Scholarships available to CVHS students

With college tuition increasing year by year, any financial help is welcome. One such form of help is scholarships, which don’t have to be paid back like loans.

On March 2, there is a scholarship workshop at the Castro Valley Library from 1-4 p.m. Students will receive scholarship advice, information about how to apply, and get a chance to meet the donors of the scholarships and seek tips from them.

A valuable resource and place available to students to learn more about scholarships is the Career Center. In this place overflowing with information pertaining to job opportunities, information about college, SAT and ACT information and more, much of what is need to be known about scholarships is available as well. The person that can be found in this incredibly helpful place is coordinator Melanie Small. Students are encouraged to go and talk to her to learn more about the aforementioned things.

Small advises seniors applying for scholarships to “follow directions, include all necessary information and pay attention to deadlines.”

Besides visiting the Career Center, students can also learn more about scholarships exclusively for Castro Valley students here.
Scholarships that are available to students nationwide, such as the Coles Family Foundation Scholarship and the Buick Achievers Scholarship program, are more competitive due to the larger pool of applicants. Deadlines vary; for the Coles Family Foundation Scholarship, the deadline to apply is April 1. The deadline for the Buick Achievers Scholarship program is Feb. 28.

The scholarships that are limited to CVHS and Redwood High School seniors only have a smaller applicant pool. The CVHS senior class has about 700 people, and odds of receiving a scholarship are greatly increased when the applicant pool is smaller. However, students are encouraged to apply for all scholarships, no matter what the odds of winning it are.

“The only way to know for sure is if you apply,” said counselor Duane Magno. “Start early in February, March, and April. Don’t wait until graduation.”

For Castro Valley Educational Foundation (CVEF) scholarships, there is generally only one application that needs to be completed for several different scholarships. However, there are a few exceptions that need applicants to fill out different, individual applications. Students must submit their applications for the CVEF scholarships by April 1.

Some scholarships have been there since the 1970s, while others are newer as more people are starting to give money. Other websites for finding scholarships are careercruising.com and fastweb.com.

“Everyone should apply to at least one scholarship. It’s free money. An essay might take an hour, but that hour can earn you $1,000,” said Small.