According to state officials, up to 70% of Los Angeles County public school kids may qualify for up to $1,500 in college scholarship monies.
Students throughout the state may be shocked to learn that they qualify for extra scholarship funds for college or career training through CalKIDS, the state’s automatic scholarship program for low-income public students, as financial aid and college acceptance letters arrive in the upcoming weeks.
Over the last three years, the initiative has provided public school students in L.A. County with access to more than $524 million in scholarship funding.
Students do not need to submit essays, provide proof of their GPA, or gather a list of letters of recommendation from both personal and professional sources in order to access these funds.
Students can claim their account on the CalKIDS website by simply finding their Statewide Student Identifier number, which can be obtained from their school. According to officials, the procedure just takes a few minutes.
The ScholarShare Investment Board oversees CalKIDS, the biggest child development account program in the United States. In 2022, it was created with the intention of automatically creating scholarship accounts for millions of public high school students in California.
Tuition, books, supplies, or computer equipment at recognized universities, community colleges, trade schools, and other job training programs around the nation can be paid for with scholarship money. Students can ask for the money to be sent straight to their institutions after enrolling online.
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who also serves as the chair of the ScholarShare Investment Board, remarked, “CalKIDS is an incredible resource for Los Angeles County families. Claiming a CalKIDS scholarship is the easiest step students can take on their path to higher education, and we want every eligible student to claim their scholarship account and take full advantage of this opportunity.”
According to ScholarShare Investment Board Executive Director Cassandra DiBenedetto, the scholarship accounts offer more than just monetary support. “They’re a reason to believe in the future.”
A UCLA student named Shaniya was quoted by CalKIDS in a news release on Tuesday, saying the scholarship money made a “huge difference” for her and helped her pay for essential educational expenses.
“I used my money to pay for my first housing bill, and that allowed me to save more money for the next two payments,” Shaniya stated.
In order to increase awareness of the CalKIDS initiative, state officials are expecting that local outreach and collaborations with school systems and other groups will be helpful.
Families and students are encouraged to confirm their eligibility and claim their accounts as soon as possible by going to CalKIDS.org.
