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Top 38 Mental Health Scholarships in May 2024

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

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According to the National Institute for Mental Health , nearly 30% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 have a mental, behavioral, or emotional mental health condition. Many of those diagnosed are seeking and enrolling in higher education. This can be a stressful time for all students. Paying for college is definitely a stressor, but will be less so if you win a few mental health scholarships. For that, you landed in the right place!

In addition to broader overall mental health scholarships, our listing includes more diagnosis specific scholarships. This includes scholarships for Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar, and Schizophrenia. We also included a few that apply to those who have been impacted by the mental health struggles of those around them. Finally, we included a few scholarships for college students who are studying and/or working to raise awareness about mental health.

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The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:

• The scholarship requires a fee to apply
• The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
• The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
• Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
• The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
• The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
• The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
• There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
• The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
• There is no available contact information

If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!

* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system. ** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements. ***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.

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$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Scholarships360

The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high… Show More

The Scholarships360 $10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship is open to all students who want some extra help paying for their education. Whether you are a high school student who hopes to go to college, a graduate student who’s in a master’s program, or an adult learner who wants to return to school, you are eligible for our no essay scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded to students who get the most out of Scholarships360 scholarships and content. You will be a strong applicant if you apply to scholarships with the Scholarships360 platform. Finalists for this scholarship will be interviewed about their process for funding their education. Show Less

$2,000 Sallie Mae Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae will award $2,000 each month to eligible entrants. No essay or account sign-ups, just a simple scholarship for those seeking help paying for…

Sallie Mae will award $2,000 each month to eligible entrants. No essay or account sign-ups, just a simple scholarship for those seeking help paying for school.

Addiction Awareness Scholarship

Offered by Seasons in Malibu

Do you have a personal story or researched information that you can share about addiction? If so, consider applying for the Addiction Awareness Scholarship. The Addiction… Show More

Do you have a personal story or researched information that you can share about addiction? If so, consider applying for the Addiction Awareness Scholarship. The Addiction Awareness Scholarship is open to high school and university students who are pursuing any major and who can shed light on the issues of addiction. The scholarship is offered by Seasons in Malibu, a highly-rated rehabilitation center in Malibu that provides comprehensive, evidence-based treatment to individuals seeking transformative care for addiction and/or mental health disorders. Their scholarship is offered bi-annually, with the cycles running from January to May and July to November, respectively. Each cycle, winning applicants will receive $1,500 in scholarships to help them pay for their college costs. If this sounds like a good opportunity for you, we encourage you to apply! Show Less

$40,000 Build a College List Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by The College Board

Create a college list with six schools you're considering - no minimum GPA or essay required!

Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship

Offered by The Jared Monroe Foundation

Have you been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and are currently receiving treatment? If so, consider applying for the Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship! The Jared Monroe… Show More

Have you been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and are currently receiving treatment? If so, consider applying for the Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship! The Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship is open to graduating high school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors who have Bipolar Disorder and are currently receiving treatment. Students' diagnoses must be verified through letters from their current therapists. The scholarship is offered by The Jared Monroe Foundation, an organization dedicated to fostering awareness, understanding, and support for those with Bipolar Disorder to ensure that they do not feel alone. Each year, the scholarship awards between $500 and $2,300 to help the selected recipients with their educational expenses. If you're a current or incoming college student with diagnosed Bipolar Disorder, we encourage you to apply! Show Less

Niche $25,000 “No Essay” Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Niche

Easy scholarship open to all high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year!

New Mexico Health Professional Loan Repayment Program

Offered by New Mexico Commission on Higher Education

Are you a healthcare professional who is residing, working full-time in, and licensed or certified in the state of New Mexico? Further, are you currently… Show More

Are you a healthcare professional who is residing, working full-time in, and licensed or certified in the state of New Mexico? Further, are you currently providing clinical care to patients? If so, the New Mexico Health Professional Loan Repayment Program may be a great opportunity for you! Each year, the program provides repayment for outstanding student loans of practicing New Mexico health professionals. As a condition of the program, a health professional must make a three-year service commitment to practice full-time in a designated medical shortage area in New Mexico. If this sounds like a good opportunity for you, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship

Offered by Prochnow Foundation For Mental Health

The Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship annually awards $1,000 to one (1) high-achieving college student who is diagnosed with a mental illness. The scholarship money must… Show More

The Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship annually awards $1,000 to one (1) high-achieving college student who is diagnosed with a mental illness. The scholarship money must go toward the recipient's education at a four-year college or full-length trade school. To be considered, applicants must have a minimum 3.5 GPA and submit a 250-500 word essay "describing your long-term personal and professional goals and how you achieve at a high level with a mental illness." If this scholarship sounds like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Bold.org

Open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.

AACAP Irving Philips Award for Prevention

Offered by American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Irving Philips Award for Prevention recognizes a child and adolescent psychiatrist and AACAP member who has… Show More

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Irving Philips Award for Prevention recognizes a child and adolescent psychiatrist and AACAP member who has made significant contributions in a lifetime career or single seminal work to the prevention of mental illness in children and adolescents. These contributions must have national and/or international stature and clearly demonstrate lasting effects. The contributions may be in the areas of teaching, research, program development, direct clinical service, advocacy, or administrative commitment. If this sounds like a good opportunity for you, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

AACAP George Tarjan, MD, Award for Contributions in Developmental Disabilities

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) George Tarjan, MD, Award for Contributions in Developmental Disabilities recognizes a child and adolescent psychiatrist and… Show More

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) George Tarjan, MD, Award for Contributions in Developmental Disabilities recognizes a child and adolescent psychiatrist and Academy member who has made significant contributions in a lifetime career or single seminal work to the understanding or care of those with developmental disabilities. These contributions must have national and/or international stature and clearly demonstrate lasting effects. The contributions may be in areas of teaching, research, program development, direct clinical service, advocacy, or administrative commitment. Nomination letters must be accompanied by a CV for the individual nominated. Keep on reading to learn more! Show Less

$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by CollegeXpress

Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

AACAP Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Service Program Award for Excellence

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Service Program Award for Excellence recognizes innovative programs that address the prevention,… Show More

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Norbert and Charlotte Rieger Service Program Award for Excellence recognizes innovative programs that address the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of mental illnesses in children and adolescents, and serve as model programs to the community. The monetary award is to be shared among the awardee and their service program. To be considered for the scholarship, students must be nominated (via nomination letter) and submit a CV and any support materials for the individual or organization nominated. Keep on reading to learn more! Show Less

AACAP Sidney Berman Award for the School-Based Study and Treatment of Learning Disorders and Mental Illness

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Sidney Berman Award for the School-Based Study and Treatment of Learning Disorders and Mental Illness award… Show More

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Sidney Berman Award for the School-Based Study and Treatment of Learning Disorders and Mental Illness award recognizes an individual or program that has shown outstanding achievement in the school-based study or delivery of intervention for learning disorders and mental illness. Each year, a cash prize of $4,500 is awarded to one such individual or program who has done great work in the school-based study or delivery of intervention for learning disorders and mental illness. To be considered for the scholarship, individuals and programs must be nominated via letter and the nominee's curriculum vitae. Keep on reading to learn more! Show Less

$1,000 Appily Easy College Money Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Appily

This easy scholarship from Appily is open to U.S. high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, 2027) and college transfer students. One scholarship will be… Show More

This easy scholarship from Appily is open to U.S. high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, 2027) and college transfer students. One scholarship will be awarded each month. Show Less

AACAP Junior Investigator Award

Are you an early-career faculty (assistant professor level or equivalent) conducting research related to the understanding, treatment, and prevention of child and adolescent mental health… Show More

Are you an early-career faculty (assistant professor level or equivalent) conducting research related to the understanding, treatment, and prevention of child and adolescent mental health disorders? Further, do you hold AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) membership or have a membership application pending? If so, the AACAP Junior Investigator Award may be a great opportunity for you! Each year, the Award gives a reward of up to $30,000 a year for two years to one such child and adolescent psychiatry early-career faculty (assistant professor level or equivalent). Applicants must be board-eligible or certified in child and adolescent psychiatry, have a doctoral-level degree, and be in a faculty or independent research position. If you're an early-career faculty and AACAP member conducting research related to the understanding, treatment, and prevention of child and adolescent mental health disorders, we encourage you to apply. Show Less

Youth Ambassador Mental Health Scholarship

Offered by NAMI Missouri

Are you a college-bound high school senior from Missouri who believes in the importance that mental health plays in our lives? If so, consider applying… Show More

Are you a college-bound high school senior from Missouri who believes in the importance that mental health plays in our lives? If so, consider applying for the Youth Ambassador Mental Health Scholarship! Each year, the scholarship awards $1,000 to two applicants who submit the best 500-700-word essays on "what mental health means to them." If you're a college-bound high school senior from Missouri who believes that mental health plays a significant role in our lives, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

$5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship This scholarship has been verified by the scholarship providing organization.

Offered by Christian Connector

Students applying to the $5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship must be current high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, or 2027) interested in attending a Christian…

Students applying to the $5,000 Christian Connector Scholarship must be current high school students (Class of 2025, 2026, or 2027) interested in attending a Christian university or college.

Race to End the Stigma Scholarship Program

Offered by Carlos Vieira Foundation

Are you a high school senior from the Central Valley (California) who plans on enrolling in a postsecondary institution? More importantly, do you believe in… Show More

Are you a high school senior from the Central Valley (California) who plans on enrolling in a postsecondary institution? More importantly, do you believe in the importance of mental health awareness? If so, consider applying for the Race to End the Stigma Scholarship Program. Dedicated to ending the stigma on mental health, the Carlos Vieira Foundation offers an annual $1,000 scholarship to students who believe in the importance of mental health and who reside in one of twenty-one California counties (see full list under "Eligibility Information"). To apply, interested students must write a 500 - 1,000 word essay answering one of the mental health-related prompts. If you're from California's Central Valley and believe in the importance of mental health, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

Quell Foundation Fighter Scholarship

Offered by The Quell Foundation

Are you a current or incoming post-secondary student who is being treated for a diagnosed mental health condition? If so, the Quell Foundation Fighter Scholarship… Show More

Are you a current or incoming post-secondary student who is being treated for a diagnosed mental health condition? If so, the Quell Foundation Fighter Scholarship may be a great opportunity for you! Each year, the scholarship awards between $2,500 and $5,000 to multiple applicants who are being treated for a mental health condition, hold a minimum 3.2 GPA, and submit the best ~500-word personal statements about why they're pursuing a degree. If this scholarship sounds like a fit for you, we encourage you to apply! Keep on reading to learn more. Show Less

How to win mental health scholarships

As with any scholarships, mental health scholarships are highly competitive. To win educational funding, you’ll have to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few tips to help your chances:

Use your essay space to emphasize your strengths

Struggles with mental health are very difficult for students. Your mental health may have impacted you in many different ways that set you back in your academic and personal life. While it’s very important to dedicate time to processing these struggles, it’s usually a good idea to keep them off of your scholarship application essays.

The organizations offering these scholarships are interested in selecting candidates who have overcome difficulties, have a strong drive, and a vision of their future and how to accomplish it. So, when you do mention mental health in your essay, it’s a good idea to frame it as an opportunity for growth and a formative experience. Talk about your past in terms of how it drives you to a promising future.

Even if you have a powerful personal story involving loss, grief, or tragedy, that tragedy alone is typically not sufficient to win you scholarships. Since you only have limited words to catch the attention of your application reviewer, you’re best off using those words to indicate your strengths and potential rather than describing the difficulties you’ve suffered.

Do your research

Before beginning your applications, it’s a good idea to read your essay prompt very thoroughly and get an idea of what the reviewers want from you. How can you bend this prompt to show your strengths and potential?

You should also research the organization offering the scholarship. Find out their core principles and values, and make sure to emphasize these in your application materials. They are looking for a candidate who aligns with their mission and values. You should make sure to show how you are that candidate.

Fine-tune your writing with our guides

An effective essay will be clear, concise, and compelling. Scholarship essays take a specific set of skills to write effectively. Luckily, we have a list of guides to help you write the best possible application. That includes guides on how to start and end a scholarship essay, how to respond to common scholarship essay prompts , and how to write a scholarship resume .

We can also help you fine-tune your writing to 250 or 500 word limits, and write an essay about yourself . Finally, don’t miss our ultimate guide to finding and winning scholarships!

Mental health resources for students

Many colleges and universities offer mental health resources for enrolled students. If you need guidance, that is a great place to start. Because the counseling center at your college has experience with students your age, they should be able to steer you in the right direction. If you want or need to do research on your own, the following websites are a few of the most credible you can find.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America

Check out the varied list of resources offered by the ADAA that focus specifically on the needs of college students.

National Alliance on Mental Health

The National Alliance for Mental Health, or NAMI, as it is often referred, is the largest organization dedicated to helping Americans with mental illness build better lives. With 600 state organizations , NAMI offers free help and education. For college students, this “ Starting the Conversation” guide and video is an excellent resource.

ULifeline is an anonymous online resource center especially for college students. Students can comfortably search for information regarding emotional and mental health. ULifeline is a project of The Jed Foundation , one of the USA’s leading organizations regarding the mental health of college students.

Frequently asked questions about mental health scholarships

Is there a scholarship for bipolar disorder, is there a scholarship for substance abuse problems, is there a scholarship for students with an eating disorder, do i need to have a diagnosis to apply for a mental health scholarship, can you get a scholarship for anxiety, am i at a disadvantage applying for scholarships if i struggle with mental health, explore these other scholarship categories:.

• Top ADHD scholarships
• Top scholarships for students with bipolar disorder
• Top scholarships for students with autism
• Top scholarships for disabled students
• Easy scholarships to apply to
• Scholarships for students with a disabled parent
• Top scholarships for student with learning disabilities
• Top scholarships for high school seniors

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5 Best Mental Health Scholarships with 2024 Deadlines

While your college years can be some of the best of your life, they can also be an extremely trying time. It might be your first time living on your own, away from the emotional support of your family. It could also be the first time that you’ve had to change schools, acclimate to a new environment, and make new friends. And let’s not forget the challenges of tackling a higher-education workload, as well as the financial burden that comes with paying for college. The list of difficult transitions that come when you attend college is endless. But if you live with a mental illness, then the stress of attending an academic college can increase tenfold.

If you are affected by a diagnosed mental health condition, you are not alone. Millions of people in the U.S are diagnosed with mental disabilities every year. Any mental illness (AMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder. AMI can range in impact, from no impairment to mild, moderate, and even severe impairment. Not only is youth mental health worsening, but this demographic is currently struggling the most with mental illness, particularly in the last couple of years.

Nearly 30% of young adults between 18 and 25 suffer from a mental, behavioral, or emotional mental health condition. Furthermore, many mental illnesses lead to physical, social, and financial consequences. The rate of unemployment is higher among U.S adults who have a mental disability compared to those who don’t. High school students with significant symptoms of depression are more than twice as likely to drop out of school compared to their peers. And students aged 6-17 with mental, emotional, or behavioral health disorders are 3 times more likely to repeat a grade.

That’s why mental health scholarships for college students are so incredibly important. Mental health scholarships not only offer support and recognition to students suffering from debilitating illnesses, but they can also raise awareness about the widespread impact of these illnesses. Additionally, mental health scholarships can help relieve the financial burden of paying for college for students who are suffering from mental illness. Whether you live with one of many Anxiety disorders, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, a visible or invisible disability, there are mental health scholarships accessible to you, including diagnosis-specific scholarships. Whether you are already enrolled in a college or university or are one of many high school seniors seeking out mental health scholarships, there is a scholarship out there catered perfectly towards you and your needs.

Best Mental Health Scholarships with 2022 Deadlines

Wisegeek mental health well-being scholarship.

College students often face great stress. The transition to adulthood is a time of significant change and can challenge a student’s emotional health and well-being.

Whether it’s the pressure to make the honor roll or just fit in with a friend group, it’s important to give students the support and guidance they need to cope with the stress of college. This is especially important given the global pandemic which has added a new set of challenges for college students to confront.

The WiseGeek Mental Health Well-Being Scholarship is meant to provide awareness to mental health challenges and assist those who have had to face those issues with a $500 award to help pay their tuition. The scholarship deadline is April 16, 2022.

The Bold Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

This competitive mental health scholarship is awarded to one student every year who is either struggling with mental health or who is interested in helping others who have been impacted by mental health challenges. The scholarship is open to all students in any major and the winner will receive $500. The application deadline for this scholarship is March 1, 2022, and the winners will be announced one month later. In the application essay, contestants will discuss their ideas and suggestions for the mental health field.

Mental Health Movement Scholarship

This generous scholarship will be granted to four individuals who have either suffered from mental illness or who have had a loved one battle with mental health. Funded by the Mental Health Movement, each winner will receive $1,012. To apply, applicants will have to write a 300-word essay sharing their own, or a loved one’s journey, with mental health, and how they want to use this experience to positively impact others with a shared situation.

Mahlagha Jaberi Mental Health Awareness of Immigrants Scholarship

The Mahlagha Jaberi Mental Health Awareness for Immigrants Scholarship’s mission is to spread awareness about the mental health of immigrants living in the United States. This $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to one first or second-generation immigrant who has previously or is currently battling with mental health. To apply, an individual must write about both their experiences with mental health, and as an immigrant, and some of their hopes and dreams for the future.

Noah Wilson “Loaded Spinach” Arts & Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

This award is dedicated to Noah A.H. Wilson who tragically lost his life to suicide in 2020. In honor of Noah, who was a sophomore at The School of the Art Institute at Chicago when he passed, this scholarship is awarded to one high school senior graduating in 2022. This individual must be pursuing a degree in the arts and have a passion for mental health and suicide prevention. The application deadline is April 19, 2022, and the winner will receive $1,200.

How to Qualify for Mental Health Scholarships

Just like all scholarships, every mental health scholarship available has different criteria and will cater to a slightly different group or community. The first thing to do when you find a scholarship online is to check the provider’s eligibility criteria and application information.

The first way that mental health scholarships will differ is by target year and major. A set of mental health scholarships are available to high school students, while others will target college students, graduate students, or even students who are in a particular year of their college education (sophomores, juniors, etc.). Other scholarships will only be eligible to students who are studying a specific major. While some scholarships will target computer science or computer engineering students, others will cater towards a law or business major. Many mental health scholarships will also have a GPA minimum and specify the types of college students they are looking for. Some mental health scholarships will be geared towards students attending community colleges, while others will be geared towards students attending a four-year undergraduate program. Due to all of the school-related requirements that come with mental health scholarships, it might be worth it to sit down and look at all of the scholarships available to you. This might influence the types of schools you wish to apply to, and which major you end up deciding upon.

Additionally, your specific mental health issues will certainly influence which mental health scholarships you qualify for. When it comes to eligibility, some mental health scholarships will be extremely broad. Many scholarships are simply seeking someone with a diagnosed mental illness. Other scholarships will be more specific, and target students who suffer from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. There are also scholarships available for people with disabilities outside of mental health. If you struggle with a learning disability, intellectual disability, behavioral disability, or severe physical disability, there are scholarships available to you as well.

Finally, there are also scholarships available to students who want to elevate mental health awareness or study mental illness at university. If you intend to major in psychology, public health, disability studies, or a related field in college, then it is worth investigating scholarships available to you. If your interest in raising awareness stems from the fact that you have an immediate family member or loved one who suffers from mental health issues, there are also scholarships to support individuals in these situations as well.

How do you apply for Mental Health Scholarships?

Similar to most scholarships, individuals can typically apply for most mental health scholarships online. Every application will be slightly different, however, most will require basic information about the individual, including high school or college transcripts and GPA. If you are worried about your grades or GPA impacting your chances of receiving a scholarship, don’t panic! There is always time to improve and boost those scores. Reach out to teachers, professors, or even online tutors for support. In terms of accessing your transcript, consult your high school guidance counselor or your college registrar’s office to receive a digital or paper transcript. There might be an associated fee, however, you should be able to use this transcript for all of your scholarship applications.

For many mental health applications, students will also need to submit a personal essay or statement. Due to the nature of mental health scholarships, individuals will typically need to write about their mental illness, the challenges that they have faced due to their specific circumstances, and why being awarded this particular scholarship is important to them. If you are planning on applying to multiple scholarships, consider creating an essay template, or several essay templates. Because you are applying for a mental health scholarship, you can be fairly certain that your scholarship essay will be about your mental illness. By creating templates you can customize your essays as you go, rather than writing entire essays from scratch every time.

When you find a scholarship that you want to apply for, read the fine print. Take note of the details, including the eligibility criteria, the deadline, and the paperwork required. If you need to submit medical information or a letter of recommendation, these are the first pieces of information you will want to chase. If it takes weeks for this paperwork to come back to you, you don’t want to accidentally miss an application deadline.

Where to Look for Scholarships

Of the thousands of scholarships awarded to students every year, mental health scholarships can be some of the trickiest to find. But don’t be discouraged! That’s why we’re here to help.

Where do you find mental health scholarships? Some of the first places to look for mental health scholarships are at the colleges and universities you wish to apply to. Do they offer mental health scholarships? If so, that would be a great place to start. Secondly, there are many scholarship search engines and top-notch mental health scholarship round-ups online. Many of these round-ups will break down scholarship eligibility, application requirements, GPA minimums, and how much scholarship money will be awarded. This will make it easy for you to consider your options and eliminate scholarships that don’t fit your needs.

Types of Scholarship Sponsors

Mental health scholarship sponsors vary across the board, as there are many individuals and companies looking to help students in need attend the colleges of their dreams. Some sponsors are individuals or individuals who have joined forces with a foundation, who have also battled with severe mental illness, and have a personal relationship to the cause. Many sponsors are from related mental health foundations or local mental health organizations like the American Association of Health and Disability (AAHD) or the American Psychological Foundation looking to support students in need. The other subset of sponsors comes from larger corporations. Scholarships such as the Microsoft Disability Scholarship and the Wells Fargo Scholarship Program are also out there to provide mental health funds resources and funds.

Scholarship Application Strategy

With so many scholarships out there to choose from, it’s worth it to apply to as many as possible. It’s all a numbers game, so the more scholarships you apply to, the more likely you are to receive one. However, time and money are also of the essence, and you may be looking to be more selective with the applications you submit. If that’s the case, try and find scholarships that closely match your specific circumstances. Are you struggling with addiction and substance abuse? Create a list of scholarships limited to students struggling with addiction only. Then, if you have more time, apply to more general mental health scholarships. The more personal the scholarship, the easier it will be for you to create a compelling application and personal statement.

Commonly Asked Questions for Mental Health Scholarships

Can i get a scholarship for mental health.

Yes. There are many mental health scholarships available if you are a high school student, undergraduate college student, or graduate school student battling with mental illness and seeking financial assistance. If you or a loved one has struggled with mental illness, or you are trying to elevate mental health awareness, please apply.

When should I start applying for scholarships?

The deadline for mental health scholarships can range anywhere from the summer prior to when you begin your academic year, to the spring season, when individuals are typically receiving college acceptance letters. To play it safe, start looking at mental health scholarships an entire academic year before you need one.

What types of scholarships are available for students struggling with mental health?

A wide range of scholarships are available to students battling with mental health. Whether you are a high school student or currently enrolled in college, or suffering from mild to severe mental illnesses or disabilities, there is a college scholarship specifically catered towards you and your needs.

What to consider when applying for scholarships?

When applying to mental health scholarships, take note of eligibility criteria, the money awarded, and application deadlines. With numerous mental health scholarships available, you will be able to create a list of scholarships that meet your criteria. Try and apply to scholarships that match your mental health situation most accurately.

How do I make my application stand out?

The best way to make your mental health scholarship application stand out is through your personal statement or essay. Share your compelling personal story, why this scholarship is important to you, and how it will change your life. The more personal your story is, the better.

How can I increase my chances of getting scholarships?

When it comes to applying for mental health scholarships, it’s all a numbers game. The more scholarships you apply to, the more likely you are to receive a scholarship. That being said, target scholarships that are most personal to you first.

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Mental Health Scholarships

David Oct 27, 2020

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College is even more difficult for students who have a mental disability. Luckily, mental health scholarships help offset some of the stress. We are going to share some mental health scholarships that you can apply for today. We’ll also give you tips on coping with a mental illness in college.

AAHD Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability

The Frederick J. Krause Scholarship awards college students who suffer from a mental illness. Applicants must study in an accredited college or university. They must be in their sophomore, junior, or senior year. They must have a disability. Preference goes to applicants studying public health, disability studies, or a related field. The award amount is up to $1,000.

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Google Lime Scholarship

Google grants this scholarship to students with disabilities. Applicants must study computer science, computer engineering, or a related field. They must show academic excellence. They must submit essays on their passion for computer science and their career goals. The award amount is $10,000.

Anne Ford Scholarship

The Anne Ford Scholarship awards graduating high school seniors. Applicants must have a documented learning disability or ADHD. They must plan to attend a full-time bachelor’s degree in the fall. The award amount is $10,000.

Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship

The Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship awards high school seniors who struggle with their mental health. Applicants must have a learning disability or ADHD. They must be planning to study in a community college or vocational program. The award amount is $5,000.

Baer Reintegration Scholarship Program

This scholarship program awards students with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder. Applicants must receive medical treatment and be in rehab or reintegration efforts. The award amount is $1,000.

Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

The Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship grants scholarships to high school or college students. Applicants must have experienced challenges with mental health. They must write an essay about their experience with mental health. The award amount is $750.

‘Business Plan’ Scholarship for Students With Disabilities

The Business Plan Scholarship awards undergraduate or graduate students who have a disability. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. They must send a  500-1,000 word essay on what they learned from writing a business plan. Submit essays to [email protected]. The award amount is $2,500.

Rehabmart Disability Scholarships

Rehabmart Disability Scholarships grant money to students with disabilities. Applicants must be majoring in the health sciences or special education. They must submit a personal statement. The award amount is $250-$25,000.

NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship

The Tony Coelho Media Scholarship awards eight undergraduates and graduates. Applicants must have disabilities. They just want to pursue a career in communications, media, or entertainment. The award amount is $5,625.

Beat the Odds Scholarship Program

The Beat the Odds Scholarship program awards Oregon public school students. Applicants must have overcome hardships, including a disability. They must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. The award amount is $4,000.

This scholarship program is for college students who suffer from a medical or mental illness, learning or physical disability, or behavior disorder. They must have finished at least one semester of college. To apply, they must submit an essay on how they overcame adversity. The award amount is $1,000.

Andrew Q. Peschard Memorial Scholarship

The Andrew Q. Peschard Memorial Scholarship awards graduating high school seniors. Applicants must attend school in San Mateo, CA. They must have overcome challenges because of a mental illness. They must show determination to pursue a college degree. The award amount is $1,000.

John Weir Academic Scholarship

The John Weir Academic Scholarship awards high school seniors who have a significant disability. This includes cognitive, developmental, learning, emotional, visual, or physical disabilities. They must be planning to attend a trade school, two-year college, or four-year college. They must write an essay on their volunteer work or involvement in their community.

The Lillian Cooper Droke Memorial Scholarship

The Lillian Cooper Droke Memorial Scholarship grants money to students with a mental illness. Applicants must be enrolled in a technical training program, a college or university. The award amount is $5,000.

The Peyton Tuthill Foundation Scholarship

The Peyton Tuthill Foundation awards students who lost a sibling or parent to homicide. Applicants must be suffering from issues like depression, anxiety, or PTSD. They must be between the ages of 17 and 25. They also must have completed at least one year of grief counseling. They must write an essay on how counseling has benefited them. The award amount is up to $1,000 for each year of their studies.

The Quell Foundation Fighter Scholarship

The Quell Foundation awards several scholarships. The Fighter Scholarship awards students who have a diagnosed mental health condition. Applicants must have a minimum 3.2 GPA and be enrolled at least part-time in college. The award amount is up to $1,250.

The Quell Foundation Student-Athlete Fighter Scholarship

The Quell Foundation Student-Athlete Fighter Scholarship awards students who suffer from a mental illness. Applicants must have a minimum 3.2 GPA. The award amount is up to $1,250.

The JED Student Voice of Mental Health Award

The JED Foundation supports students who struggle with mental illness. Applicants must work on their campus to start a dialogue about mental illness. The award amount is up to $3,000.

The Microsoft Disability Scholarship

Microsoft grants scholarships to high school seniors who have a disability. Students must be studying engineering, computer science, computer information systems, law, or business. They must maintain a minimum of 3.0 and show financial need. The award amount is $5,000 per year.

The INCIGHT Scholarship

The INCIGHT Scholarship gives scholarship money to students who have difficulty with mental health.  Applicants must be living in California, Oregon, or Washington State. They must attend vocational schools, community colleges, universities, or graduate programs.

The Susanna DeLaurentis Charitable Foundation Memorial Scholarship

The Susanna DeLaurentis Scholarship helps high school seniors who have a mental or physical illness. Applicants must show involvement in extracurricular activities and academic success. To apply, they need to write an essay on how they have overcome challenges.  The award amount is $1,000.

The Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship

Students with a mental illness can apply for the Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship. Applicants must write an essay on how they can achieve success with their mental illness. They must have a minimum 3.5 GPA. The award amount is $10,000.

The Disability Care Center’s Scholarships

The Disability Care Center supports students who have a disability. Students pursuing a degree in special education may also apply. Applicants must write an essay on how they have overcome the hardship of their disability. The award amount is $500.

The FSD Science Graduate Student Grant Fund Scholarship

Graduate students who have a disability can get money from the FSD Science Graduate Scholarship. Applicants must be pursuing a graduate degree in a STEM field. The award amount is $1,000.

The Ability Center Scholarship awards students from Ohio or Michigan. Applicants must have a mental disability. They must write an essay about their disability and the effect it has on their lives. They must have a minimum 3.0 GPA.

The Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship

The Jared Monroe Foundation gives scholarship money to students with bipolar disorder. High school seniors and full-time college students may apply. The award amount is up to $2,300.

The Ankin Law Office Disabled Veterans Scholarship

Disabled veterans can apply for a scholarship from the Aknin Law Office. Veterans who have a 30% disability rating may apply. The disability can be related to PTSD, mental illnesses, or a physical disability. The award amount is up to $1,000.

The Liberty University Heroes Fund Scholarship

The Liberty University Heroes Fund Scholarship grants money to veterans who are pursuing a degree. Applicants must receive a Purple Heart or a rating between 50%-100% for combat-related PTSD.

Jack Scura Fund

The Jack Scura Fund awards scholarships to high school seniors who have a disability. They must pursue an undergraduate degree in New Jersey. They must have a minimum 3.2 GPA. The award amount is $5,000.

John Lepping Memorial Scholarship

The John Lepping Memorial Scholarship awards students who have a physical or psychological disability. Applicants must live in New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. The award amount is up to $5,000.

Tommy Tranchin Award

The Tommy Tranchin Award supports students in North Texas. Applicants must have a physical, emotional, or intellectual disability. They must be in grades 8 – 12. The award amount is $1,500.

Wells Fargo Scholarship Program for People with Disabilities

The Wells Fargo Scholarship Program helps students with various disabilities. Applicants must be a high school senior or graduate. They must be planning to enroll in an accredited undergraduate program. They must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. The award amount is $2,500.

Jerry Greenspan Student Voice of Mental Health Award

The Jerry Greenspan Award supports students who are reducing prejudice around mental illness. The award amount is $3,000.

JC Runyon Foundation General Scholarship

The JC Runyon Foundation awards undergraduate students who have behavioral health disorders. Applicants must have completed an in-patient program in a facility or hospital. They must be admitted to a college or university.

Paradigm Malibu $1000 Annual Depression Treatment Education Scholarship

Paradigm Malibu awards a scholarship to students enrolled in an accredited college. The award amount is $1,000.

Other Ways to Find Mental Health Scholarships

Here are some other ways you can win scholarships for mental health:

• Apply for a range of scholarships, not only mental health scholarships. There are scholarships that award student leaders, volunteers, and students who have overcome hardships.
• Check with local mental health organizations in your area. Many of these organizations award college scholarships. 
• Apply for general disability scholarships, even if it doesn’t specify the mental illness. Contact the organization and ask them about their eligibility requirements.
• Get involved with your college’s disability center. They can help you with everything from finding scholarships,  finding a support group on campus, and getting special accommodations for test-taking.

Tips for Coping With a Mental Illness in College

Here are some tips for coping with a mental illness in college: 

• Stick to a schedule (as much as possible). It’s good for your physical and mental health to go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day. 
• Seek out help. You are never ever alone! Many colleges and universities offer free counseling to students. You can also look for a therapist in the community. Other services that schools may offer include mental health workshops, groups, and online resources.
• Build a support network. Your support network can include anyone from family to friends, professors, advisors, and your sorority or fraternity house.
• Keep in touch with your family and friends from home. It can be hard being so far away. Luckily, facetime makes it easy to maintain a relationship with those who are far.
• Take up new hobbies. College is a great time to explore new things. Find what you love by trying out different clubs and activities.
• Exercise. You’ve probably heard that exercise releases endorphin. Get to the campus gym, get involved with an intramural sport, or find a walking buddy.
• Keep track of your mental health. Do weekly check-ins with yourself. Ask yourself how you are feeling. This way, if you are starting to feel down, you will realize before it gets worse and can seek proper help.

Final Thoughts 

Managing a mental illness in addition to staying on top of your coursework is tough! It’s important that you develop healthy habits, including enough time in your schedule to sleep, exercise, and eat nutritious foods. It may be scary to be off on your own for the first time, but many colleges provide a lot of support for students with mental health issues. Keep track of your mental health and seek help if you start to feel overwhelmed. 

Mental health scholarships can help relieve you of some of the high costs of college. They aren’t as easy to find as other scholarships, but they do exist. 

Remember, you are not alone! There are plenty of awesome resources out there that can help you. Some good ones to check out include ULifeline , The Trevor Project Program and Resources, and the Jed Foundation .

ScholarshipOwl has thousands of college scholarships you can apply for with the click of one button.  See what scholarships you can earn right now

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David Tabachnikov is the CEO of ScholarshipOwl. Formerly at Waze and Google, David is an experienced CTO/R&D manager with over 10 years of experience of leading tech teams. David fervently believes that students should have greater access to education, and is passionate about using technology to help them achieve that goal.

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How to Get a Mental Health Scholarship

Mental health scholarships have been a great way for people who struggle with any type of mental health disorder further their education and pay for tuition. They offer financial support, awareness, and recognition to students suffering from mental health conditions in high school, community college, undergraduate, and graduate programs. Scholarships can help students achieve their career aspirations by reducing the stress of paying for tuition.

According to the Mental Institute of Mental Health, millions of people in the United States are diagnosed with mental illnesses every year. Luckily, more and more individuals and mental health organizations are creating specific scholarship opportunities for people living with mental illnesses. In this article, you’ll find a list of some available mental health scholarships for high school students and university students as well as tips on how to get a mental health scholarship.

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What is a mental health scholarship.

A mental health scholarship is a form of financial aid put in place for people living with any form of mental disability, including invisible disabilities, to be better able to afford university or college. Unlike most scholarships, these usually are with the aim of creating more awareness of mental health as well as innovative solutions to make life easier for people who struggle with mental wellness. Scholarships can be offered by a mental health organization, health care providers, government bodies, and schools.

There are several scholarships available for people living with mental illness including targeted ones like diagnosis-specific scholarships, GPA-specific scholarships, and generalized mental health scholarships. These scholarships are available to high school seniors applying for an undergraduate program, students in trade school or community college, and full-time college students.

Common Mental Health Scholarship Requirements

• Mental Illness Diagnosis. Mental health scholarships usually require applicants to submit a doctor’s diagnosis to prove that they suffer from a mental illness.
• Essay. Some scholarships require applying students to write an essay on their personal experience of living with a mental disease or some other scholarship-specific topic.
• GPA minimum . Many scholarships, including need-based scholarships, have a GPA minimum for applying. Although a GPA of 3.0 is the average minimum, some scholarships have an academic criterion as high as a 3.5 GPA. However, this might not always be common among mental health scholarships.
• Proof of Financial Need . Applicants are usually required to prove their need for financial assistance to ensure that the scholarships only go to those that actually need it. Most schools will require students to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form when applying.
• Age Minimum . Most mental health scholarships require candidates to be 18 years of age and above. Exceptions can be made in special cases, such as early placement in higher education, but this is rare.

How to Find Mental Health Scholarships

There is a wide range of scholarships available every year, but knowing where to look isn’t evident. Luckily, there are plenty of tools that can help you find the perfect scholarship for you. Scholarship websites like the US Department of Labor Scholarship Finder are easy to use. You can also talk to someone working at the financial aid department of the college or university you wish to attend. Here are a few tips on finding the best scholarship for you.

Apply to as Many as Possible

With so many scholarships available, it’s wise to apply to as many as you can, especially seeing as there are no limits as to how many you can apply to or receive. The more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances are of receiving at least one. Your high school or university’s financial aid advisor can help you find the ones you’re most eligible for and help you with the application process.

Know the Deadlines

Most scholarships have very strict deadlines and any late applications most likely won’t be considered. Start your scholarship search and application process early. This way, you’ll have ample time to prepare and polish your applications. If the deadline for a scholarship you want has expired, remember that there are certainly others still available. You can always apply for the same scholarship the following year.

Target a Specific Diagnosis Scholarship

Consider searching for scholarships that are tailored to your personal mental health issue. For example, if you suffer from a schizoaffective disorder, make a list of scholarships that are solely available to students struggling with schizoaffective disorder. The same goes for those suffering from a learning disability or post-traumatic stress disorder. It’ll be easier to write a convincing application and personal statement when the scholarship is personal to you.

Tips to Find Mental Health Scholarships for High School Students

Start searching and applying early.

Don’t wait until after your high school graduation to start searching for scholarships. You can often start sending applications as soon you’ve been accepted into a post-secondary program. Don’t be too worried about your GPA. Many mental health scholarships don’t require it. You can also begin an application process with the option to submit your GPA later if you think it will improve by the application deadline.

Prioritize Scholarship Applications by Deadline

Once you’ve compiled a list of mental health scholarships you’d like to apply for, sort them by upcoming deadlines and get started as soon as possible. We recommend setting reminders or alarms as an additional precaution. Additionally, you may need more time than you imagined to complete these applications, as some require essays and even video submissions.

Starting early gives you plenty of time to revise and polish applications before the scholarship deadlines. Consider creating a spreadsheet with the name and deadline for each scholarship you want to apply for and check each one off once they’re complete.

Practice Writing Personal Statements and Essays

Your teachers, counselors, parents, and classmates can help you write a compelling essay or personal statement. They can provide great feedback and let you know if it sounds authentic. Practicing by writing an essay or two during your spare time will not only help you write better essays, but it’ll also help you write them faster too.

10 Best Mental Health Scholarships in 2022: Overview

Top 10 mental health scholarships: in detail, 1. andrew perez mental illness/suicidal awareness education scholarship.

• Awarded by: Jesus Perez
• Deadline: April 14, 2022

This scholarship was created by Jesus Perez to honor his late son Andrew Perez by helping students pursue their education regardless of their mental illnesses. It is open to any BIPOC high school or bachelor’s degree student diagnosed with a mental health condition. Interested applicants have to submit an essay about their interests, coping techniques, and long-term ambitions.

2. Ethel Hayes Destigmatization of Mental Health Scholarship

• Awarded by: Dr. Terrence O. Hayes Sr.
• Deadline: June 4, 2022

This scholarship program was established in honor of Ethel Hayes to stimulate more open and honest conversations about mental health issues and the people struggling with them. Students living with mental illness or who have had loved ones living with mental illness are eligible for the award. To apply, you must write a brief essay explaining how your experiences with mental health have influenced your ideas, relationships, and goals.

3. Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

• Awarded by: Calvin Rosser
• Deadline: May 31, 2022

This scholarship aims to boost mental health awareness and encourage innovative ways to help people living with mental health issues. Students of any educational level and area of study that have had firsthand experience with mental health issues or have had somebody close to them living with mental health challenges are eligible for the scholarship.

Eligible students have to write an essay explaining how their mental health experiences have shaped their values, relationships, and career goals. Working or volunteering with groups that raise awareness about, provide assistance to those suffering from, or conduct research on mental health is an advantage for student applications, but it is not compulsory.

4. NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship

• Awarded by: NBCUniversal through the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
• Deadline: May 20, 2022

This scholarship is funded by NBCUniversal in honor of Tony Coelho, a Californian United States Representative and author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and provides $5,625 to eight students with any kind of disability looking to work in media, entertainment, or communications. To apply, you’ll need to submit your resume, your unofficial transcript from your current college or university, three 300-word essays, and a letter of recommendation.

5. Noah Wilson “Loaded Spinach” Arts and Health Awareness Scholarship

• Awarded by: Desirie Mckay
• Deadline: April 19, 2022

This scholarship award was created in memory of Noah A.H. Wilson, a Massey scholar at The School the Art Institute at Chicago who suffered from depression and provides $1,200 in scholarship money to a high school senior pursuing an arts degree passionate about improving young adults’ mental health and preventing suicide.

Interested students have to submit an essay about themselves and how they became interested in studying the arts, as well as how their experiences with the arts and mental health have shaped their beliefs, relationships, and goals. 

6. Prochnow Foundation Annual Scholarship

• Awarded by: Prochnow Foundation
• Deadline: April 30, 2022

The Prochnow Foundation was founded to help brilliant people suffering from mental illnesses further their education and personal growth by reducing their financial burden. The foundation offers an annual scholarship fund, career-focused mentorship programs, and in-person speaking events. Eligible students must be enrolled in a four-year college or full-time vocational school. Winners get a $1,000 cash award.

7. Robert Wechman Mental Health Scholarship

• Awarded by: Evan Wechman
• Deadline: March 30, 2022

This scholarship is for a student who has had personal experience with mental illness and is committed to challenging the stigma surrounding mental health conversations. It is open to any high school student in need of financial assistance who plans to attend a four-year institution. Applicants are required to write an essay on how their mental health experiences have shaped their lives as well as how they have influenced their desire to de-stigmatize mental health.

8. Suzie’s Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

• Awarded by: Reyna Perry
• Deadline: March 25, 2022

Suzie’s Mental Health Awareness Scholarship awards a scholarship of $500 to a high school student living with mental health issues, who has a loved one diagnosed with mental health issues, or who plans to pursue a degree in a mental healthcare field such as psychology , psychiatry, and neuroscience. Applicants need to write an essay about their experiences with mental health, its effect on their lives, and its importance to them.

9. The Jared Monroe Foundation Scholarship

• Awarded by: The Jared Munroe Foundation
• Deadline: May 1, 2022

The Jared Munroe Foundation gathers donations which are then awarded as scholarships to students who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and are undergoing treatment. The scholarships, which range from $500 to $2,300 depending on the amount of money donated each year, can be used to cover tuition, books, accommodation, and other fees.

Applicants must be officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder, provide a therapist letter, be a fresh high school graduate or a high school student in their last year, and submit an essay on the provided topic. You can check out past winners of the scholarship to see the kinds of applicants that are awarded.

10. The Jack Scurra Fund

• Awarded by: Scurra Law Firm
• Deadline: June 15, 2022

The Jack Scura Fund was established in memory of John “Jack” Joseph Scura II, Esq. to recognize students with disabilities excelling in school and in their communities. The scholarship is awarded partially in the fall semester and the rest in the spring semester. Eligible students must have at least a 3.2 GPA, be enrolled or applying to any university or college in New Jersey, and have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability, or psychiatric disability.

Should I Apply for a Mental Health Scholarship?

Yes, if you’re a student suffering from any mental health issues, you should definitely apply for a mental health scholarship. They often come with benefits other than financial awards such as mentorship programs, awareness programs, and community networking. There are lots of individuals and organizations making conscious efforts to support people suffering from mental health issues by awarding financial aid to help them get through school.

Mental Health Scholarships FAQ

You should apply for a mental health scholarship in the spring, as this is when most scholarship applications take place. However, the application deadline for mental health scholarships is different from scholarship to scholarship. We recommend you start looking for mental health scholarships a full academic year before you need one.

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Key factors to consider when applying for scholarships include the eligibility requirements, application deadlines, and the amount of money awarded. With so many mental health scholarships to choose from, you’ll be able to compile a list of those that fit your specific needs and that you have the best chance of winning.

Writing a compelling personal statement or essay is the best way to make your mental health scholarship application stand out. Put your heart and soul into explaining how mental health struggles have affected you, why the scholarship is important to you, and how it will affect your life. Being authentic will go a long way.

There are multiple scholarships available for people living with mental health issues. There are scholarships tailored to just about any special needs, whether you are a high school student or presently enrolled in college, or suffer from mild to severe mental disorders or impairments. For students with mental health issues, mental health scholarships can help alleviate the burden of tuition costs.

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Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

About the scholarship.

The Mental Health Awareness Scholarship offers financial assistance to high school junior, senior, undergraduate, or graduate students who are National Society of High School Scholar members. Students who demonstrate a strong interest in spreading awareness and change about mental health and its stigma are welcome to apply.

• Essay Required : Yes
• Need-Based : No
• Merit-Based : Yes
• Member of the National Society of High School Scholars
• Residing in the U.S.
• High school senior, undergraduate, or graduate student
• Seeking a professional certification, associate, bachelor's, or graduate degree
• Participate in community service, extracurricular activities, or leadership
• Interests include spreading mental health awareness, staying mentally strong, social media, technology, or changing the stigma around mental health
• Proven academic achievement
• Country : US

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Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

When we bring the darkness to light, it will slowly fade.

About the Scholarship

Despite living in the most prosperous and interconnected time in history, rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide are on the rise. In the United States, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. It kills someone every 12 minutes.

What’s our solution to the vast and growing mental health problem? A society that tunes out those who struggle and a broken system that offers addictive pharmaceutical drugs, outdated and inconsistent therapy practices, and understaffed hospitals with mediocre care.

My mom, Sheri Rosser, was a victim of this broken approach.

After struggling with depression for decades, going in and out of hospitals, and taking dozens of medications, she lost all hope and took her own life in 2017. It was the most painful and devastating experience of my life.

The Elevate Mental Health Awareness Scholarship is dedicated to my mom Sherise Rosser, a wonderful woman who taught me the power of authenticity, belief, and compassion.

My hope is that the scholarship inspires greater awareness about mental health and fuels innovative solutions that help the millions of people who are suffering.

P.S. : If you’d like to create a scholarship, you can learn  how to start a scholarship fund here .

P.S.S . If you’re looking for good life advice to help you on your path, check out these  40 great pieces of advice  and this  list of the best self-help books , which includes books for navigating difficult times.

Scholarship Details

The scholarship will be awarded to one high school or university student.

$500 Cash Award

Pay it Forward

If you know someone who might be a good fit, encourage them to apply. If you win the scholarship, pay it forward by helping others.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must meet the requirements below. Please read the requirements carefully to ensure you meet eligibility before applying.

• Must be a current high school, undergraduate, or graduate school student.
• Must have personally experienced challenges with mental health or have had people close to them who have experienced mental health challenges.
• Must be attending school in the United States.
• All GPAs will be considered.
• All majors are encouraged to apply.

To apply, you will need to write a 500-1,000 word essay about the following:  How has your experience with mental health influenced your beliefs, relationships, and career aspirations?

Meet the previous scholarship winners

Scholarship FAQ

When is the scholarship deadline.

The application deadline is April 30, 2024.

What is the scholarship prize?  

The scholarship award is $500.

When will the winner be chosen and notified?   

The winner will be publicly announced in May 2024. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.

How will the scholarship be paid?

We will send the $500 award check to the winner’s academic institution in their name, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school’s requirements).

How will my application be verified?

Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to verify their academic enrollment status by providing a copy of their most recent transcript.

How can I contact you with questions?  

If you have any questions about the scholarship, you can email [email protected] . You can also reach us by phone at 858-264-3028 and by mail at:

Calvin Rosser

2460 17th Avenue #1051

Santa Cruz, CA 95062

How will my application information be used? What are the scholarship terms and conditions?

We manage this scholarship with the support of the Bold.org scholarship platform. Bold.org takes student confidentiality and privacy incredibly seriously. Please refer to the application page on Bold.org for full details.  See  advertiser disclosure .

NSHSS Mental Health Awareness Scholarship

Five (5) $2,000 awards

Rising high school juniors and seniors, and college students all levels

Scholarship Details:

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community." The stigma surrounding mental illness has become far too common, but more and more individuals are speaking out and raising awareness on the issue. NSHSS wants to award students for their positive efforts in spreading awareness and affecting change regarding mental health.

Application Requirements:

• Educator recommendation letter
• What are some effective strategies for reducing stigma surrounding mental health in your community or school? How can individuals and organizations contribute to creating a more supportive and open environment for those dealing with mental health issues?
• Pictures/videos/media showing your leadership in action (optional)
• Color headshot suitable for website posting
• Academic resume
• Current Transcript (can be official or unofficial)

Application Opens: November 6, 2023

Closing date: march 14, 2024 by 11:59pm (est), scholarships closing soon.

Ambassadors of NSHSS Scholarship

CIA Undergraduate Scholarship Program

NSHSS Hometown Hero Scholarship

Future Educators Scholarship

Why Vote? Scholarship for Voter Awareness and Education

NSHSS James W. Lewis High School Global Leader Scholarship 2024

NSHSS James W. Lewis Collegiate Global Leader Scholarship

Speak Up! Scholarship

NSHSS Nobel Good Earth Sustainability Scholarship

NSHSS Foundation Business & Public Policy Scholarship

Be More Grant

Notorious RBG Women of Tomorrow Scholarship

NSHSS Activism and Advocacy Scholarship

NSHSS Creative Writing Scholarship

NSHSS Community College or Trade School Scholarship

How to Apply-Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Learn more about how to apply for Seattle University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program.

• All Programs
• Clinical Mental Health Counseling, MAEd
• How to Apply

The priority application deadline is February 1.

Application review process and timeline.

Applications are reviewed after the priority deadline. Applying by the priority deadline ensures consideration for space in the cohort and consideration for institutional aid scholarships. Please note that the cohort begins every fall quarter.

International students should review the international admissions page for more information on deadlines, additional requirements and more.

International Admissions Information

Application Timeline for Fall 2025 Admissions

*Dates are approximate and subject to change.

Start the Process

Begin your application, finish your application, check your application status.

• Review the program info on our website
• Learn more about scholarships and financial aid 
• Attend an Online Info Session
• Request a pre-recorded Info Session
• Schedule a meeting with an Admission Counselor   
• Schedule a campus tour
• Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline may not be reviewed.
• Applicants with international transcripts should plan to get materials in 4- 6 weeks before the deadline in order to make sure they can be received and reviewed in time for program consideration.

Application Deadlines

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling program has one application deadline.

Once you start an application you will be able to save your progress and will not have to complete it all at once.

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling application includes the following elements: 

• A two-page, single or double-spaced (maximum) (12pt font, 1-inch margins) statement including goals for the program, professional goals and a response to the Seattle University Mission Statement and/or the  Counseling Program Mission Statement .
• A one-to-two-page professional résumé documenting education, professional and volunteer experience.
• Choose from supervisors or instructors who are familiar with your work and your interpersonal skills. 
• Do not choose peers, friends or therapists.  
• These forms are what are evaluated – please do not include letters of recommendation.  
• In the application you will be asked to complete a self-evaluation of your skills and aptitudes as they pertain to graduate school.
• Evidence of a four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. 
• As calculated from the last 90 quarter/60 semester credits of the bachelor’s degree, or post-graduate work, including transfer credits  
• Applicants with less than a 3.00 GPA may apply and may be considered for probationary. 
• The Counseling Program does not require the GRE. However, applicants from non-graded bachelor's degree programs must submit GRE scores. 
• Submit official transcripts for undergraduate coursework and all additional endorsement-related courses to the Office of Graduate Admissions.
• Transcripts may be mailed or submitted electronically to [email protected] .
• Applicants may be accepted to the program with unofficial transcripts. Once accepted to the program, students will need to submit official transcripts within their first quarter of enrollment.  

Start Your Application Today

You will be able to save your progress while completing your application and will not have to complete it all at once.

• Make sure you hit “Submit” on your application. 
• Submitted applications are only considered complete once all application materials have been received including your recommendation forms.  
• If selected, you will receive an email invitation to a group interview with Clinical Mental Health Counseling faculty and other applicants within six weeks of the application deadline. 
• You can login here to check the status of your application anytime.
• Make sure to regularly check the email you listed on your application for updates, including your admission decision.

Additional Application Information

A maximum of 10 credits may transfer to the program on a 1:1 basis from a CACREP accredited university. The transfer credit evaluation process begins after a student has been enrolled into the Seattle University program, and at that time the assessment will be made which credits (if any) will transfer. Students can start their Petition for Exception to Policy (PEP) process by meeting with their advisor post-enrollment. More details about graduate transfer policies can be found  here .  Please note that credits may not transfer to Seattle University if they do not meet the specified requirements. 

Applicants whose academic credentials are below the expected prerequisite course work, grade point average and/or test scores of those typically accepted to specific programs, but who through other means convey the potential for academic success, warrant offers of provisional or probationary admission. Probationary admission involves a specific time limit during which the student is expected to achieve the minimum GPA noted at the time of admission. When this condition is fulfilled, the department usually recommends advancement of regular graduate student status.

International students can learn more about additional international requirements beyond the general application here .

Get In Touch

If you have any questions about the program or application, we’re here to help!

Christine Campbell

Senior Admissions Counselor

• [email protected]
• 206-296-5530

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Student Podcast Challenge

• Contest Website
• Submissions Form
• College Contest Rules
• Middle/High School Contest Rules
• Podcasting Resources
• Students’ Podcast

College student explores rare mental health condition in award-winning podcast

Elissa Nadworny

Janet W. Lee

Professor Emily Sendin of Miami Dade College (L) presents Michael Vargas Arango (R) with the winner certificate from the NPR Podcast Challenge. Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR hide caption

Professor Emily Sendin of Miami Dade College (L) presents Michael Vargas Arango (R) with the winner certificate from the NPR Podcast Challenge.

It's rare to get a first-person perspective on living with a condition called schizoaffective disorder. But Michael Vargas Arango, who was diagnosed as a teenager, wanted the world to know that it's not something to be afraid of.

"I'm not dangerous. I'm not crazy. And I'm not delusional," he says in his podcast, The Monsters We Create . "I'm just one more guy, with a mental health condition, living with it."

His emotional and deeply personal entry was chosen by our judges, from among 10 finalists . As the grand prize winner of this year's NPR College Podcast Challenge , he'll receive a $5,000 scholarship.

The idea for his podcast came after Vargas Arango told his girlfriend, Elizabeth Pella, about his schizoaffective disorder.

"Of course I had to tell her this is happening to me: I hear voices. I feel presences," says the 22-year-old international student at Miami Dade College in Florida. "This is who I am. I can't lie. I cannot lie."

It was a big deal for him to tell her. He was living in a foreign city, speaking his second language, far from his family back in Colombia, and Pella would be the first person outside of his family he'd told.

Here are our 10 best college podcasts in America

The conversation went well, and Pella was understanding, curious, and loving. But she had one request: Don't tell my friends.

She says she was worried that they would judge him and even judge her. "'Like, why are you dating this guy?' I was scared," she says, "and I wanted to protect him, too."

"I'm gonna show you how it is."

Vargas Arango, 22, is a second-year student at Miami Dade College, studying business and psychology. Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR hide caption

Vargas Arango, 22, is a second-year student at Miami Dade College, studying business and psychology.

Pella's request didn't sit well with Vargas Arango. "You don't wanna know?" he recalls thinking, "I'm gonna show you how it is."

Now, he didn't just want to tell his girlfriend and her friends. He wanted to show everyone what it was like living in his head.

Using his own voice, interviews and layers of sound design, he crafted the podcast that won NPR's competition.

Vargas Arango's podcast starts with an exchange between himself and the voice in his head: "Why would you tell them I exist? They won't understand."

He responds, "You're giving me a headache. Can you shut up for a second?"

Then, Vargas Arango addresses the listener: "This is how I've been living my whole life. But you're probably wondering: What is this guy talking about? Who is he even talking to? Well, let me explain."

He explores what it's like to live with schizoaffective disorder, a chronic mental health condition where a person experiences symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations or delusions, and mood disorders like depression. It's rare – Vargas Arango is among the 3 in 1,000 people who experience it.

"I hear voices but in another language that I just don't understand," he explains. "I sometimes hear my name being called multiple times."

Challenging misconceptions about schizoaffective disorder

Vargas Arango plays with sound effects and echoes in his podcast.

It's not always to illustrate his experience, he says. In some cases, it's a metaphor, where he uses distorted voice recordings as a "way to make fun of the prejudice that people have. Because they think that you're hearing these voices to try to go hurt someone," he says.

"That's not what I hear," he adds. "That's not how it works."

This openness is pretty radical for Vargas Arango. His family back in Colombia didn't really talk about mental health, and, as a kid, his schizoaffective disorder presented itself as "imaginary friends."

Vargas Arango shows his home recording setup in his Miami apartment. Eva Marie Uzcategui for NPR hide caption

Vargas Arango shows his home recording setup in his Miami apartment.

"You can probably imagine what the reaction of my Colombian religious mother was," he says in the podcast. "She thought I could see a ghost or something. But no, I can't see ghosts. Sadly."

The diagnosis came when he was a teenager, from visits to psychiatrists and psychologists. That was followed by dark times, which included depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts as he struggled with his own preconceived notions around schizoaffective disorder and mental illness.

"I was one of those people that had this perspective of, 'these people are crazy, these people are dangerous, these people are delusional, you got to be away from them,'" he recalls.

Talking openly about his condition and his treatment – which includes medicine and therapy – and then winning the NPR contest has also helped his family, he says.

After NPR gave Vargas Arango the news, he calls his parents to tell them. Through tears, his mom, Olga Arango, tells him in Spanish that she's crying from joy, from happiness.

"She says she admires me," Vargas Arango translates.

His mom says hearing about his podcast and his success has changed her perception of mental illness: "I know that God gave me a really beautiful person, and everyday I tell him not to change."

Not changing, Michael says, is the biggest lesson he learned in telling his story. He says he's no longer scared to tell people who he really is.

"You need to be honest. You need to embrace who you are and what you're living with. Everyone's going through their own stuff."

Listen to Michael's podcast here .

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 9-8-8, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

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David Wallace-Wells

Are smartphones driving our teens to depression.

By David Wallace-Wells

Opinion Writer

Here is a story. In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, initiating the smartphone revolution that would quickly transform the world. In 2010, it added a front-facing camera, helping shift the social-media landscape toward images, especially selfies. Partly as a result, in the five years that followed, the nature of childhood and especially adolescence was fundamentally changed — a “great rewiring,” in the words of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt — such that between 2010 and 2015 mental health and well-being plummeted and suffering and despair exploded, particularly among teenage girls.

For young women, rates of hospitalization for nonfatal self-harm in the United States, which had bottomed out in 2009, started to rise again, according to data reported to the C.D.C., taking a leap beginning in 2012 and another beginning in 2016, and producing , over about a decade, an alarming 48 percent increase in such emergency room visits among American girls ages 15 to 19 and a shocking 188 percent increase among girls ages 10 to14.

Here is another story. In 2011, as part of the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a new set of guidelines that recommended that teenage girls should be screened annually for depression by their primary care physicians and that same year required that insurance providers cover such screenings in full. In 2015, H.H.S. finally mandated a coding change, proposed by the World Health Organization almost two decades before, that required hospitals to record whether an injury was self-inflicted or accidental — and which seemingly overnight nearly doubled rates for self-harm across all demographic groups. Soon thereafter, the coding of suicidal ideation was also updated. The effect of these bureaucratic changes on hospitalization data presumably varied from place to place. But in one place where it has been studied systematically, New Jersey, where 90 percent of children had health coverage even before the A.C.A., researchers have found that the changes explain nearly all of the state’s apparent upward trend in suicide-related hospital visits, turning what were “essentially flat” trendlines into something that looked like a youth mental health “crisis.”

Could both of these stories be partially true? Of course: Emotional distress among teenagers may be genuinely growing while simultaneous bureaucratic and cultural changes — more focus on mental health, destigmatization, growing comfort with therapy and medication — exaggerate the underlying trends. (This is what Adriana Corredor-Waldron, a co-author of the New Jersey study, believes — that suicidal behavior is distressingly high among teenagers in the United States and that many of our conventional measures are not very reliable to assess changes in suicidal behavior over time.) But over the past several years, Americans worrying over the well-being of teenagers have heard much less about that second story, which emphasizes changes in the broader culture of mental illness, screening guidelines and treatment, than the first one, which suggests smartphones and social-media use explain a whole raft of concerns about the well-being of the country’s youth.

When the smartphone thesis first came to prominence more than six years ago, advanced by Haidt’s sometime collaborator Jean Twenge, there was a fair amount of skepticism from scientists and social scientists and other commentators: Were teenagers really suffering that much? they asked. How much in this messy world could you pin on one piece of technology anyway? But some things have changed since then, including the conventional liberal perspective on the virtues of Big Tech, and, in the past few years, as more data has rolled in and more red flags have been raised about American teenagers — about the culture of college campuses, about the political hopelessness or neuroticism or radicalism or fatalism of teenagers, about a growing political gender divide, about how often they socialize or drink or have sex — a two-part conventional wisdom has taken hold across the pundit class. First, that American teenagers are experiencing a mental health crisis; second, that it is the fault of phones.

“Smartphones and social media are destroying children’s mental health,” the Financial Times declared last spring. This spring, Haidt’s new book on the subject, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, debuted at the top of the New York Times best-seller list. In its review of the book, The Guardian described the smartphone as “a pocket full of poison,” and in an essay , The New Yorker accepted as a given that Gen Z was in the midst of a “mental health emergency” and that “social media is bad for young people.” “Parents could see their phone-obsessed children changing and succumbing to distress,” The Wall Street Journal reflected . “Now we know the true horror of what happened.”

But, well, do we? Over the past five years, “Is it the phones?” has become “It’s probably the phones,” particularly among an anxious older generation processing bleak-looking charts of teenage mental health on social media as they are scrolling on their own phones. But however much we may think we know about how corrosive screen time is to mental health, the data looks murkier and more ambiguous than the headlines suggest — or than our own private anxieties, as parents and smartphone addicts, seem to tell us.

What do we really know about the state of mental health among teenagers today? Suicide offers the most concrete measure of emotional distress, and rates among American teenagers ages 15 to 19 have indeed risen over the past decade or so, to about 11.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2021 from about 7.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2009. But the American suicide epidemic is not confined to teenagers. In 2022, the rate had increased roughly as much since 2000 for the country as a whole, suggesting a national story both broader and more complicated than one focused on the emotional vulnerabilities of teenagers to Instagram. And among the teenagers of other rich countries, there is essentially no sign of a similar pattern. As Max Roser of Our World in Data recently documented , suicide rates among older teenagers and young adults have held roughly steady or declined over the same time period in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Norway and Belgium. In Sweden there were only very small increases.

Is there a stronger distress signal in the data for young women? Yes, somewhat. According to an international analysis by The Economist, suicide rates among young women in 17 wealthy countries have grown since 2003, by about 17 percent, to a 2020 rate of 3.5 suicides per 100,000 people. The rate among young women has always been low, compared with other groups, and among the countries in the Economist data set, the rate among male teenagers, which has hardly grown at all, remains almost twice as high. Among men in their 50s, the rate is more than seven times as high.

In some countries, we see concerning signs of convergence by gender and age, with suicide rates among young women growing closer to other demographic groups. But the pattern, across countries, is quite varied. In Denmark, where smartphone penetration was the highest in the world in 2017, rates of hospitalization for self-harm among 10- to 19-year-olds fell by more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2016. In Germany, there are today barely one-quarter as many suicides among women between 15 and 20 as there were in the early 1980s, and the number has been remarkably flat for more than two decades. In the United States, suicide rates for young men are still three and a half times as high as for young women, the recent increases have been larger in absolute terms among young men than among young women, and suicide rates for all teenagers have been gradually declining since 2018. In 2022, the latest year for which C.D.C. data is available, suicide declined by 18 percent for Americans ages 10 to 14 and 9 percent for those ages 15 to 24.

None of this is to say that everything is fine — that the kids are perfectly all right, that there is no sign at all of worsening mental health among teenagers, or that there isn’t something significant and even potentially damaging about smartphone use and social media. Phones have changed us, and are still changing us, as anyone using one or observing the world through them knows well. But are they generating an obvious mental health crisis?

The picture that emerges from the suicide data is mixed and complicated to parse. Suicide is the hardest-to-dispute measure of despair, but not the most capacious. But while rates of depression and anxiety have grown strikingly for teenagers in certain parts of the world, including the U.S., it’s tricky to disentangle those increases from growing mental-health awareness and destigmatization, and attempts to measure the phenomenon in different ways can yield very different results.

According to data Haidt uses, from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the percent of teenage girls reporting major depressive episodes in the last year grew by about 50 percent between 2005 and 2017, for instance, during which time the share of teenage boys reporting the same grew by roughly 75 percent from a lower level. But in a biannual C.D.C. survey of teenage mental health, the share of teenagers reporting that they had been persistently sad for a period of at least two weeks in the past year grew from only 28.5 percent in 2005 to 31.5 percent in 2017. Two different surveys tracked exactly the same period, and one showed an enormous increase in depression while the other showed almost no change at all.

And if the rise of mood disorders were a straightforward effect of the smartphone, you’d expect to see it everywhere smartphones were, and, as with suicide, you don’t. In Britain, the share of young people who reported “feeling down” or experiencing depression grew from 31 percent in 2012 to 38 percent on the eve of the pandemic and to 41 percent in 2021. That is significant, though by other measures British teenagers appear, if more depressed than they were in the 2000s, not much more depressed than they were in the 1990s.

Overall, when you dig into the country-by-country data, many places seem to be registering increases in depression among teenagers, particularly among the countries of Western Europe and North America. But the trends are hard to disentangle from changes in diagnostic patterns and the medicalization of sadness, as Lucy Foulkes has argued , and the picture varies considerably from country to country. In Canada , for instance, surveys of teenagers’ well-being show a significant decline between 2015 and 2021, particularly among young women; in South Korea rates of depressive episodes among teenagers fell by 35 percent between 2006 and 2018.

Because much of our sense of teenage well-being comes from self-reported surveys, when you ask questions in different ways, the answers vary enormously. Haidt likes to cite data collected as part of an international standardized test program called PISA, which adds a few questions about loneliness at school to its sections covering progress in math, science and reading, and has found a pattern of increasing loneliness over the past decade. But according to the World Happiness Report , life satisfaction among those ages 15 to 24 around the world has been improving pretty steadily since 2013, with more significant gains among women, as the smartphone completed its global takeover, with a slight dip during the first two years of the pandemic. An international review published in 2020, examining more than 900,000 adolescents in 36 countries, showed no change in life satisfaction between 2002 and 2018.

“It doesn’t look like there’s one big uniform thing happening to people’s mental health,” said Andrew Przybylski, a professor at Oxford. “In some particular places, there are some measures moving in the wrong direction. But if I had to describe the global trend over the last decade, I would say there is no uniform trend showing a global crisis, and, where things are getting worse for teenagers, no evidence that it is the result of the spread of technology.”

If Haidt is the public face of worry about teenagers and phones, Przybylski is probably the most prominent skeptic of the thesis. Others include Amy Orben, at the University of Cambridge, who in January told The Guardian, “I think the concern about phones as a singular entity are overblown”; Chris Ferguson, at Stetson University, who is about to publish a new meta-analysis showing no relationship between smartphone use and well-being; and Candice Odgers, of the University of California, Irvine, who published a much-debated review of Haidt in Nature, in which she declared “the book’s repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children’s brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness is not supported by science.”

Does that overstate the case? In a technical sense, I think, no: There may be some concerning changes in the underlying incidence of certain mood disorders among American teenagers over the past couple of decades, but they are hard to separate from changing methods of measuring and addressing mental health and mental illness. There isn’t great data on international trends in teenage suicide — but in those places with good reporting, the rates are generally not worsening — and the trends around anxiety, depression and well-being are ambiguous elsewhere in the world. And the association of those local increases with the rise of the smartphone, while now almost conventional wisdom among people like me, is, among specialists, very much a contested claim. Indeed, even Haidt, who has also emphasized broader changes to the culture of childhood , estimated that social media use is responsible for only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the variation in teenage well-being — which would be a significant correlation, given the complexities of adolescent life and of social science, but is also a much more measured estimate than you tend to see in headlines trumpeting the connection. And many others have arrived at much smaller estimates still.

But this all also raises the complicated question of what exactly we mean by “science,” in the context of social phenomena like these, and what standard of evidence we should be applying when asking whether something qualifies as a “crisis” or “emergency” and what we know about what may have caused it. There is a reason we rarely reduce broad social changes to monocausal explanations, whether we’re talking about the rapid decline of teenage pregnancy in the 2000s, or the spike in youth suicide in the late ’80s and early 1990s, or the rise in crime that began in the 1960s: Lives are far too complex to easily reduce to the influence of single factors, whether the factor is a recession or political conditions or, for that matter, climate breakdown.

To me, the number of places where rates of depression among teenagers are markedly on the rise is a legitimate cause for concern. But it is also worth remembering that, for instance, between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, diagnoses of American youth for bipolar disorder grew about 40-fold , and it is hard to find anyone who believes that change was a true reflection of underlying incidence. And when we find ourselves panicking over charts showing rapid increases in, say, the number of British girls who say they’re often unhappy or feel they are a failure, it’s worth keeping in mind that the charts were probably zoomed in to emphasize the spike, and the increase is only from about 5 percent of teenagers to about 10 percent in the first case, or from about 15 percent to about 20 percent in the second. It may also be the case, as Orben has emphasized , that smartphones and social media may be problematic for some teenagers without doing emotional damage to a majority of them. That’s not to say that in taking in the full scope of the problem, there is nothing there. But overall it is probably less than meets the eye.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Further reading (and listening):

On Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack , a series of admirable responses to critics of “The Anxious Generation” and the smartphone thesis by Haidt, his lead researcher Zach Rausch, and his sometime collaborator Jean Twenge.

In Vox, Eric Levitz weighs the body of evidence for and against the thesis.

Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie deliver a useful overview of the evidence and its limitations on the Studies Show podcast.

Five experts review the evidence for the smartphone hypothesis in The Guardian.

A Substack survey of “diagnostic inflation” and teenage mental health.

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15 men brought to military enlistment office after mass brawl in Moscow Oblast

Local security forces brought 15 men to a military enlistment office after a mass brawl at a warehouse of the Russian Wildberries company in Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast on Feb. 8, Russian Telegram channel Shot reported .

29 people were also taken to police stations. Among the arrested were citizens of Kyrgyzstan.

A mass brawl involving over 100 employees and security personnel broke out at the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal on Dec. 8.

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Formula 1: Miami Grand Prix sends cease and desist letter to prevent Donald Trump fundraiser during race

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Kentucky Derby: Mystik Dan wins in three-horse photo finish, outruns favorite Fierceness in stunning upset

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Bulls' Lonzo Ball picks up $21.4 million option for 2024-25 season amid knee concerns

Ball hasn't played since the 2021-22 season.

Anthony Edwards' arrival should have the Nuggets — and the entire league — on high alert

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Why did Musk ax the Supercharger team?

Elon Musk’s decision to dismiss much of Tesla’s Supercharger team this week came as a shock. A look at possible reasons why he did it.

Caitlin Clark catches fire from 3 in WNBA preseason debut; Arike Ogunbowale's late heroics send Wings past Fever

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA preseason debut went much like her senior year at Iowa. She hit a bunch of 3s and did so in front of a sold-out crowd.

Ex-Florida State QB and 1999 Fiesta Bowl starter Marcus Outzen dies at 46

The Seminoles lost 23-16 to Tennessee in the first-ever BCS title game.

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja survives bloody wounds and bad advice to retain flyweight belt vs. Steve Erceg

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2nd Boeing whistleblower found dead. Here's a timeline of the company's mounting problems.

This is the second Boeing whistleblower to die in the last two months.

WiseGeek Mental Health Well-Being No-Essay Scholarship

College students often face great stress. The transition to adulthood is a time of significant change and can challenge a student's emotional health and well-being.

Whether it’s the pressure to make the honor roll or just fit in with a friend group, it’s important to give students the support and guidance they need to cope with the stress of college. This is especially important given the global pandemic which has added a new set of challenges for college students to confront.

The WiseGeek Mental Health Well-Being Scholarship is meant to provide awareness to mental health challenges and assist those who have had to face those issues with a $500 award to help pay their tuition.

Winners and Finalists

Explore All Kinds of Scholarships for All Kinds of Students

The application deadline is Apr 16, 2022. Winners will be announced on May 16, 2022.

Your privacy is a top priority on the Bold.org platform, and you can find our privacy policy in full here . You may opt out of communications from Bold.org at any time, and unless we’ve first notified you and gotten your consent, you’ll never receive communication from any third parties related to personal information you give us.

Award amounts per winner are designated by the donor. Check the award amount for a detailed breakdown.

The winner will be publicly announced on May 16, 2022. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.

Award checks will be sent to the financial aid office of the winner's academic institution in their name to be applied to their tuition, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school's requirements). If the award is for a qualified educational non-tuition expense, we will work with the winner directly to distribute the award and make sure it goes towards qualified expenses.

Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to confirm their academic enrollment status. Depending on the circumstances, verification of Student ID and/or their most recent transcript will be required.

If you have any questions about this scholarship or the Bold.org platform, just email [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Yes. The terms and conditions for this scholarship can be found here .