Top Mental Health Scholarships for Students (Updated May 2025)

About mental health scholarships

In 2021, the rate of teens experiencing depression increased by 59% since 2007. One in five Americans suffer from some form of mental illness, and more than half of those who live with the impacts of mental illness daily receive no form of treatment.

The majority of mental illnesses begin showing symptoms by age 14, while one-third of young people ages 18 to 25 suffer from some form of mental health condition. A large number of young adults who struggle with their mental health daily are high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.

Mental health scholarships are designed to elevate mental health awareness and fuel innovative solutions to help the millions of college students suffering from mental health issues each year.

Why are mental health scholarships so important?

Mental illness can make it difficult to keep up with daily tasks, especially for students who are juggling the challenges of keeping up with schoolwork on top of their mental health struggles. When it comes to finding ways to fund higher education, it can be extremely difficult for students who struggle with mental health issues to balance finding scholarships with being high school seniors, or undergraduate students, at the same time.

Mental health scholarships have multiple goals. The first is to give financial assistance to students who suffer from some form of mental illness. On a list of the top causes of anxiety among college students, financial anxiety was listed as the second biggest cause of mental health challenges for undergraduate students.

For college students struggling with mental health, it can be difficult to even achieve success on daily homework assignments, let alone the additional stress of looking for multiple jobs or college scholarships to fund their education at the same time.

The second goal of these types of scholarships is to de-stigmatize mental illness and raise awareness of the realities of mental health conditions. By giving those who suffer from mental illness financial funding and support, they can go further in their college education.

The types of mental health scholarships out there

There are many different types of mental health scholarships out there, but some do require you to have a diagnosed mental health condition in order to be eligible. It's important to make sure you meet eligibility requirements before applying.

For a specific diagnosis or condition

There are scholarships intended for those who have experience living with specific mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, etc. For these scholarships, it's crucial that you have the specific mental health diagnosis that the scholarship application lists as a requirement.

For greater awareness

There are scholarships that focus less on a specific mental illness and more on the ability to bring a greater sense of mental health understanding to the general public.

For these scholarships, a specific diagnosis may not be necessary, but they may still ask an essay question about the importance of de-stigmatizing mental illness in society. They may even ask for you to write about what you have done to raise awareness for mental health issues in your college or community.

For aspiring professionals

Lastly, there are also scholarships for those majoring in psychology or pursuing psychiatric degrees. These scholarships are meant to support the future generation of psychologists, therapists, pharmacists, and mental health counselors.

By supporting those studying psychology, these scholarships hope to ensure that more students are supported in their mental health education.

Preparing for graduate studies? Check out these graduate school scholarships today!

How to find mental health scholarships

Often, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to looking for scholarships.

While you could spend a while searching the internet for scholarships that best match your needs, Bold.org has its own huge collection of mental health scholarships listed on its website under the 'mental health' category list. Bold.org's easy-to-use platform matches you with scholarships based on your individualized profile, making the scholarship search fast and easy!

Here's how to get started:

Make a Bold.org profile

To apply to any and all bold.org scholarships, the first step is to make a bold.org profile. Click here to start the process.

When making your profile, input as much about your work, education, and life experience as you can so bold.org can suggest scholarships that are a perfect match for you.

Tips for applying to mental health scholarships

When applying for scholarships, there are plenty of key things you can do to stand out from the competition and increase your chances of winning!

Make sure you qualify

All scholarships have specific requirements you have to meet in order to apply. Make sure your location, identity, education, background, and goals match up exactly with what the application is looking for.

Find scholarships that apply to your personal experiences

Just like all scholarships that require essays, mental health awareness scholarships are looking for students who connect with the application's mission. It's important to make sure your personal experiences align as closely as possible with the application's purpose.

For example, an application may be looking for students who have experience struggling with a specific mental illness, students who are majoring in psychology, students who have experience advocating for greater mental health awareness in their community, or another specific requirement.

To ensure you have the best possible chance of receiving a mental health award, it's crucial that you're eligible for the scholarship based on the application guidelines.

On bold.org, it's easy to search for scholarships that align closest to your experience. The 'Mental Health' scholarship category on bold.org's category list is a compilation of mental health scholarships that are open to applicants with upcoming scholarship deadlines.

Tell your story

For each and every scholarship, make sure that your scholarship essay reflects your own personal experiences dealing with mental illness or elevating awareness in your community.

These scholarships are started by people who genuinely want to support the high school seniors, college students, and undergraduates who have struggled with mental illness in their lives and have persevered through significant challenges.

When writing your personal statement, try your best to convey how dealing with a mental illness has made you the person you are today, and how it's brought you to take action in your life and community.

Some examples of taking action are raising awareness in your community and speaking to others on the challenges faced by those struggling with mental illness and mental health challenges.

Keep applying

Apply to as many scholarships as you can. For most scholarships, there are many applicants applying and the competition can be fierce, so it's never guaranteed that you'll receive a scholarship award. To have the greatest chance of securing the most financial assistance you can from scholarships, you need to apply to as many as possible.

High school seniors specifically have a lot of competition when it comes to applying for scholarships since most high school seniors are anxiously preparing for their college careers. That's why it's best to apply to as many scholarships as you can and to start applying as soon as possible.

Check out these disability scholarships to help you manage the costs of college!

Frequently asked questions about mental health scholarships 

Can you get a scholarship for mental health?

Yes! There are so many scholarships dedicated to providing financial assistance to students pursuing higher education, but who also struggle with their mental health.

There are so many scholarships out there, so make sure you look for and apply to scholarships that are specific to you and your mental health journey. Scholarships may look for specific diagnoses or conditions from applicants, so make sure your personal information aligns with application requirements.

How do you qualify for a mental health awareness scholarship?

All scholarships have different application requirements. To know if you're eligible to apply, make sure your information aligns with all of the requirements that the application asks for.

First, look for the educational requirements listed. A scholarship application may ask for you to be in a specific education level, such as being enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, or they may ask for a specific grade level, such as requesting applications from high school seniors or college students in their first year.

Some other notable eligibility requirements can be based on your location, GPA, major, age, career goals, personal identity & background, and even personality traits.

Then, look at the specific mental health-related qualifications. Is the application for students with a specific mental disability, diagnosis, or condition? Are they looking for an applicant who plans to study psychology in university and pursue it as a career? Are they looking for a student who has experience advocating for the de-stigmatization of mental wellness conversations in their community? These are the things to look for and make sure apply to you when qualifying for scholarships.

When should you start applying to mental health scholarships?

You should start applying as soon as possible! It's never too early to start applying for the financial assistance that can help you accumulate the least amount of college loan debt possible.

Many mental health scholarships are open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, with most being offered to those at the high school senior or undergraduate level.

Even if you're a high school freshman, it's never too early to start looking for scholarships for the future or even start applying to scholarships that are open to all applicants at the high school level.

Do mental health scholarships need to be paid back?

No, these scholarships never have to be paid back! Scholarships are awards given to students for meeting specific academic achievements or life experiences.

Scholarships are different from federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans, which are supplied by your university and need to be paid back over time. Every scholarship award is a gift to students looking to financially support their education.

Scholarships are a great way for deserving high school and college students to receive additional financial support to fund their higher education. Scholarships are also a great way to minimize the financial burden of college loan debt.

What happens when you win a scholarship?

When you win a scholarship, your financial award goes directly to your university's financial aid office and can be used to pay for a portion of your tuition if you're in an undergraduate program. If you're still in high school and are unsure of where you'll attend college in the future, your scholarship earnings will be saved until you choose a college to attend.

What’s the best website for applying to mental health scholarships?

Bold.org is the best website to search for and apply for scholarships. Bold.org's 'Mental Health' scholarship category makes it fast and easy to search for multiple scholarships that you're eligible for and that are open to receiving applications.

On other online resources such as scholarship sites, you may get redirected to different platforms in order to complete an application essay or submit your information, but on bold.org, the entire scholarship and essay writing process are in the same place.

Not only is it fast and easy to look for and apply to scholarships, but having your own bold.org profile allows you to receive alerts of newly published scholarships that are a match to you and your experience.

Important mental health resources

No matter how things may feel, you are not alone. Here are some important resources to take note of:

1. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
2. Crisis Text Line (free, confidential, 24/7): Text HOME to 741-741
3. National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264
4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrative National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357
5. National Eating Disorder Association Helpline: 1-800-931-2237
6. The Trevor Project Hotline (crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth under 25): 1-866-488-7386