The college experience is changing in ways we couldn’t have predicted even one year ago. Many schools have gone partially, or totally, virtual. Students, on and off-campus, must contend with quarantine and heightened safety measures. As parents and students navigate this dynamic landscape, many are discovering that even with pandemic-related tuition freezes, decreases, and discounts, college is still very expensive. 

With average annual tuition at nearly $10,000 for public universities and $35,087 for private, according to USNews, financial aid is of top priority. Fortunately, academic competitions offer tens of millions of dollars in scholarships and grants each year. Below is a list of competitions that have big cash prizes that can help you pay for college.

Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Student Contest – prizes of up to $1,500
Brower Youth Awards – 6 awardees receive $3,000
Career Safe Youth Safety Video Contest – CTE students 13 and older, scholarships of $3,500-7,500
Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award – prizes totaling $14,000
Courageous Persuaders – high school contest with scholarships of up to $3,000 
C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Competition – cash prizes totaling $100,000
CyberPatriot – more than $50,000 in scholarships to winning teams
Davidson Fellows – scholarships of 10,000 – 50,000
Diamond Challenge – awards $100,000 in prizes
Exploravision – up to $10,000 prize
Fleet Reserve Association’s Americanism Essay Contest – up to $5,000 award
George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest – prize of up to $5,000
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair – prizes and awards totaling nearly $5 million
John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest  – prize of up to $10,000
Junior Science and Humanities Symposium – regional awards of up to $2,000, national awards of up to $12,000
Mathworks Math Modeling Challenge – team scholarships of $5,000 – 20,000
Modeling the Future Challenge – awards $60,000 in prizes
National Peace Essay Contest $2,500 prize
NCF Envirothon – Top 3 teams received awards totaling $30,000
NFPA Fluid Power Robotics Challenge – $40,000 scholarship (10,000 per year)
Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest – up to $30,000 scholarship for high school, $5,000 for middle school
Poetry Out Loud – up to $20,000 in scholarships
Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) – individual prizes of $2,000 – 250,000 in prizes
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards – scholarships of up to $10,000
Teendrive 365 Video Challenge – up to $15,000 award
The American Rocketry Challenge – $100,000 in prizes for winning teams
We the Students Essay Competition scholarships of up to $7,500
You Be The Chemist Challenge – up to $12,000 prize
Youngarts’ National Arts Competition – up to $10,000 award

Find other big prize competitions in the Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) database.