College Board BigFuture Scholarships

Name: College Board BigFuture Scholarships

Award Amount: $500 or $40,000

• Monthly drawings: one $40,000 scholarship and multiple $500 awards each month.

Information and Eligibility:

The BigFuture Scholarships program, run by College Board through their BigFuture platform, encourages high school students to actively prepare for college and careers. Students earn entries into monthly drawings by completing specific college‑planning tasks online—no essay, test score, minimum GPA, citizenship, or income requirements. Students from families earning under $60,000 annually receive extra entries, and at least half of all awards are reserved for those students. Over 24,000 recipients have been awarded more than $20 million since 2019.

Eligibility criteria include:

• Class Year: Current high school classes
• Account Requirement: Must have a College Board account and be logged in to BigFuture.
• Location: Attend or be homeschooled within the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, or Department of Defense schools.
• Income Preference: While open to all, families earning under $60,000/year have enhanced chances.

Application Process
Students earn entries into the monthly drawings by completing any of six qualifying steps on their BigFuture dashboard:

• Start your College list (save 3+ colleges)
• Strengthen your College list (balance reach, match, safety schools)
• Start your Scholarship list
• Start your Career list
• Apply to Colleges
• Complete the FAFSA®

Each step completed equals one entry for that month’s drawing. Unused entries rollover into future months. Students who start earlier and complete more steps earn more entries.

Deadline:

• Monthly Drawing: Entries counted on the 1st of each month eligible through February of a student’s senior year.

Winners are notified via email and often surprised in front of classmates or at school assemblies. One $40,000 recipient and multiple $500 winners are selected each month.

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