Financial Aid Opportunities
Grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships help make your college and career affordable.
Federal Aid
- Complete the Financial Aid Process: You've accomplished the most important task—submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. Find out what you need to do next.
- Federal Pell Grant: Awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate, or professional degree.
- Federal Work-Study: Provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses. The program encourages community service work and work related to the student’s course of study.
State Aid
- CSAC: California Student Aid Commission administers all state financial aid opportunities for students
- Middle Class Scholarship: For Undergraduates and Students Pursuing a Teaching Credential with family income and assets up to $201,000.
- WebGrants for Students: Create an account to access and manage your Cal Grant, Middle Class Scholarship or Chafee Grant award
- UC Blue & Gold Opportunity Plan: UC's Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan will ensure that you will not have to pay UC’s systemwide tuition and fees out of your own pocket if you are a California resident whose total family income is less than $80,000 a year and you qualify for financial aid — and that's just for starters. Blue and Gold students with sufficient financial need can qualify for even more grant aid to help reduce the cost of attending.
Resources for Undocumented and AB 540 eligible Students
CA Dream Act (CADAA): Undocumented, Dream Act-eligible students should fill out this application instead of the FAFSA. There is no need to fill out both applications.
Immigrants Rising: Support for undocumented students, including scholarship resources. Access tangible resources for immigrant communities during COVID.
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund: Extensive list of scholarships, including many that do not inquire about immigration status or require a valid social security number
THEDREAM.US: TheDream.US scholarships are for highly motivated DREAMers who want nothing more than to get a college education but are unable to afford the cost
California Dream Loan Program: The California DREAM Loan Program provides eligible undocumented AB 540 undergraduates with the option to borrow loans to help cover the cost of attending UC
*Check with college/university support programs specifically designed to assist AB540 and undocumented students
Apply for Financial Aid
Access all types of financial aid with just ONE application!
Qualify for federal, state and college/university grants and scholarships by completing either the FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application.
Submit your FAFSA or CA Dream Act Application by the spring financial aid deadline during your senior year.
OR
- CA Dream Act Application (CADAA): Undocumented, AB 540 eligible students should fill out this application instead of the FAFSA.
Scholarships & Other Resources
Popular resources for searching local and national private scholarships. Always check with your high school counselor for additional community scholarships.
STEM Scholarships for diverse students. Offering thousands of curated scholarships and financial education resources for Hispanic American, African American, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian Pacific Islander students.
Each month, Fastweb highlights a list of new college scholarships available right here on Fastweb's Featured Scholarships page. These college scholarship opportunities are a great way to supplement your scholarship search because they are often quick and easy scholarships that are easy to apply for, allowing you to apply for more scholarships and, as a result, have even more opportunities to win college scholarships!
SVCF administers scholarship programs for high school seniors, college and graduate students, re-entry students, and vocational and technical school students. Check their website for the latest updates and deadlines.
The free scholarship search is one of the most established and robust, tracking a reported $19 billion in scholarships. “It’s basically like an eHarmony site for money,” says Elizabeth Hartley, an independent education consultant and owner of Scholarship Gold Consulting. After you fill out a profile, the site will use your criteria to filter through all scholarships to generate a short list. “Based on your answers, it’ll try to match the student to scholarships that may be a fit,” Hartley says.
Chegg is a textbook website that has a scholarship search function, offering more than 25,000 scholarships. The site also offers online tutors to help students with their scholarship essays.