Grantee Spotlight Archive

California Cash for College and UNITE-LA: Helping California Students Access the Most Financial Aid Possible

One of the many obstacles preventing first-generation college-bound students from achieving their educational goals is limited access to college advising and support. With a statewide average of 800 students to every high school counselor, good advice on the college application process is hard to come by. For many students, the daunting process of applying for state and federal financial aid for college is an even greater challenge. Two College Access Foundation grantees are working to change this.

California Cash for College – a program of the California Student Aid Commission, in partnership with high schools, community colleges, universities, and community groups – conducts workshops to encourage students with financial need to apply for the scholarship funding that is available to them. In 2007, California Cash for College offered workshops in more than 400 locations statewide to over 20,000 students and family members. By attending the workshops and receiving one-on-one assistance to complete their financial aid forms, these students accessed between $20 and $40 million in state and federal financial aid.

The College Access Foundation supports California Cash for College by offering “incentive scholarships” to students who participate in the program. High school seniors who attend a workshop, submit a workshop evaluation, and apply for federal and state financial aid by the state’s Cal Grant deadline are eligible for a $1,000 scholarship. In 2008, the foundation will award $500,000 in scholarships statewide to 500 students through California Cash for College. The foundation will award more than $300,000 in scholarships to Los Angeles area students participating in Cash for College workshops and activities through UNITE-LA.

“Each year we hear from students and families that they could not have completed their financial aid forms, or completed them as well, without the help provided at our workshops,” said Despina Costopoulos, statewide coordinator for California Cash for College. “The College Access Foundation scholarships provide one more good reason for students to attend.”

“When students must first apply for public aid in order to be eligible for an additional private scholarship, that creates a leveraging effect,” said Diana Fuentes-Michel, California Student Aid Commission Executive Director. “College Access Foundation is helping many students directly, but it is indirectly helping even more students by encouraging them to pursue all the aid that is available to them.”

Another College Access Foundation grantee, UNITE-LA, conducts Cash for College workshops in Los Angeles with a coalition of local organizations. “Our goal is that every single student in California will have the opportunity to go to college, regardless of financial need,” said David Rattray, president of UNITE-LA.

In 2007, UNITE-LA launched the California Cash for College Ambassador program, through which students who have received one year of scholarship support may apply for a second year of financial aid. This year, 24 students were awarded an additional $3,500 each. These “Ambassador Scholarship” recipients are tapped to promote the Cash for College program to high school seniors at high-priority high schools, at community events and in the media.

In addition to supporting incentive scholarships, the College Access Foundation’s grant to UNITE-LA has allowed the program to evaluate its progress, track workshop participants who enroll in college and those who don’t, and develop additional strategies to serve this student population.

“We want to continue to build our capacity, broaden our reach and serve more students,” said Rattray. “Cash for College passed the 500 workshops mark last year, and we are looking forward to more growth and more students successfully applying for financial aid.”

For more information on UNITE-LA, visit http://www.unitela.com/ or http://www.lacashforcollege.org.

For more information on California Cash for College, visit http://www.calgrants.org/.

Cal Grant applications are due by March 2. Visit http://www.calgrants.org/workshops to find a California Cash for College workshop near you.

For more information on College Access Foundation grants visit our Grants page. To read more College Access Foundation grantee spotlights, visit our Spotlight Archive.