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Scholarship / Competition Resources

Tips:

  • Save all essays onto a google doc so that you can reuse them. The first few scholarship essays are the hardest, but over time you'll be able to just copy and paste saved essays with just a few modifications because you'll see similar questions appearing multiple times.

  • APUSH students, you can use your school essays to help with the occasional U.S. history related scholarship/writing competition that pops up.

  • Don't rely on the lottery scholarships, they're created to gather people's emails and there's a very low chance of winning.

  • Never pay money to enter a scholarship, that's guaranteed to be a scam.

  • If you win a recurring scholarship you can apply again next time with a similar essay.

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Below, we've listed some scholarship databases, including the CVHS college and career center for you to get started.

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Good luck!

Scholarship Databases

These databases are your best bet for finding detailed info on scholarships. However, some will require you to make an account and give your email to view them, so make sure to use a spam account to avoid getting your personal email flooded with promotions.

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  • scholarships.com  (has lots of unique categories and subcategories to focus on less competitive scholarships)​

  • College Board  (also has info on college planning, financial aid options, and career exploration)

  • Fastweb  (gathers data from smaller directories in addition to larger ones)

  • careeronestop  (government-sponsored database)

Also:

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  •  Whatever college you're going to may also have internal scholarships for you.

  • We have local CVEF scholarships opening on January.

  • Our own CVHS Career Center is also a great resource and is updated frequently.

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As for some of the many writing and art competitions:

Merit Based

Types of Scholarships

  • Essay scholarships - submit essays on a specific topic for a chance to win funding.

  • Full Ride - very competitive but worth a shot because it covers all expenses for college including tuition and often room and board.

  • Official California or federal scholarships/grants - government funded, some examples: FAFSA, National Merit Scholarship Program, or Pell Grant. 

  • Private Lottery - not recommended, low chances of winning and are designed to collect applicant info like email.

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