High school, college students time to apply
Yaira Lizarraga has her college choices down to two
– Sonoma State, where she has already been accepted or U.C.
Davis, which hasn’t sent out its letters yet. But as a high school
senior, Lizarraga still has a lot to do to get ready for higher
education, including a pile of scholarship applications.
High school, college students time to apply
Yaira Lizarraga has her college choices down to two – Sonoma State, where she has already been accepted or U.C. Davis, which hasn’t sent out its letters yet. But as a high school senior, Lizarraga still has a lot to do to get ready for higher education, including a pile of scholarship applications.
“I’ve gotten a lot of help from Mr. C [Counselor Jim Caffiero], but it is stressful,” she said. “I kind of waited until the last minute, too. It’s very stressful trying to get everything done and talking to different teachers to get letters of recommendations.”
San Benito High School students do have some resources on campus, including the Career Center, where staffers keep a binder with lists of scholarship opportunities and also maintain a Web site. SBHS students also have an opportunity to fill out one common application that can be used for 60 local scholarships, which makes it even easier on them during the stressful process.
For many, scholarships make a difference.
“I know that financially I’m not going to be able to pay for it myself,” Lizarraga said. “My mom is the only one working. My dad doesn’t have a job and I don’t want to put anymore problems on what my mom already has to pay.”
Lizarraga is working on 10 applications, including a California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) scholarship and the League of United Latin American Citizens’ scholarship.
“I’m applying for a lot of the ones that the school offers,” she said. “There is a Web site here at school that I can look at – anybody can – and it says what the requirements to apply for that scholarship are and if it fits you, you apply for that one.”
Jeanie Churchill, a career scholarship adviser at the high school, said the common application has increased the applicant pool for many local scholarship committees.
“A few years ago I created the common application because I found there were approximately 80 to 90 local scholarships and going through all of them, they were asking for the same things,” she said.
While some scholarship committees opted to keep their own application, many chose to use the common application – which requires an application form, three letters of recommendation, a personal statement, a transcript, an activity sheet and some may require additional essays.
“What happened is, now when students apply instead of getting 10 applicants, they get probably 50 applicants,” she said. “It is more work, but they have a bigger selection to draw from.”
The Career Center staff offers a workshop in January, and Churchill encouraged the students to check back to the Web site frequently for postings of new scholarships or changes in requirements. The first round of applications was due Tuesday, but many others have deadlines through May.
Churchill said the biggest challenges to students is often writing the essays and gathering all the pieces they need for the applications.
“They tend to procrastinate,” she said. “If they get their activity sheet done, that’s much like a resume, then they can present that [to those writing the recommendations]. If they get that done early and get the letters of recommendation, everything else comes into place.”
The biggest struggle for Lizarraga has been finding time to work on the applications.
“Its just trying to manage time to look for what scholarships and finding time to do everything because I still have homework from classes,” she said.
Caffeiro said many students have concerns about meeting scholarship deadlines.
“What happens is, the students don’t understand how much time and energy goes into adequately preparing,” he said. “Sometimes students are a little embarrassed to ask for a letter, especially if it is getting close to time.”
Caffeiro encourages his students to start the application process early, even as soon as their junior year.
“I show them the checklist so they can get started on it now,” he said.
Through the years, he has seen how important scholarships can be for students.
“It totally makes a difference on where they want to go,” he said. “Many families, especially now, are struggling with finances. Many don’t know where the money is going to come from to get their kids into school.”
Churchill agreed.
“It’s a relief for the family. It’s free money,” she said. “If they get student loans instead of free scholarship money, they may have a big $50,000 bill over their heads [when they graduate.]”
Gary Byrne, head of the Community Foundation for San Benito County, administers some of the local scholarships.
“Scholarships are incredibly encouraging,” he said “It rewards the students and encourages them to attend college. Many students rely on them for basic needs.”
The foundation administers several scholarships and Byrne said last year it gave out nearly 20 scholarships amounting to $25,000, including awards from the Hope for a Cure Memorial Scholarship and the Charlie Presser Memorial Scholarship, as well as some others.
“The students put a lot of time and effort into writing them,” he said. “And I know that for the Hope for a Cure and the other scholarships, the stories have been very inspiring. They are an integral part of student life.”
Students looking for scholarships can also check in with staff at the school they plan to attend.
Gavilan College has resources for students online and in its financial aid office.
“Our role is advertising scholarships on the Web site and encouraging students to apply,” said Veronica Martinez, the financial aid and scholarship director at Gavilan. “And the college also offers workshops on writing and personal statements that are required of all scholarship applicants.”
Martinez mentioned that scholarships can be based on need or merit so many students are eligible to apply.
“The most challenging thing is making time to apply for scholarships,” Martinez said.
She mentioned that for a recent scholarship deadline, 90 percent of the applications came in within the last few days.
“I think students don’t understand or aren’t knowledgeable on the scholarship process,” she said. “There is an application, a personal statement and most likely letters of recommendations from faculty or counselors. It does take some time to gather all the materials necessary and put a decent packet together.”
Online Resources
The Internet offers plenty of sources for students searching for scholarship opportunities. The best place to start is the San Benito High School Career Center site, or the Gavilan College Financial Aid site for those who will be attending the school.
There are also free online directories, but Veronica Martinez, the financial aid and scholarship director at Gavilan College, warned that students should be careful not to get scammed.
“No one should require a processing fee,” she said.
– San Benito High School Career Center Web site – contains requirements for many local scholarships as well as the common application and links to some scholarships that require their own application.
www.sbhsd.k12.ca.us/~scholarship/career%20center%20webpage.htm
– Gavilan College Finacial Aid Web site – contains requirements for some local scholarships and links
to download applications.
www.gavilan.edu/finaid
– Free online scholarship
www.fastweb.com
www.srnexpress.com
www.collegeboard.com/pay
