The California Scholarship Federation, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that recognizes academic excellence in High School Students.
In order to become a member, students must submit an application at the beginning of each semester reflecting the previous semester's grades. Membership for the semester is always based on grades from the previous semester. Students must apply every semester for which they want to be a member of CSF. To secure eligibility for membership, a student must earn sufficient points from the pre-approved course list.
Seniors achieve Life Membership (Sealbearer status at graduation) if they have been a member of CSF for four semesters from sophomore year through senior year. A senior must qualify for membership in at least one semester of the senior year even if they have four prior semesters of membership To earn life status, one semester must be based on grades earned in the senior year. A senior needing one additional semester to qualify for Sealbearer may use final grades in the last semester of senior year if they qualify and complete a CSF application in May/June. Students who meet this qualification will earn the CSF Gold Seal on their diploma and wear gold cords during the graduation ceremony. These students are also eligible to be nominated by the chapter adviser for the Seymour Memorial Awards.
Seniors will be notified of their Lifetime Membership status within two weeks of the spring membership drive. Seniors who qualify for lifetime membership from their fall semester will be invited to a luncheon hosted by COS in honor of their achievements. Potential lifetime members, seniors who need their spring semester to qualify, will be asked to apply one week before graduation when their final grades are due.
Membership is neither automatic nor compulsory. Students must apply each semester they are eligible to maintain membership. Applications must be processed during the first four weeks of the semester. Unless otherwise indicated, Redwood's membership drive will always occur during the third week of the semester.
The By-Laws (Article IV, Section 2) and every chapter's mandatory Standing Rules (Article III, Section 3) require that the eligible student actually apply for membership, and retroactive membership (after the deadline) is prohibited.
An active member not only fulfills the academic requirements for CSF membership, but also participates in chapter activities at a level predetermined by the chapter adviser and officers; it is expected that such participation should exemplify the CSF motto of "Scholarship for Service."
Inactive members are still entitled to consideration for the required awards (Article VI, Section 1), but may be excluded from other optional awards and chapter privileges (e.g., field trips, banquets, chapter scholarships, etc.). A student might be considered an "inactive member" if they had previously qualified for membership, but didn't qualify for membership during one of the semesters between the sophomore and senior years.
