10 Missouri Scholarships to Save You Thousands on College
What’s Covered:
Scholarships provide numerous benefits to students, helping them offset the rising costs of college, allowing them to focus on their education (not finances), and lowering the amount of debt incurred through student loans. Scholarships also teach young people about philanthropy and help build the next generation of good Samaritans.
Missouri students looking to reap the rewards of receiving a scholarship will want to check out this list of scholarships in their state.
10 Best Missouri Scholarships
1. ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: April 2022
Eligibility:
- Legal U.S. resident
- Resident of Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Wisconsin
- High school senior planning to attend an eligible college in the fall
Application Requirements: N/A
The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship is one of the easier scholarships in Missouri to apply for. It has no essay, GPA, or class rank requirement, nor does it consider financial need. Instead, winners are randomly drawn from all eligible entries.
2. KASF Midwestern Region Scholarship
Amount: Up to $5,000
Deadline: June 30, 2022
Eligibility:
-
Full-time student in:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
- Korean heritage (have a Korean parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or be adopted from Korea)
- Minimum 3.0 GPA
Application Requirements:
- Transcript
- Copy of college acceptance letter
- Two letters of recommendation
- 500-word (or less) essay responding to the prompt: Describe something you’re passionate about. How do you learn more about it? What makes it so appealing?
- List of extracurricular activities along with honors and awards
With winners receiving as much as $5,000 for college, students with Korean heritage will want to check out this generous award from the Korean American Scholarship Foundation. Scholarship winners are chosen based on five factors: financial need, scholastic achievement, recommendation, essay, and extracurricular activities, with bonus points awarded for students who stand out or have extraordinary circumstances.
3. Kris Paper Legacy Scholarship for Women in Technology
Amount: A minimum of $1,500
Deadline: April 15, 2022
Eligibility:
- Graduating female seniors and returning college students
- From the greater Kansas City area
- Minimum 3.2 GPA
Application Requirements:
-
Two supplemental questions:
- Why did you select your chosen field of study?
- Please describe any types of financial aid that you will be receiving or are currently receiving to attend your chosen college/university.
- Short essay introducing yourself and why you hope to receive the award
The Kris Paper Legacy Scholarship for Women in Technology honors its namesake’s love of technology by providing financial assistance to female students with a passion for tech who are pursuing a degree in a technology-related field. In addition to meeting the scholarship’s eligibility and application requirements, the rigor of coursework, community service, and financial need are considered when choosing winners.
4. Black Community Scholarship Fund
Amount: A minimum of $3,000
Deadline: March 18, 2022
Eligibility:
- African-American heritage
-
Reside in the Kansas City metropolitan area:
- Jackson County, MO
- Platte County MO
- Clay County MO
- Cass County MO
- Wyandotte County KS
- Johnson County KS
- Graduating high school senior, current college student, or an adult seeking advancement through an accredited certificate or degree program
Application Requirements:
- 500-word (or less) personal statement
-
Priority is given to students pursuing degrees in the following fields:
- Healthcare
- Education
- Youth Development
- Liberal and Performing Arts
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
Receiving more than 100 applications a year, this highly competitive award provides financial support to certificate- and degree-seeking African Americans in the Kansas City area. Recipients are chosen using a variety of factors, including academic and civic performance, community service record, and essay quality. Winners must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA, regularly attend class, and perform 16 hours of community service throughout the year.
5. Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars Scholarship
Amount: Up to $6,600
Deadline: March 2022
Eligibility:
- High-achieving female high school student entering 11th or 12th grade, although on occasion an exceptional rising 10th grader is chosen
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- From one of seven states: Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota
Application Requirements:
- Letter of recommendation
- Two short essays (200 words or less) and one longer essay (650 words or less)
- List of extracurricular activities
Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars Scholarship provides financial support to high-achieving female high schoolers attending certain summer academic programs at participating colleges and universities—a list that includes prestigious institutions such as Harvard, MIT, and the University of Chicago. These summer programs provide numerous benefits to attendees, such as exposing them to a diverse group of peers, stimulating academic and intellectual growth, developing leadership skills, and instilling a greater sense of self-confidence.
6. Missouri Corn Scholarships
Amount: $1,000
Deadline: December 15, 2021
Eligibility:
- High school students from Missouri farm or rural area
- Planning on pursuing a degree in agronomy or a related field at a Missouri college or university
Application Requirements:
- Letter of recommendation
- Winners must assist in staffing one Missouri Corn event
A great scholarship in Missouri for farm kids, the Missouri Corn Scholarships help grow the next generation of farmers by providing financial support to students studying agronomy and related fields.
7. The Lentin Scholarship Fund
Amount: Up to $10,000
Deadline: April 2022
Eligibility:
- Graduating from a high school in the St. Louis metropolitan area
- Enrolling full-time in an undergraduate degree or vocational program at an accredited institution
- Demonstrated financial need
Application Requirements:
-
Answer a handful of questions such as:
- What is your connection to the Jewish community?
- Do any of your parents have an Associate’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree?
- List of community service and civic activities
- Student Aid Report (SAR)
Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, this award is available to students of all faiths, although preference is given to applicants connected to the Jewish community and first-generation college students. Recipients may reapply for the award so long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
8. William L. Clay Scholarship and Research Fund (WLCSRF) STEM Award
Amount: Varies
Deadline: March 2022
Eligibility:
- Resident of the City of St. Louis or St. Louis County
- High school senior or college freshman, sophomore, or junior
- Demonstrated financial need
- Planning to enroll or enrolled full-time at an accredited institution
- Minimum 3.5 GPA
- Minimum 22 ACT score
Application Requirements:
- Three letters of recommendation
- Autobiographical statement
- Transcript
- SAT or ACT score
- Copy of voter registration card
This scholarship in Missouri is a great opportunity for St. Louis City and County residents with an interest in pursuing a career in STEM. The amount of the award is determined annually by the availability of funds and scholarships are renewable provided the recipient continues to attend full-time and meets GPA requirements.
9. Greater St. Louis Mothers of Twins Club Mary Joan Wolf Memorial Scholarship
Amount: N/A
Deadline: February 2022
Eligibility:
- Multiple-birth student (i.e. twin, triplet, quintuplet, etc.)
-
A resident of the St. Louis metropolitan area:
- City of St Louis
- Franklin County
- Jefferson County
- Lincoln County
- St. Charles County
- St. Louis County
- Warren County
- Washington County
- Crawford County
Application Requirements:
- Transcript
- Two letters of recommendation
- Copy of birth certificate or documentation confirming applicant is a multiple-birth child
- Maximum 300-word essay on “What advice would I give to parents of multiples”
This award provided by the Greater St Louis Mothers of Twins Club provides financial support to multiple birth students in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Recipients are chosen based on numerous factors, including academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, civic engagement, essay, and recommendations.
10. InspirASIAN Scholarship Program
Amount: $1,000 to $2,000
Deadline: January 2022
Eligibility:
- Full-time graduating high school senior
- Any ethnic or cultural background
- Plan to attend an accredited college or university
- Minimum 3.4 GPA
- Citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
-
Reside in one of the following states:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Texas
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Application Requirements: Maximum four-page essay addressing the theme of “Making a difference in my community”
This award sponsored by InspirASIAN—a group dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace and community and inspired by Asian and Pacific Islander heritage—offers multiple awards to students in states with local chapters. The organization awards both national ($2,000) as well as state-level ($1,000) scholarships.
5 Tips for Applying to Scholarships
As college costs continue to climb, so is the competition for scholarships. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to improve your odds of winning an award.
1. Seek out smaller, more niche awards
National awards with large payouts generally attract a giant pool of applicants. While these large payouts are great, with so many applicants it’s hard for you to stand out and win. Conversely, smaller state and local awards have a much smaller applicant pool and are often less competitive. Look out for niche scholarship opportunities that fit your activities, community, and/or location.
2. Follow directions
Applying for scholarships is both time- and effort-intensive and getting disqualified from a scholarship for failing to follow directions is at best frustrating and at worst infuriating. Before submitting your application, make sure it’s filled out correctly and all the required material is included.
3. Don’t wait until the last minute
A host of issues can affect your ability to submit your scholarship application—from websites crashing to your internet going offline. Give yourself a buffer of a few days and submit your application in advance of the deadline.
4. Proofread everything
You’re trying to present the best version of yourself to the people who award scholarships—poor spelling and grammatical errors send the wrong message. Before submitting any material, double-check it for errors or, even better, have a parent or teacher proofread it for you.
5. Research
Learn about the organization awarding the scholarship and study up on past award winners to get a clearer picture of what the organization is looking for in a scholarship recipient.
