Make Room for These Scholarships on Your Senior Year To-Do List

If you're finishing up your junior year of high school, you've got an exciting, fun and stressful 12 months ahead of you. The next couple of months will provide some much-needed breathing room before that senior craziness ramps up, and that means they're also a good time to take a few moments and get ahead of your college scholarship search.

High school seniors have more college scholarship options than any other students, and by starting a list this summer, you'll be able to manage those options more easily.

The Scholarship Coach has previously looked at some prestigious awards available to graduating high school students, like the Gates Millennium, Coca-Cola and National Merit Scholarships.

[Get more tips and advice on paying for college.]

In addition, programs like the AXA Achievement Scholarship and Buick Achievers continue to provide sizable awards to students who excel in and out of the classroom. But those big-name programs aren't the only ones you should focus on. Here are a few other scholarships to add to your list as your senior year approaches.

One of the earliest and most lucrative scholarships that will open in the fall is the Elks National Foundation's Most Valuable Student Competition. The contest opens for application on Sept. 1, and is open to any high school senior who is a U.S. citizen.

The payoff is sizable. One male and one female national winner earn $50,000 awards over four years. The rest of the 20 national finalists will earn from $20,000 to $40,000 over their college careers, and an additional 480 runners-up get $1,000 per year for four years. The competition will be tough, but the award is definitely worth it. Be sure you're ready for this one when September rolls around.

[Make time to apply to these generous college scholarships.]

In October you'll be able to apply for the Burger King Scholars Program, funded by the Burger King McLamore Foundation. In addition to the scholarships provided for Burger King employees and their dependents, the program also features a general scholarship track open to all graduating high school seniors in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

Last year, the foundation awarded 2,300 Burger King Scholars worth more than $2.6 million. Next year's applications open in October and require a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

Neither the Elks nor Burger King programs consider financial need as part of their award criteria. So if you do anticipate a significant amount of need, there are a few more options you can turn to. The competitive and prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship Program provides awards of up to $40,000 per year "based on exceptional academic ability and achievement, financial need, persistence, a desire to help others, and leadership."

Only 30-40 students earn these awards annually, but it's worth taking a chance and applying. The 2015-2016 dates haven't been posted yet, but you can sign up here to be notified when applications open.

[Find scholarships across the U.S. to support low-income students.]

The Dell Scholars Program, funded by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, also provides generous assistance to high school seniors who demonstrate financial need. You can apply starting Nov. 1, but in order to qualify for an award you'll need to demonstrate that you're Pell Grant-eligible, which means you'll need to do some FAFSA estimating with your parents before the Jan. 15 deadline. Applicants also have to participate in an approved college readiness program.

Aside from financial need, the Dell Scholars Program looks at a unique form of GPA, which it calls your "grit, potential and ambition " to succeed in college. If you fit the bill, you could earn $20,000, a free laptop and textbook credits.

Finally, while it's a newer program with fewer scholarships, you should also add the Engebretson Foundation Scholarship to your list. Established in 2006 by the family of the late David J. Engebretson, the program provides one graduating high school senior each year with a scholarship worth $5,000 per semester.

If you have financial need and an impressive GPA of 3.75 or are in the top 5 percent of your class, consider applying before next year's March 1 deadline. And if you don't, make sure you talk to your counseling office to find similar opportunities that may be available at your future college or in your hometown.

Matt Konrad has been with Scholarship America since 2005. He is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota and a former scholarship recipient.