Everybody loves an inventor. It’s exciting to see what unexpected invention they will come up with next. However, inventions take time and money. A lack of either results in many potential inventors giving up their pursuit. To encourage student inventors to pursue higher education and hone their skills, several organizations and colleges offer financial support by way of scholarships.
If you love experimenting and inventing, check out these few scholarships awarded to student inventors:
The Collegiate Inventors Competition
Amount: $10,000; $15,000; $25,000
Deadline: June 8, 2020
Sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, this scholarship aims to encourage students to think out of the box and further their interests in science and technology to develop unique and useful inventions.
Applicants for this award must satisfy these three requirements:
- The invention must be patentable and reduced to practice.
- The product must NOT have been published, patented or mass-produced and available to the public commercially for more than one year before the date of application for the award.
- Up to four students can be a part of the team, but there will be only one prize per entry.
The competition judges submissions based on originality, functionality, complexity and the value they can potentially create for the society either economically, environmentally or socially.
There is a grand prize of $25,000 and two prizes of $15,000 and $10,000 each for the Graduate level category and the Undergraduate level category.
The Lemelson-MIT Foundation Grants
Amount: $10,000
Deadline: April 6, 2020
The Lemelson Foundation promotes innovation and scientific zeal. The Foundation enables the next generation of inventors to push themselves in the pursuit of science.
It was established by the famous US inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy in the 1990s. The Lemelson Trust has also partnered with MIT to form Lemelson-MIT. Under Lemelson-MIT, two grant competitions were founded: InvenTeams and JV InvenTeams. Groups of 10 to 15 high school students apply to potentially compete, in the hopes to win a $10,000 grant.
The foundation has handed out over $185 million in grants to date and hopes to increase that amount considerably in the future.
The Washington State Science And Engineering Fair
Amount: Varies
Deadline: March 15, 2020
The Washington State Science And Engineering Fair has been promoting innovation, invention and scientific growth since its inception. It has handed out more than $1 million worth of scholarships and prizes in the last year itself in their pursuit of promoting future scientists and engineers to push the envelope and create something worthwhile.
This fair has helped several inventors get off their feet and values innovation, creativity, futuristic thinking and overall benefit to the society while deciding upon the prizes.
The James Dyson Award
Amount: Varies
Deadline: July 16, 2020
Current university students majoring in engineering, product design, or industrial design, or those who graduated in the last four years, should definitely check out the James Dyson Award. An international competition, students can either compete solo or form teams. The James Dyson award looks for innovation and sustainability in student inventions, and maybe even commercially viable. National winners receive $2,500 and international runner-ups receive $5,500. The international winner gets $35,000 (as well as $5,500 for their school).
And when scholarships aren’t quite enough to cover the cost of college, use College Raptor’s free Student Loan Finder to compare lenders and interest rates!
| Lender | Rates (APR) | Eligibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
6.97%-15.03%* Variable
5.99%-14.00%* Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CITIZENS |
 |
6.37% - 16.70% Variable
4.50% - 15.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT SALLIE MAE |
 |
4.98% - 16.70% Variable
4.07% - 15.66% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CREDIBLE |
 |
6.07% - 11.31% Variable
4.39% - 10.39% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT LENDKEY |
|
|
6.22% - 16.08% Variable
4.09% - 15.66% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ASCENT |
 |
6.54% - 11.08% Variable
3.95% - 8.01% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ISL |
 |
5.62% - 18.26% Variable
4.11% - 15.90% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT EARNEST |
 |
4.98% - 12.79% Variable
8.42% - 13.01% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ELFI |
