The Best Cheerleading Scholarships in 2024

About Cheerleading Scholarships

Cheerleading encourages spirit and passion for athletics. Beyond this, cheerleading also requires an immense amount of talent. Although cheerleading is not officially recognized as a sport by the NCAA or by U.S. federal Title IX guidelines, the activity requires plenty of flexibility and athleticism. 

Some schools compete in competitions, but overall, only 10% of high school cheerleaders compete. If a student-athlete is interested in competing in college, they have to narrow down their options even further by deciding whether they want to go to a school within the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) or the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). These associations have different cheerleading styles.

If you want to go to college for cheer, it can be competitive. Depending on the school that you attend or the ability level that you would like to have, cheerleading can require a lot of hard work. There are at least 250 colleges offering cheerleading programs across NCSA Divisions. In addition to NCSA, there are also NAIA and junior colleges. 

In addition to being competitive, cheering in college is expensive. While most programs pay for travel and other athletic expenses, tuition costs can still be extremely high. While some schools give financial aid to students, it is important that cheerleaders understand all of their options, including private cheerleading scholarships.

Cheerleading scholarships are a great way to help cheerleaders pursue higher education while continuing to strengthen and improve their abilities as student athletes.

What Is a Cheerleading Scholarship?

As opposed to academic scholarships, a cheerleading scholarship falls into the category of athletic scholarships. This means that a cheerleading scholarship awards cheerleaders college funding on the basis of their athletic abilities.

As the sport has evolved over the last several years, more cheerleading scholarships are becoming available at top programs in the country. Many colleges offer cheerleading scholarships to compensate cheerleaders for their participation on the team. By talking to college cheer coaches, you can find out if a school offers any scholarships.

Usually, the programs that place well at UCA or NCA college nationals competitions have the most funding, but these schools are very competitive and require students to have immense athletic ability.

If your school does not offer cheerleading scholarship opportunities, you can still find college cheerleading scholarships that can help you be a great student-athlete without worrying about college tuition costs.

On Bold.org's scholarship search engine, you find plenty of scholarships for student athletes. Check out the rest of this article to see our comprehensive guide to cheerleading scholarships as well as the scholarship opportunities available to student athletes.

Can You Get a Scholarship for Cheerleading?

Yes, there are plenty of scholarships available exclusively to students who do cheerleading. Not only are college coaches oftentimes recruiting new athletes and pointing them toward athletic scholarships, but there are also great online resources where you can find the right scholarships for you.

While there are no guarantees that you will win every scholarship you apply for, applying for scholarships on Bold.org is easy and simple, meaning that you can apply for plenty of scholarships with the click of a button.

Furthermore, applying to scholarships with narrower applicant requirements that you meet can also increase your chances of winning, as the applicant pool will be smaller. For instance, a scholarship for student athletes in general will have more applicants than a cheerleading scholarship available to college cheerleaders from a specific state. Thus, the latter will be a less competitive scholarship.

A university-administered cheerleading scholarship is also a great resource for students who love to cheer. It may be a competitive scholarship program, but it is worth trying out to maximize college funding and minimize student debt.

How to Apply for Cheerleading Scholarships

Once you've decided on a scholarship that fits you best, you can begin applying. The application process can vary greatly between scholarships. Some scholarships may require that you submit an art portfolio while another may be based on academic merit.

However, the most common requirement between various scholarship application processes is essay writing. Scholarships will often request that applicants submit an essay in response to a prompt in order to be assessed. A cheerleading scholarship may ask that you write about your experiences cheerleading or about how cheerleading is important to you.

To apply for a college cheerleading scholarship on Bold.org, click on any of the scholarships listed. If you have not yet created your free Bold.org profile, the listed scholarships will redirect you so that you can create an account and begin applying to Bold.org's exclusive scholarships. Filling out a profile makes the application process much easier, so you won't have to answer questions about things like your grade level or geographical location each time you want to apply to a scholarship.

The scholarship search feature provided on Bold.org can help you find the most relevant scholarships based on your experiences, goals, and skills. You can also use filters to pull up scholarships based on education level, scholarship amount, deadline, and category to help you narrow your search. The bookmark tool can help you save scholarships you are interested in, so you can return later.

How to Get a Cheerleading Scholarship

In order to get a cheerleading scholarship, it is important that students pay attention to the eligibility requirements for each scholarship they apply to. Different scholarships have different requirements for cheerleaders when they apply for their scholarships. Some require students to study a specific discipline while others require students to be of a certain ethnicity. 

If you have a particular academic achievement in addition to being a cheerleader, you can also apply for academic scholarships. By applying for different scholarship opportunities with specific eligibility requirements, you can ensure that you have a better chance of winning a scholarship.

Best Cheerleading Scholarships

While there are very few scholarships specifically for cheerleaders, there are plenty of athletic scholarships that can help student-athletes. You can find some exclusive options below!

Cheerleading Scholarships for High School Students

High school is a great time to get started on applying for scholarships. By applying early, high school students can maximize their higher education funding. The earlier you start, the more time you'll have to find and win scholarships. To start applying, click on any of the below scholarships for high school students.

1. Scholarships for High School Freshmen
2. Scholarships for High School Sophomores
3. Scholarships for High School Juniors
4. Scholarships for High School Seniors
5. Scholarships for High School Students

Cheerleading Scholarships for College Students

Whether students are planning on attending undergraduate or graduate university programs, there are scholarships available to support students. If you have any unmet financial need when funding your education, consider applying for the scholarships below.

1. Undergraduate Scholarships
2. Scholarships for College Freshmen
3. Scholarships for College Sophomores
4. Scholarships for Community College
5. Scholarships for College Students

Best Colleges for Cheerleading

Depending on the kind of college cheer program you would like to join, there are different options for cheerleaders. The most competitive college cheer programs are usually Division 1 NCAA programs. Some of the outstanding programs in this division include the University of Kentucky, which has 23 national titles. 

There are also some competitive programs in the NAIA division. Some outstanding NAIA cheerleading colleges include Missouri Valley College and Oklahoma City University. While some NAIA programs are at the same level as NCAA, they compete in a different championship league. 

The final category of cheer colleges, junior colleges, are two-year colleges that offer a competitive program for those who would like a shorter college experience or who would like to move up to a four-year college. The junior college division is split into advanced and intermediate levels, so there are opportunities for less advanced athletes. Navarro College and Trinity Valley Community College are the most competitive programs, and they have become well-known from the Netflix show Cheer.

Regardless of the kind of program you choose, it is important to consider all factors of the program you are applying to. Researching college cheer coaches as well as cheerleading scholarship opportunities provided by a school can help you decide on the best college for you. Cheerleading can offer great athletic opportunities, and by finding the right school for you, you can become a great student-athlete and encourage school spirit among your peers.

How Do I Know If I'm Eligible for a Scholarship?

Every scholarship will include a list of eligibility requirements in the description. Eligible students must meet all of the criteria to qualify and apply, so read carefully! Some scholarships have a wide range of eligibility requirements and are less competitive as a result. The fewer eligible applicants a scholarship has, the better your chances of winning will be. 

Eligibility requirements can be anything from race or gender to location or field of study. Students who display academic excellence, leadership, or other positive traits can even qualify for additional scholarships. Additionally, students who demonstrate financial need can unlock scholarships exclusively open to low-income students. 

To make sure you're taking advantage of all of your opportunities, make sure your Bold.org profile is completely filled out. Since Bold.org may block ineligible students from applying for certain scholarships, it's important that your profile accurately reflects your information so you don't miss out on any scholarships.

Before applying, read through all requirements to ensure that you're eligible to apply. Since scholarships often take time and effort to apply for, you want to be sure that you're not wasting time on a scholarship that you're not eligible to receive.

Once you have ensured that you are eligible, you can submit your application and hopefully receive your cheerleading scholarship endowment.

Are Scholarships Counted as Income?

Generally, scholarship money is not counted as income, as long as the money goes to qualified expenses and doesn't exceed your total costs.

The scholarship award must be used for school-related expenses, like tuition and fees, books, and school supplies. Scholarship money is taxable if it is used for other college-related costs like room and board, food, or travel.

Scholarships from Bold.org are sent directly to the school of the winner and applied towards qualifying educational costs, so you don't need to worry about reporting it as income or paying taxes on it.