline:
The annual deadline for submissions is February 1st.
Ocean Awareness Art Contest
Grade levels: Grades 6-12
The Ocean Awareness Art Contest aims to inspire students to think about the importance of the ocean and display its role through art, writing, performance, film, or multimedia. This year the theme is Your Story, Our Ocean: How Our Ocean Sustains, Protects, and Inspires Us. The Gold Award is $1,000, the Silver Award is $750, the Bronze Award is $500, and so on. There are no limitations on how students use these scholarships for 8th graders and other grades.
Children can get very creative in their submissions as long as they follow one of the required formats. Unlike some other scholarships middle school students can access, this one is open to individuals, small groups, and large groups.
Eligibility criteria:
- 11-18 years of age
- Enrolled in middle school or high school or homeschooled
- Entries can be submitted by individuals or groups.
- Only 1 entry per student per category
- Open to international students
Application deadline:
The deadline for the 2026 edition is June 8th, 2026.
Rubincam Youth Award
Grade levels: Grades 6-12
The Rubincam Youth Award aims to recognize the next generation of young historians among the youth. It honors Milton Rubincam for his contributions to genealogy. The winner of the 6th to 8th grade scholarships receives $250 in cash, a plaque, and one-year membership of the National Genealogical Society (NGS).
Applicants need to write a narrative essay with the biography of a principal individual who can be their biological, adoptive, or foster parent, relative, or guardian. Submissions must show understanding of genealogical records.
Eligibility criteria:
- 6-8 grades for the junior category and 9-12 grades for the senior category
- Students from around the globe can apply.
- Original, unpublished work in English
Application deadline:
The deadline is December 15th each year.
World of 8 Billion Student Video Contest
Grade levels: Grades 6-12
The World of 8 Billion Student Video Contest invites students to create a short video of no more than one minute that addresses a pressing question related to how human population growth affects the world. This year’s topics include energy, wetlands, and economics. The scholarships for middle schoolers are $600 for first place and $300 for second place.
Eligible videos need to discuss one of the three topics and explain how human growth affects this topic. They also need to propose a sustainable solution.
Eligibility criteria:
- Enrolled in 6-12 grade US equivalent
- International students are eligible.
- Individual and group submissions are allowed (recommended group size is 2-4 children).
- Videos of up to 1 minute
- Videos must be in English or feature English subtitles.
Application deadline:
The deadline for the 2026 content is March 4th, 2026. You can expect a deadline around this time in future years too.
Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program
Grade levels: Grade 7
The Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program awards financial aid to very promising 7th grade students based on merit. These scholarships for 7th graders support 5-year, pre-college programs and fund academic and extracurricular activities and annual summer programs. The program also helps identify an appropriate high school, but it doesn’t work as scholarships for 8th graders entering high school.
The application for this scholarship is more demanding than for other scholarships as it provides major financing. There are free webinars and workshops applicants can attend for help.
Eligibility criteria:
- Current 7th graders
- All or mostly A grades since 6th grade, with no Cs or other low grades
- In financial need, with adjusted gross family income of $95,000
- Attending middle school in the US or planning to attend high school in the US
Application deadline:
This year’s deadline is April 29th, 2026. You can expect similar deadlines in the future.
Can you get a scholarship in middle school?
Yes, you can. There are many great scholarships for middle schoolers within the United States educational system. Although most financial aid is typically reserved for high school, college, university, and post-graduate programs, middle school students can also benefit from some opportunities. They are frequently related to the sciences, social studies, and arts.
How to get a scholarship in middle school?
- Research available scholarships for 6th graders to 8 graders thoroughly, including both national and local options
- Focus on a scholarship for middle school students aligned with your strengths and interests
- Maintain excellent academic records
- Participate in extracurricular activities
- Gather necessary documents in advance
- Ask for teacher recommendations early
- Submit applications on time and in full
- Apply for a number of scholarships
When asked what she recommends to students interested in a scholarship, Therise Edwards, education consultant, has some practical tips to offer to increase the chances of getting an award.
“Scholarships offered by local organizations have a greater chance of success due to the smaller number of applicants.”
Meanwhile, Yad Senapathy, EdTech expert, highlights the importance of staying organized throughout the application process.
“For most families, one shared calendar is better than any fancy system out there.”
Conclusion: Get the middle school scholarship your child deserves
These are the top 10 free scholarships for middle school students. With their diversity, they can match the skills and interests of different students in grades 6-8. When supporting your child in the application process, remember to research well, start on time, and stay organized.
The Brighterly scholarship for middle school students offers you:
- $500 in cash + 6 months of 1:1, online, real-time math tutoring
- Access to professional teachers
- Free worksheets to practice outside tutoring sessions
Curious to see how math tutoring works? Book free lesson now to test Brighterly before even applying for a scholarship.
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