College will be a little more affordable for 50 Sacramento-area high school students after they were awarded grant-funded scholarships through programs designed to help young people with financial needs prepare for and enter college. The students received scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $3,500 during a special ceremony held May 17 at the California Secretary of State Auditorium.
The Sacramento Cal-SOAP Consortium (California Student Opportunity and Access Program) hosted the Sacramento Scholars Award Ceremony. Cal-SOAP awarded approximately 30 new scholarships, of at least $1,500, to local high school students. These students were selected from almost 600 students who received intensive advising services beginning in their junior year.
An additional 20 students received $1,000 Cash for College Scholarships in honor of their participation in a "Cash for College" workshop this year. In total, Sacramento Cal-SOAP plans to award more than $100,000 in new scholarships and more than $155,000 in renewal scholarships to continuing college students.
Taking part in the ceremony were Sacramento-area Assemblymember Roger Dickinson; Gabriel Medina, Field Representative for Assemblymember Dickinson; and Cat Nou, District Director for Assemblymember Mariko Yamada.
The Sacramento Cal-SOAP directly serves students in 50 middle and high schools throughout Sacramento County. The project provides tutoring services to students and delivers a college and financial aid advising program to approximately 5,300 students in nine high schools.
The scholarship awards are made possible, in part, by a generous grant from the College Access Foundation of California. The College Access Foundation of California, the largest grant-making organization of its kind in the state, helps California students who have financial need attend college. The Foundation provides millions of dollars in grants to community-based organizations that are helping students prepare for and enter institutions of higher learning.