More than 60 Sacramento-area high school students are getting some help paying for higher education after receiving grant-funded scholarships through programs designed to help young people with financial need prepare for and enter college. The students received scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,250 during a special ceremony held May 13 at the California Secretary of State Auditorium.
The Sacramento California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) Consortium hosted the Sacramento Scholars Award Ceremony. Cal-SOAP awarded 36 scholarships, ranging from $1,500 to $2,250, to local high school students. The students were selected from nearly 750 students who received intensive advising services beginning in their junior year.
An additional 28 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 $176,000 in renewal scholarships to continuing college students.
The Sacramento Cal-SOAP directly serves students in 30 middle schools and high schools throughout Sacramento, Colusa, Sutter, and Yuba counties. The project provides tutoring services to students and delivers a college and financial aid advising program to approximately 8,500 students in 13 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.