There are many different places to source potential scholarships. Although most scholarship applications will occur during senior year, scholarship searching and planning can begin as early as freshmen year. There are also some scholarships you may be able to apply to even earlier.

Usual Scholarship Sources:

• Campus-based: Awarded through colleges or career schools. Make sure you are checking the websites and applications for your intended campuses/programs to see what opportunities might be available. Often you must apply for these scholarships BEFORE you are accepted or decide on a campus. These scholarships may also be offered without an application as part of your financial aid package. For an example of CSU campus-based scholarships, see the list provided above. See Large Merit Scholarship list below for more ideas.

• Local Organizations: Foundations, religious or community organizations, local businesses, or civic groups located in our community often offer scholarships for local students. For our campus, many of these scholarships are listed in Naviance under the Scholarship List maintained by the CCC (more info below on this resource). However, you should also check in with an organizations you are affiliated with (or others in your family participate in) to see if they have scholarships available.

• Career/Discipline Organizations: This might including professional associations or other organizations related to your field of interest

• Employers, Unions, Banks: Your employer, your parent/guardians' employers, and sometimes even your grandparents' employers may offer scholarships for dependents or grandchildren. This is also true for any unions, credit unions, or organizations your family members might be members of as part of their job or otherwise.

  • • Example Companies that offer scholarships for employees or dependents of employees: Amy's, Starbuck's, Medtronic

    • Example Union Scholarships:

      • • CTE/Teachers: https://www.cta.org/for-educators/scholarships-awards/cta-scholarships

        • Multiple Unions: https://www.unionplus.org/benefits/education/union-plus-scholarships

        • School Employees: https://csea.com/chapters/645 

        • Pipe Fitters Trade Unions: http://calpipes.org/scholarship.aspx 

    • Example Credit Union Scholarship: https://www.traviscu.org/community/financial-education-free-community-events/scholarships/guidelines/

• Scholarship Websites/Applications: There are many websites and applications that can help you find scholarships. See information below for ideas.

• Google Search: Sometimes you can find great scholarship lists by searching Google. Try putting your major or other key words and the word "scholarships" into Google and see what you find! 

  • Here is an example of a great list for women wanting to study architecture that was found through a quick Google search using the search phrase "scholarships for women studying architecture": https://www.archpaper.com/2018/03/scholarships-resources-opportunities-women-architecture/ 

• Scholarship Books: There are some published books that also list scholarships. These can be handy because you can mark and make notes right in the book. One example title is The Ultimate Scholarship Book by Gen Tanabe & Kelly Tanabe.

Rancho Cotate High School offers two scholarship opportunities that are open to our students ONLY. These scholarships are open to all seniors. More information on each scholarship and the application is located below.

IMPORTANT: All other local scholarships are listed in Naviance under "Scholarship Search."  More on how to access these below.

There is an existing list in Naviance that is currently updated with many local and regional scholarships. Please use this to research scholarship opportunities.

There are some large scholarship programs that students may want to consider. Most of these will be highly competitive because they are open nationally, but these are usually the large scholarships that are renewed for up to 4 years. These are an example of some our students have pursued in the past.

There is also existing list in Naviance that is currently updated with many local and regional scholarships. 

More ideas on large scholarship programs here: https://accessscholarships.com/blog/full-ride-scholarships/ 

There are many scholarship websites and applications available. These will often hold national scholarships and scholarships offered by companies. If you are interested in expanding your scholarship search, you can register with these sites.  

Recommendations for using scholarship websites/applications:

• Create an email address (at gmail, yahoo, etc.) you use for scholarship sites. Once you register, you may get many emails from these sites, so you don't want to overwhelm your inbox. Creating a separate email address can help with this.

• Make sure you NEVER pay to apply to a scholarship.

• Understand what you are agreeing to when you apply for scholarships. Some may use your contact information and add you to mail-lists for companies.

• IMPORTANT: The options listed below are offered as ideas but not specifically endorsed.  Make sure you are reading through the information provided for any scholarships you are applying to and accounts you are creating.