There is a misconception among many students that scholarships
are only for gifted athletes and academic stars. While it is true that there are specific scholarships tailored for those individuals, a large number of scholarships are geared toward students who carry a modest GPA. When it comes to free money for pursuing one’s educational goals, every student should investigate. Here’s the best part-there are free resources on campus to help students apply for and obtain free money.
Lorraine Rivas, second-year a social working major and one among scores of students, was honored
on Aug. 21, 2009, at Fresno City College’s scholarship awards banquet. She received
not one, but three scholarships that evening, a “single parent” scholarship and the “Fresno Hispanic Scholarship Foundation” scholarship among them. Rivas said that applying was not difficult, only having to write a personal statement essay and to submit it online. In her third semester at FCC after a two year break from high school, Rivas shows that not only freshmen are eligible for scholarships.
“Anyone can apply for FCC scholarships, from incoming
freshmen to second-year students-
if you will be attending FCC in the coming fall or spring terms,” says Cathie Johnson, Scholarship Coordinator at Fresno City College. Scholarships range in criteria, depending on the donating
foundation, and GPA requirements
range from 2.5 to 3.8. Johnson added that students applying
for scholarships in Jan. should expect their fall GPA to count. “We evaluate students’ cumulative GPA as of the end of the last fall term,” she said.
In terms of what students are typically allowed to spend their scholarship awards on, Johnson
says that these awards are for educational expenses such as tuition and fees, books, supplies,
transportation, and living expenses-although some donors may have more restrictive limits. “I will be using my scholarship money to help pay for housing costs, books, supplies, and food,” Rivas said.
There are several steps required in applying for FCC scholarships, not the least of which is the personal statement essay portion. Tabitha Villalba, coordinator for the Tutorial Center’s
Writing and Reading Center,
stated that, while tutors do not line-edit any papers, “writing tutors are available for help with brainstorming,
organizing,
and can even help with proofreading.”
Villalba
also holds workshops on how to write a winning
scholarship essay. “Students are encouraged to have a second pair of eyes-our tutors’-help them revise a paper that can be difficult to do alone,” she said. She added that these free services are typically not taken advantage of.
The other requirements for scholarship application are slightly less daunting. For high school seniors, a GPA verification form must be submitted to the FCC scholarship office. For college
students, all transcripts from all attended colleges must be on file with and evaluated by the FCC records department. Additionally, two electronic recommendations must be submitted online by individual
references.
While it may seem like a lot of work, there are additional resources available to help point students in the right direction, many of which can be found under “current students > scholarship opportunities” at www.fresnocitycollege.
edu. The application period for the 2010 academic year is Jan. 1 through March 2, 2010.