We list 3 fully Funded High School Scholarships for Nigerian Students in the United States, with the deadline, study level and eligibility of each one taken from the award's own terms. 1 state eligibility that includes Nigerian applicants. Awards with a known closing date are listed soonest first.
United States
Written from the 3 awards on this page — every figure below is counted from what the awards themselves state. 5 min read.
This page collects 3 fully funded high school scholarships in the United States open to Nigerian students. Every award here is labelled fully funded by the provider, and every one sits at the high school level. The list is short, and that is the point: high school funding for international students in the US is a narrow field, so the useful work is not browsing a long page but reading three entries properly and deciding whether any of them fits the stage you are at.
Two of the three providers are foundations — the ACI Foundation and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation — and one is listed under American Colleges. Each award appears once on the page, with its own deadline and its own requirements.
All three are marked fully funded, which means the provider covers the cost of study rather than asking you to find the balance. Beyond that label, the brief is specific about only two things: 1 of the awards names living costs in its own text, and 1 names accommodation. Those are the only two benefits stated in writing by any award on this page.
Where an award does not spell out its benefits, this page does not fill in the gaps. Tuition, flights, books, stipends, insurance and visa fees are not listed here unless the provider says so. Read the award page itself before you assume anything is included, and if the wording is vague, email the provider and ask for a written breakdown.
Of the three awards, 1 states that Nigerians may apply. Within that one, Nigeria or the West African region is not named in the eligibility text, and the award carries no nationality restriction — so the door is open on nationality grounds. For the other 2, eligibility is not stated on the award at all. That is not a refusal. It means the information is missing, and the only way to resolve it is to ask the provider directly.
Do not read silence as permission, and do not read it as a ban. Send a short, plain email: state your nationality, the qualification you hold, and ask whether you are eligible to apply for the coming cycle. Keep the reply.
This is a high school level list, so the entry point is your secondary school record. A Nigerian applicant typically arrives with WAEC or NECO results, and sometimes with a B.Sc, HND or M.Sc already in hand. Where an award sits at high school level, your WAEC or NECO result is the document that matters most, and it needs to be a strong one.
If you already hold a degree and are looking at awards that accept degree holders, note that the levels attached to the awards on this page vary — the entries here carry labels such as Undergraduate, Masters, PhD and Postdoctoral alongside the high school listing. Read the individual award page to see which level it actually funds in the coming cycle.
The brief records three requirements across the awards on this page:
These are what the awards state in writing, not a universal checklist. Where an English test is required, budget for it early: test fees, a test date that suits your timeline, and the cost of sending scores to the provider. Where a degree class is named, the wording matters — a Nigerian transcript states a class or a CGPA, and providers sometimes need that translated into their own terms. Ask your department for a clear statement of your class and keep a scanned copy.
Letters of recommendation take the longest to arrange. Approach your referees weeks before the deadline, give them your CV and a short note on what the award funds, and follow up politely. Courier costs for transcripts and sealed envelopes are yours to carry, so build that into your budget from the start.
All 3 awards on this page carry a date, all 3 are still open, and all 3 recur. None are undated. The busiest months are November, with 2 deadlines, and February, with 1.
The three closing soonest are:
Because these recur, a missed cycle is not the end of the road. If November passes you by, the same award is likely to open again the following year. Use the gap to fix whatever held you back — a test score, a stronger reference, a clearer transcript.
The brief records two duration notes across the awards: one award states that fellowship recipients are eligible to apply, and one states a period of 3 academic years. Where a duration is not stated, treat it as unknown and ask the provider how many years the funding runs and what happens after it ends.
This matters for planning. A high school award that covers a set number of years leaves you to fund the remainder yourself, and US living costs are not small. Ask, in writing, what the award covers in year one and what it covers in the final year.
Nigeria is a significant source of students in the United States. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 16,632 Nigerian students were studying in the United States in 2023, placing Nigeria second among sending countries. That figure describes students already there across all levels — it is not a count of high school scholarship holders, and it does not tell you your odds. It does tell you that the pathway is well travelled and that admissions offices in the US have seen Nigerian WAEC and NECO results before.
Start with the award that closes soonest. Open the ACI Foundation and Jack Kent Cooke pages, read the eligibility text line by line, and write down every document you would need to produce. Then check the Jefferson Scholars page, which gives you until February.
Where eligibility is not stated, email the provider this week rather than next month. Ask three questions: am I eligible as a Nigerian applicant, what exactly does the award cover, and which documents must arrive by the deadline. Keep the replies. If an English test is required, book it now — test slots fill and scores take time to reach the provider.
Finally, gather your paper early. WAEC or NECO results, transcripts, a clear statement of your degree class if you hold one, and referees who have agreed in advance. The awards on this page are few, the deadlines are fixed, and the applications reward the applicant who started the paperwork before the month the deadline falls in.
Studying in the United States is a dream for many international students due to its world-class universities, cutting-edge research opportunities, and global recognition. However, the high cost of tuition, living expenses, and travel can be a significant hurdle. Fortunately, a wide range of fully funded and partially funded scholarships are available specifically for international students, offered by US universities, government initiatives, and private organizations. These programs can cover tuition fees, living stipends, health insurance, and even airfare, depending on the scholarship type. Below is a comprehensive list of the top 10 scholarships in the USA for international students for 2026–2027, including opportunities for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. By applying to these scholarships, you can access world-class education while minimizing financial burdens and focusing on academic and professional growth.
*UNESCO Institute for Statistics, inbound internationally mobile students from Nigeria, 2023.
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