SENIOR BULLETIN #7
Scholarship and College Information
March, 2014
ADMISSION DECISIONS
· Acceptance letters are wonderful, but they don’t define you. It’s so great to have a school recognize all of your hard work and tell you that they want you to be a part of their campus community. It’s also tremendously disappointing when a school does not accept you, but remember that there are an incredible number of factors going into their decision and you’ll never really know why you did or didn’t get into a particular university. Instead of looking at admission decisions as a judgment of who you are, you would be better off reflecting on the things that really define you – how you cherish your friends, how you value your family, how you pursue your passions, how you treat those less fortunate than you, how you strive to do the right thing.
· Choose the school that is right for you. Hopefully you’re going to receive more than one acceptance letter, and that means you’ll have to start spending some serious time thinking about which school will work out best for you. Don’t give in to the temptation to just pick the school that has the most prestige or name recognition unless that truly is the best fit for you. In the short term, you and your parents will have the thrill of saying you’re going there, but bear in mind that you’ll be spending at least four years of life in this place. Consider factors like the size of the student body, average class size, weather, majors, and the surrounding community when deciding if a school is the one for you. Remember, there is still time to visit schools and there is no substitute for walking around a campus and speaking with students and observing classes to help you see if it’s the right school for you.
· You had your chance to drop classes. If you’re doing poorly in a class and you chose not to drop it when you had the opportunity, then it’s time to live up to your choice and do as well as possible. Remember – schools have the right to rescind an offer of admission because of D’s or F’s or even a lower overall performance. You don’t want to receive a letter from UC stating: “Regretfully, I must withdraw our offer of admission because you did not meet the conditions of admission. In particular, you failed to successfully complete your senior year with satisfactory grades.”
· Appeals to a UC should only occur if there is an error or “compelling new information” that will dramatically alter your application. If you didn’t get into the UC of your choice, don’t appeal just because you hope they’ll like your application better when they read it in April than they did when they read it in December. Overturning an admission decision is “extremely rare.”
FINANCIAL AID
· If your family’s financial situation has changed (e.g. – a parent has lost a job, your parents have declared bankruptcy), notify the financial aid offices of the schools to which you have applied immediately. It could alter the financial aid packages they will offer you.
· The Middle Class Scholarship was recently enacted by the California State Legislature to make college more affordable for middle class families. It begins with the 2014-15 school year and is aimed at reducing CSU and UC fees by 10-40% for “families with incomes too high to qualify for existing financial aid programs but still unable to afford the fees without relying heavily on student loans.” CSU and UC students who have filled out the FAFSA and California GPA verification form are automatically awarded the Middle Class Scholarship if they meet all the requirements. If you haven’t filled out the FAFSA yet, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov right now! The California state deadline for the FAFSA is March 2nd, 2014.
· The UC Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan “will cover your system-wide fees if you are a California resident whose family earns less than $80,000 a year and you qualify for financial aid.” Similar to the Middle Class Scholarship, UC students are automatically considered for this program if they complete their FAFSA and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form.
SCHOLARSHIPS
· Diamond Bar Black Women’s Association – Students can win a $500 scholarship. To be eligible, the applicant must be an African-American graduating from a local high school with at least a 2.5 GPA and plans to attend an institution of higher learning. Pick up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Application packages including letters of recommendation must be postmarked no later than April 21, 2014 to be received by April 25, 2014.
· META Scholarship – The META (Making Education the Answer) scholarship “provides students up to $7,500, payable over four years.” Applicants must have a 3.0 minimum GPA, “come from families at or below 60% of the area’s median family income, based on family size,” be in the process of applying to a four-year college, and be a “U.S. citizen or Legal Resident of Hispanic origin.” For more information, please go to www.meta-foundation.org. Application deadline is April 30th, 2014.
· Through the Looking Glass Scholarship – This scholarship is specifically for students who “have at least one parent with a disability.” A total of fifteen $1000 scholarships will be awarded for fall of 2014. For more information and an application, go to www.lookingglass.org/scholarship. Applications must be postmarked by March 17th, 2014.
· Dr. Ko Scholarship – The Southern California Monte Jade Science and Technology Association is offering the Dr. Ko Future Entrepreneurs Scholarship. The purpose of the program is to foster leadership and entrepreneurism in students, and they say they have $15,000 worth of scholarships to award. For more information and an application, please visit www.scmj.org/scholarship. Email the completed application package to the address on the website on or before March 21st, 2014.
· Council of African American Parents (CAAP) Scholarship – “Successful candidates must be African American,… possess a minimum GPA of 2.0,… and exemplify CAAP’s educational, social, and cultural values through participation and/or achievement in related activities.” Pick-up an application in Mr. Desmond’s office. Completed applications must be postmarked by Friday, April 18th, 2014.
· Taiwanese-American Citizens League Scholarship – The Los Angeles chapter of this organization is offering multiple $500 awards in LA County. This scholarship is open to all juniors and seniors regardless of race, national origin, citizenship, or financial needs. They are looking for well-rounded college bound seniors who have demonstrated leadership skills, extracurricular activity involvement, community service, and academic achievement. A few copies are available in Mr. Desmond’s office, or the entire application package can be downloaded from http://www.tacl.org. Application must be received by March 31st, 2014.
· Scholarship Database – A former parent was kind enough to send us a compilation of scholarships, and it has so many listed it’s just too big to include in the Senior Bulletin. A hard copy of this database is available in the Guidance Office for your perusal.
· Don’t forget that you can research scholarships on your own!