Financial Aid & Scholarships
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Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - OPENS OCTOBER 1st; COMPLETE ASAP
- What is the FAFSA?
- Types of Federal Student Aid
- How to Create an Account and Username (FSA ID) for StudentAid.gov
- Create an Account and Username (FSA ID)
- How to Fill out the FAFSA Form
- Do You Need Money For College or Career School?
Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) - OPENS OCTOBER 1st; COMPLETE BEFORE GRADUATION
Pinellas Education Foundation Scholarship Application (PEFSA) - OPENS SEPTEMBER 30th; COMPLETE BY JANUARY 31st
- Ranging from $500 to $5,000, numerous scholarship opportunities are available to high school graduating seniors in the Pinellas County Public School system. Students only need to fill out one application to match their needs and future interests with nearly 100 scholarship opportunities.
Pinellas County Schools Office of Financial Aid
- Scholarship Opportunities - check this link on the Pinellas County Schools Office of Finanical Aid's website (posted above) monthly as scholarships will change.
College Board BigFuture Scholarships
Khan Academy: Paying for College Lesson
CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder - Search more than 7,500 scholarships, fellowships, grants, and other financial aid award opportunities. You can:
- Look through the whole list of scholarships below, arranged in order of closest deadline
- Narrow your list with "Search by keyword." Enter a keyword about the type of award you're looking for
- Use the filters to see only awards for certain award types, locations, level of study, and more
College Board Scholarship Search - Begin exploring scholarship opportunities by taking an inventory of your interests. Your academic strengths, extracurricular activities and career goals are also important. Use Scholarship Search to get started.
Common App - A new tab within the application lets students access financial aid and scholarship opportunities while completing their Common App.Fastweb - We're the leading online resource in finding scholarships to help you pay for school.
Going Merry - One app for all your scholarships! It just got a lot easier for students (just like you) to find and apply to scholarships online, absolutely free, forever.
KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR NEWLY ADDED SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES!
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Cirkled In “No Sweat” Scholarship
Eligibility: Any student in Grades 9–12
- ✅ No GPA requirement
- ✅ No income restrictions
- ✅ No essay required
It’s free, fast, and students love how simple it is.
Cirkled In: More Than a Scholarship – A Free Platform for College & Career Success:
This scholarship is just one piece of what Cirkled In offers. Cirkled In is an award-winning, all-in-one College & Career Readiness hub built for how Gen Z thinks and learns, helping educators and schools. It's free for students and teachers.With Cirkled In, students get:
- 📁 A holistic, shareable portfolio (academic + extracurricular) that travels beyond high school
- 🎓 7,000+ colleges and trade schools
- 💼 22,000+ internships and jobs (updated daily)
- 💸 Millions of dollars in scholarships (updated daily)
- 🚀 A curated library of 600+ articles, and videos for all their questions.
- 🎯 Coming soon: AI-Powered College & Career Matching.
Award Amount: $2,500 (sent directly to the student)
Deadline: December 31
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Coolidge Scholarship
The Coolidge Scholarship is an annually awarded, full-ride, presidential scholarship that covers a student’s tuition, room, board, and expenses for four years of undergraduate study.
This one-of-a-kind scholarship may be used at any accredited college or university in the U.S.
AWARD: Full-ride
DEADLINE: December 16 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time
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Hagan Scholarship Foundation
The Hagan Scholarship is a nationwide need-based merit scholarship, providing recipients with the opportunity to achieve their goals and graduate college debt-free. The scholarship provides $2,000 to help pay for essential items to attend college and up to $7,500 each semester for up to 8 consecutive semesters. Free workshops, Free Schwab Brokerage Accounts, and Free Study Abroad provide recipients with a practical understanding of important life skills not typically covered in the school curriculum. Hagan Scholars have attended 745 colleges and universities located in 50 states and the District of Columbia and have studied abroad in 58 countries.
AWARD: The Hagan Scholarship provides $2,000 to help purchase essential items for college, up to $7,500 each semester for up to 8 consecutive semesters, workshops to learn important life skills not typically covered in the college curriculum, HSF Schwab Brokerage Account to manage to learn how to invest, and up to $8,000 to study and travel abroad.
DEADLINE: December 1
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Elks National Foundation Scholarship Programs
If prompted, the program code is: ElksMVS
Applicants will be judged on scholarship, leadership, and financial need.
Eligibility:
- Current high school seniors, or the equivalent, who are citizens of the United States are eligible to apply.
- Applicants do not need to be related to a member of the Elks.
- High school graduates are not eligible to apply.
- Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are submitted; permanent legal resident status does not qualify.
- Scholarships are available only to students who enroll in four-year undergraduate degree programs at accredited U.S. American colleges or universities.
AWARDS: 500 four-year scholarships ranging from $1,000 per year to $7,500 per year
DEADLINE: November 12 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time
Who is Eligible?
- For the 2026 contest, any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal ward) of a living Elk who joined the Order on or before April 1, 2023, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2023, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member for the last two contiguous years through March 31, 2026. Great-grandchildren are not eligible.
- The applicant must be a high school senior.
- The applicant must apply online only. The 2026 Legacy Awards application deadline is February 2, 2026, 11:59 a.m. Pacific Time. NOTE: This is NOON, mid-day, Pacific time.
- If the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the applicant must select the parent's Elks Lodge on the application.
- We have waived the standardized test requirement for the 2026 Legacy contest. You do not need to submit ACT and/or SAT scores.
- Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student wins more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value. Students can accept local and state scholarships, which are separate from the awards at the national level.
- Legacy Awards may only be applied to accredited US American schools, colleges or universities. (Note: Applicants from Panama, Puerto Rico and the Philippines may apply Legacy Awards toward schools, colleges or universities in their respective homes.)
- If you are selected as a 2026 Legacy Awards recipient, to further strengthen your connection to the #ElksFamily, you must complete an act of service with a Lodge at least three times during your collegiate career. Click here for more information about serving with the Elks.
How Do I Apply, and What Are the Deadlines?
Eligible students should apply in the following manner:
- The student must complete and submit the ONLINE application. The 2026 Legacy Awards application opens on September 1, 2025 and the deadline is February 2, 2026 at 11:59 a.m. Pacific Time.
- The Elk sponsor’s membership will be verified through the BPOE Grand Lodge headquarters.
- When a student registers to complete the online application, both the applicant and Lodge Secretary will be notified by email.
- If you have questions about your online Legacy Awards application, contact the ENF Scholarship Office via email at scholarship@elks.org. Visit our Legacy Awards FAQ page.
- Upon receipt of the application, the applicant will receive a notification that the application was received. Winners will be announced in late April 2026.
AWARDS: $4,000
DEADLINE: February 2 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time
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Indian Rocks Beach VFW Post 10094 -- 2025-2026 Youth Scholarships Contest
AWARD: $5000
DEADLINE: October 31
AWARD: $35,000
DEADLINE: October 31
