As many as 70% of public school students in Los Angeles County may be eligible for college scholarship funds worth up to $1,500, according to state officials.
With college acceptance and financial aid letters arriving in the coming weeks, students from across the state may be surprised to find they eligible for additional scholarship money for college or career training through CalKIDS, the state’s automatic scholarship program for low-income public students.
In L.A. County, the program has made more than $524 million in scholarships funds available to public school students over the past three years.
To tap into these funds, students don’t need to write essays, show their GPA or compile a list of personal and professional recommendation letters. Instead, students simply need to locate their Statewide Student Identifier number, which is available through their school, and claim their account on the CalKIDS website. The process, officials said, takes only a few minutes.
CalKIDS is the largest child development account program in the U.S., and is administered by the ScholarShare Investment Board. It was established in 2022 with the idea of automatically opening scholarship accounts for millions of California public high school students.
Scholarship funds can be used for tuition, books, supplies or computer equipment at accredited universities, community colleges, trade schools and other work training programs across the country. Once enrolled online, students can request the funds be distributed directly to their schools.
“CalKIDS is an incredible resource for Los Angeles County families,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is also chair of the ScholarShare Investment Board. “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.”
Cassandra DiBenedetto, Executive Director of the ScholarShare Investment Board, said the scholarship accounts are more than just financial assistance. “They’re a reason to believe in the future.”
In a news release issued to KTLA Tuesday, CalKIDS quoted a UCLA student named Shaniya who said the scholarship funds made a “huge difference” for her, and helped pay for college necessities.
“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 said.
State officials are hoping local outreach and partnerships with school districts and other organizations will help raise awareness about the CalKIDS program.
Students and families are urged to visit CalKIDS.org to check eligibility and claim their accounts as soon as possible.