Career Center tech Maria Arce helps Jacob Shull review a scholarship application. - Esi Acolatse Time to start looking for college scholarships in now for seniors Monday, October 03, 2011 By Esi Acolatse Advertising By Esi Acolatse Staff Reporter Scholarships are a great help for people wanting to go to college and would struggle to pay for it. Students have to pay for many things during high school years and that adds up to a lot of expenses, so what can they do when you go to college but they can’t pay for it?             “Scholarships!” Maria Arce said, who has worked as a Career Center technician for 16 years, “They can be a big help to kids who need the money for college.” There are many different types of scholarships, including: merit-based (based on GPA), need-based (based on need and family income), grants are funds that don’t have to be paid back and those are different from scholarships in that grants are not based on merit. There are also athletic scholarships, SAT scholarships, essay scholarships, and more. “The range of scholarship money given is directly related to its intended use for college,” Arce said. Scholarships can range from $100-$25,000 or higher. About 140 scholarships were awarded at Tracy High last year. Getting a scholarship depends on a number of factors. Students have to be on the right track for the requirements for colleges they are applying to. Also, students need to have a 3.5 GPA or higher. The SATs are a big requirement. If students do very well, they could get a full ride scholarship for college. Athletic scholarships depend on how students do at a sport. If they are really good they could get a scholarship for the sport they play. “I need a scholarship to really help me get into a fashion school because it is so expensive,” senior Adriana Jackson, who has been looking into scholarships, said. She wants to go to Parsons: The New School for Design in New York to become a fashion designer and do merchandising. “Fashion school is so expensive with all the materials and things I would need, and a scholarship would help, so I would not have so much in student fees,” Jackson said. She has been looking at many different types of scholarships and is going to apply for some. “A lot of people need scholarships and don’t know any information about them when it is right there in front of them,” Arce said. There is a list that Arce has on different types of scholarships, and it is updated regularly. By April, there will be a packet on all of them. There is also information on fastweb.com or collegeboard.com. Interested people should always check the bulletin for dates for SATs and PSATS which are on Oct 15. “There are actually a lot of seniors that come by my office to ask about scholarships and a lot have already. That’s a really good thing,” Arce said. Arce is located in the Counseling Office. She said that there have even been a lot of seniors that have come to see her because of the economic situation and they need help to pay for college. “Don’t procrastinate and wait until March,” Arce said. “I see a lot of that, and it takes a lot of effort. Some of the scholarships are very competitive, so you have to be on top of things and take it seriously.”

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