Why May 1 Should Matter to High School Juniors

By Zenia Henderson, Director of Member & Partner Engagement

Why should May 1 be an important date for high school juniors? Not because they are making college decisions (though they should be paying close attention to their senior peers in this area), but because College Board will announce the winners of the monthly Opportunity Scholarship awards.

Juniors can be eligible for up to $3,500 in scholarships this month for tasks they may already be completing. They just need to register here to track the completion of their steps and enter the drawings.

If students from the class of 2020 complete these steps by April 30, they can enter the monthly drawings for the scholarship awards to be announced May 1!

• Build a college list on BigFuture – $500 (100 winners)
• Practice for the SAT using Khan Academy (6 or more hours) – $1,000 (150 winners)
• Improve their SAT score by 100+ points from their PSAT/NMSQT or previous SAT – $2,000 (25 winners)

Don’t forget, there are monthly drawings and additional tasks that can make students eligible for more scholarship opportunities.

Check out the Educator User Guide to help students through the tasks, and remember to download and print flyers, posters, or handouts to spread the word. We invite all counselors, advisers, mentors, volunteers, and any other adult working with high school students in the college planning process to sign College Board’s pledge to connect your students to scholarships. Join thousands of other adults who have signed the pledge, and you’ll receive a free toolkit with tons of resources.