Best Scholarship Movies & TV Shows

When Emilia and her daughter Sophie are left in an unexpected, dire financial situation, they discover an intriguing option to pay for Sophie’s college—entering a regional Mother[1]Daughter beauty pageant with a lucrative scholarship prize. But they don’t realize a competing mother-daughter team are willing to go to disturbing and dangerous lengths to win the crown.

So much more than simply the story of the Thanksgiving meal, the epic saga of the Pilgrims is one of the fundamental narratives of our nation. This ambitious documentary presents the definitive history of the Pilgrims and their journey to and colonization of the New World. A marriage of feature-film quality historical reenactments with the latest scholarship and analysis of original source material, this definitive look at the Pilgrims' progress will shed light on the reality of their experience.

A searing commentary on the "win at all costs" mentality of American high school sports. David Lee Birdsong is the smalltown quarterback hoping to escape with a college scholarship and a pro career. David's father is the overbearing taskmaster vicariously living through his son. The third side of the triangle is Coach Marshall, a hypercritical and cruel man who sees David as the key to his future success. David's lockstep commitment to his father and coach is altered when he witnesses a teammate die after a grueling practice.

Eda, who ties all her hopes to her education, confronts Serkan Bolat, who cuts off her international education scholarship and leaves her with high school diploma. Serkan Bolat offers Eda to give her scholarship back if she pretends to be his fiance for two months. Although Eda rejects the offer of this man as she hates him, she has to accept it when the conditions change. While pretending to be engaged, Serkan and Eda begin to experience a passionate, challenging relationship that will make them forget all they know right. Because love is difficult. And that's why it's amazing.

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.

Based on a True Story War Eagle, Arkansas is a character-driven drama about a young man’s choice of whether to leave his family and friends for a career in baseball or stay and redeem his struggling community. The story takes place over a few pivotal weeks in the summer after Enoch Cass’s senior year, and is set against the backdrop of Arkansas’ beautiful Ozark Mountains. War Eagle, Arkansas poses important questions that face all young people in rural America. The answers we find could touch us all.

Upon returning to Los Angeles to attend his father's funeral, Damon (Alexander) soon learns that in order to claim his share of the family inheritance he must work alongside his brother, Mookie (Kain) — a former drug-dealer who had previously cost Damon a college scholarship — in keeping the family's long-running gas station in business for at least one year. As the siblings repeatedly butt heads over matters both great and small, they soon come to realize that it takes more than money to hold a family together.

Features a dozen promising girl and boy dancers, ages 6 through 13, competing for a $100,000 cash prize and a scholarship to the Young Dancer Program at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York.

Katie, a 17-year-old, has been sheltered since childhood and confined to her house during the day by a rare disease that makes even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly. Fate intervenes when she meets Charlie and they embark on a summer romance.

After receiving a scholarship from the state, a recent Columbia University medical school graduate is required to set up his practice in an eccentric Alaskan town.

A young man in Los Angeles dreams of striking it big as a singer in the music business. One day he gets signed to a big record contract, but along with the fame and money he develops an addiction to the drug PCP.

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Pre-law student Marti Perkins' world is flipped upside down when she loses her scholarship, and realizes the only way she can stay in school is by reigniting her dormant teen gymnastic skills to win a place on Lancer University's legendary cheerleading team.

Based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach Ken Carter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

Zed and Addison are beginning their final year at Seabrook High in the town that’s become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is anticipating an athletic scholarship that will make him the first Zombie to attend college, while Addison is gearing up for Seabrook’s first international cheer-off competition. Then suddenly, extraterrestrial beings appear around Seabrook, provoking something other than friendly competition.

Set against the backdrop of a high school football season, Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s documentary UNDEFEATED is an intimate chronicle of three underprivileged student-athletes from inner-city Memphis and the volunteer coach trying to help them beat the odds on and off the field. For players and coaches alike, the season will be not only about winning games — it will be about how they grapple with the unforeseeable events that are part of football and part of life.

Reeling from his mother’s death and his father’s abandonment, Zach, an All-State athlete, finds glory on the football field, working to earn a college scholarship and the brothers’ ticket out of town. When a devastating injury puts Zach—and his dreams—on the sidelines, David laces up his track cleats to salvage their future and point Zach toward hope.

Yei!— Is what Gina says in positive situations or simply whenever she is happy. She has won a scholarship to the prestigious Caribbean Music Institute (CMI) on the island of Puerto Rico, the best place in the world to study Latin music and the birthplace of the successful reggaeton thanks to her lyric-writing abilities. Gina is a cheerful, energetic, and creative girl who loves writing. Her ultimate dream is to write songs.

When a teacher reads an essay written by Morgan Evans, one of the boys, moved by his rough poetry she decides to hold classes in her house and believes that Morgan is smart enough to attend Oxford.

Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.

The journey of a young African American girl who navigated over 30 foster homes and psychiatric facilities before age 18, and the one woman, Jeanne, who believed in her. After Jeanne’s unsuccessful attempt to adopt Regina due to a racially motivated ruling, their bond is forced apart.

A gifted teenager, dreaming of life beyond her small town, becomes inspired when a 15-year-old girl from New York moves in next door.

Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.

When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.

Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.

Brace yourselves - the new kids are here. Five talented black scholarship students, and an elite private school with a reputation problem. One of them will have to change...

Seth, 18, and his sister, 6, are orphaned. The girl of his dreams is stolen away. Holding onto faith and his dream, Seth lives frugally and wisely. In the end, he gives the ultimate sacrifice to obtain the prize.

Wanda Pratt works tirelessly to raise three children, including future NBA basketball player Kevin Durant.

Courtney Bennett, a former US figure skating hopeful, runs the city’s public skating rink but when the Mayor announces its closing, Courtney is heartbroken but determined to save it. After Courtney’s attempts to warm the Mayor’s Scrooge-like heart fail, she enlists the help of Noah Tremblay, a former professional hockey player and single dad, who owns the new indoor skating center, to help her, and together they find more than just the spirit of holidays on the ice.

Cindy Cathcart is a student out of place at an exclusive Swiss finishing school, Von Pupsin Academy. A poor orphan, Cindy is attending on a scholarship, and is resented by her snobby peers as well as Fraulein Stinkenschmidt. She soon finds allies: her British roommate, an outgoing Texan, Lulu Belle, an Italian Mafiosi's daughter, Isabella, and most crucial, the school's headmistress, Countess Von Pupsin.

After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.

The team of people who saved Winter's life reassemble in the wake of her surrogate mother's passing in order to find her a companion so she can remain at the Clearwater Marine Hospital.

Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud has the adoration of his mother Claire and his little brother Sam, as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when a tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. After his high-school classmate Tess returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. And as he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.

A working-class boy wins a scholarship to a public school, as part of a post-World War Two experiment in bringing boys of different social classes together.

The Rizzos, a family who doesn't share their habits, aspirations, and careers with one another, find their delicate web of lies disturbed by the arrival of a young ex-con brought home by Vince, the patriarch of the family, who is a corrections officer in real life, and a hopeful actor in private.

Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.

Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with an up and coming dancer, Nora.

A talented street drummer from Harlem enrolls in a Southern university, expecting to lead its marching band's drumline to victory. He initially flounders in his new world, before realizing that it takes more than talent to reach the top.

A guy who danced with what could be the girl of his dreams at a costume ball only has one hint at her identity: the Zune she left behind as she rushed home in order to make her curfew. And with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of him, he sets out to find his masked beauty.

Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a company scholarship which will enable him to attend Yale college. Over the four years of his college career he learns about football, love, and class prejudice.

'Carry On' director Gerald Thomas helms this comedy caper featuring early appearances by James Robertson Justice, Sid James, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser and Eric Barker. The film follows the hi-jinks of a group of music students who move into a shared flat in order to cut costs and have somewhere to practice their instruments. Things get tricky when Mervyn Hughes (Phillips) accidentally sells one of his compositions to an advertising agency and risks losing his scholarship. Can he and his friends find a way to raise the money to buy back the song rights?

A group of teens discover secret plans of a time machine, and construct one. However, things start to get out of control.

Rebecca, a respected teacher at a private girls school, has her life turned upside down when a new scholarship student arrives who might be the daughter she gave up for adoption seventeen years ago.

A concert violinist becomes charmed with his daughter's talented piano teacher. When he invites her to go on tour with him, they make beautiful music away from the concert hall as well. He soon leaves his wife so the two can go off together.

Tracy and Nick agree to set aside work to make time for a long overdue honeymoon to Greece. However, they soon find themselves confronting life choices when they get stranded on a secluded island.

Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent, student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club. Students Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa in to count cards at blackjack.

When rebellious street dancer Andie lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the schools hottest dancer, Chase, to form a crew of classmate outcasts to compete in Baltimore s underground dance battle The Streets.

At an exclusive country club, an ambitious young caddy, Danny Noonan, eagerly pursues a caddy scholarship in hopes of attending college and, in turn, avoiding a job at the lumber yard. In order to succeed, he must first win the favour of the elitist Judge Smails, and then the caddy golf tournament which Smails sponsors.

Interior designer Reilly finds herself this Christmas in the town of Mistletoe Lake with no place to stay. She accepts an offer from Ray to stay in his boat, helping him renovate the boat for the town's Christmas Harbor Festival.

Ostracized at a snooty private school because of her rural, poor background, a scholarship student is tormented to the point where her only remaining recourse is revenge, using the only method she knows: her psychic control over snakes!