RehabSeekers Scholarship Contest (2026)
Scholarship Overview: Scholarship for students enrolled in or accepted to an accredited U.S. college, university, graduate, trade, or technical program who submit an essay focused on mental health in higher education.
Application Available: August 22, 2026
Deadline Date: December 31, 2026
Scholarship Details:
Essay Content for a student writing about mental health in higher education.
Write 800 to 1,200 words on one of six themes and email it to us by 31 December 2026. Late entries are automatically entered into the Fall 2027 scholarship contest. Full details below. RehabSeekers is an independent directory of licensed treatment facilities. We are not a treatment provider and take no referral fees, and this contest is part of how we give something back to the community our work serves.
Inaugural cycle · Awarded for the Spring 2027 term · Deadline 31 December 2026 (extended from November 2026)
Eligibility Requirements:
- You are 18 or older.
- You are a US citizen, permanent resident, or hold a visa permitting study in the United States.
- You are enrolled, or have accepted an offer of admission, at an accredited US institution — community college, four-year college or university, graduate program, or an accredited trade or technical program.
- You are enrolled at least half-time for the Spring 2027 term. Part-time students are welcome; we recognize that a reduced load is often what makes staying in school possible.
A note on part-time, online and non-traditional students – Many scholarships require full-time, on-campus enrollment, which quietly excludes people balancing treatment, work, or parenting alongside coursework. We deliberately do not. Online and distance learners, adult learners, returning students, students on a reduced load for clinical reasons, and students who took a term off and came back are all eligible.
Application Requirements:
- Write your essay and choose your theme.
- Email your essay to scholarship@rehabseekers.com with the subject line Essay Contest 2026 – Submission.
Include with your submission:
- Full name and preferred email address
- Institution name and program of study
- Expected graduation term
- Proof of enrollment or an admission letter (a screenshot of your student portal is fine)
Key Dates:
| Submission deadline | 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM Pacific |
| Winners notified by email | 31 January 2027 |
| Winners announced on this page | 15 February 2027 |
Application Requirements: Essay
Essay Details:
Visit https://rehabseekers.com/resources/student-scholarship/ to see a list of 6 options/questions for this essay portion:
Essay Requirements:
Length: 800 to 1,200 words. Essays outside this range are not read.
Format: PDF or .docx. Put your name and chosen theme on the first line.
Original work only. Every submission is screened for AI-generated text and for plagiarism. A flag is not an automatic disqualification — screening tools misfire, particularly on writers whose first language is not English — so flagged essays go to a human reader, and finalists are asked a few questions about how they wrote the piece.
Citations: if you use statistics or research, cite the primary source rather than the article reporting it. A short reference list does not count toward your word limit.
Please leave out specifics of method. If you write about self-harm, an overdose, or a suicide attempt, describe what happened and what it meant without detailing how. This is a public page and it is read by people who are struggling. It will not count against you.
Award Amount: $1,500
Award Details:
First place award is $1,500. Second place award is $500.
Award can be used for Spring 2027 term!
Funds are paid directly to the financial aid office at the winner’s institution and applied to tuition, fees, or other qualified educational expenses under that school’s disbursement policy. We do not send award money to students personally.
Website/URL: https://rehabseekers.com/resources/student-scholarship/
Scholarship Manager Information:
Contact Email: scholarship@rehabseekers.com
Additional Contact & Submission Information:
Email your essay to scholarship@rehabseekers.com with the subject line Essay Contest 2026 – Submission.
Include with your submission:
Full name and preferred email address
Institution name and program of study
Expected graduation term
Proof of enrollment or an admission letter (a screenshot of your student portal is fine)
Additional Scholarship Information:
Judging Criterion & Weight
Insight — does the essay tell us something we did not already know? (40%)
Specificity — concrete detail over general statement (30%)
Clarity of writing and structure (20%)
Relevance to the chosen theme (10%)
We are judging the essay, not the hardship. A carefully argued Theme 6 piece can beat a dramatic personal story, and often does. Essays are read by the RehabSeekers editorial team with identifying details removed before scoring. The panel’s decision is final.
Filters:
Areas of Study: Open to All
Applicant’s Current Education Level: High School Senior, College Student, Technical/Trade Student, Workforce
Location Specific: National