Top California scholarships for you

The Presidential Scholars Program is for high-achieving students who have a commitment to serving their communities and who will lead their peers in transforming their tomorrow. The scholarship application is for California residents and is available by invitation only. Qualified first-year applicants are notified in December through March if they are eligible for consideration. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

The Better Business Bureau believes it is never too early to introduce and emphasize the importance of ethics. At the high school level, students begin to face ethical decisions that may impact the rest of their lives. They serve as role models whose moral compass not only guides their actions, but also influences those around them. The BBB seeks to honor ethical students for doing the right thing with the BBB Ethical Torch Essay Scholarship, available in Greater Arizona and Southern California. Five students in Greater Arizona, five students in Orange County, California, and five students in San Diego County, California to be awarded with scholarship prizes. Students in grades 9-12 (graduating classes of 2025-2028) residing and enrolled in school in eligible counties are invited to apply for this scholarship opportunity. Essays should analyze what ethics has taught the students and themselves. Note that the most engaging essays often reflect on a meaningful experience or lesson learned in one's life that focuses on an ethical reflection. Essays should be written by students without the use of AI. Essays written with the assistance of AI will be disqualified from the contest. San Diego and Imperial County students must submit their application on August 11, 2025. Orange County students must submit their application on September 22, 2025. Greater Arizona students must submit their application on October 20, 2025. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

Greenhouse provides Greenhouse Scholars with comprehensive success resources, including one-on-one mentorship, professional networking, internship support, personal and community impact projects, an annual Summer Symposium, access to funding, and skill-building content on our core pillars: Leadership, Professional, Personal, and Community Change. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior planning to attend an accredited academic institution. They must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a legal resident of eligible states and counties. Applicants must also demonstrate financial need by having an annual household income of no greater than $80,000 and possess excellent leadership skills, an ability to persevere through difficult circumstances, and a strong interest in and commitment to their community. Students may apply or be nominated. The first round of the application process consists of collecting eligibility and demographic information, as well as a short answer response. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The second round requires applicants to submit their transcript, test scores (with exception), additional demographic information, two letters of recommendation, short answer responses, and an essay response. The second round opens on September 8, 2025 and closes on December 3, 2025. For the third round, semi-finalists will be invited to create and submit a short video response. Submissions are simple and a cellphone video or video from a laptop will be sufficient; no video editing is required. The third round opens on January 10, 2026 and closes on January 26, 2026. For the fourth round, applicants will be invited for an in-person interview from March 23, 2026 to April 2, 2026. Please visit the award's website for more information.

The Celebrate Azusa Citizens Scholarship/Nancy Moore Scholarship was established to recognize the 15-year partnership that Nancy Moore, associate superintendent for Azusa Unified School District, developed with APU. This scholarship distinguishes a student who displays Nancy Moore's dedication to education and community service. This scholarship is open to students who currently attend Azusa High School, Gladstone High School, or Sierra High School and plan to enroll at APU, or for graduates of these schools who currently attend Citrus College. Applicants must have a minimum high school GPA of 3.0 or a minimum Citrus College GPA of 2.2. It is strongly recommended that students complete the FAFSA and be admitted for the appropriate year by March 2. Once the student's financial aid file is complete, the award usually disburses into the student's APU account during the first month of the semester (first half of the award in fall, the second half in spring) or later, depending on when documentation is received. Students may contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for more information and inquiries about the application.

The Give Something Back Scholarships are open to applicants from California who meet one or more of the following criteria: A) Are or were in foster care, B) Have incarcerated parent(s)/guardian(s), C) Dealing with homelessness. Students must apply to be part of Give Something Back prior to enrolling at Chapman University. Students may contact the Financial Aid Office for more information and inquiries about the application process.

The SDSU Achievement Scholarship is available to first-generation, California high-achieving students. The scholarship application is available by invitation-only and qualified first-year applicants are notified to apply in March for award consideration. Award values are typically $5,000 or more per year. Students may contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships for more information.

The Macy's Emergency Scholarship Fund is a joint partnership between LNESC & Macy's to provide financial resources to deserving students facing economic hardship and immediate monetary need that, if not met, could result in an inability to complete classes or a degree program. Emergency financial need resulting from the following will qualify students for funding: change in family income/support; loss of job; death of an immediate family member; natural disaster; pending eviction or home foreclosure; burglary; or fire. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited college or university and in good standing. For consideration, applicants must submit their college transcript, including proof of full-time enrollment and cumulative GPA; and budget information detailing the amount of funds requested along with supporting documentation. Applications will be considered until all funds have been awarded. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

At Jacoby & Meyers we believe everyone deserves a just and fair chance, and the foundation of this is education. The Jacoby & Meyers Latinx Scholarship is part of our pledge to support the Latinx community and acknowledge the rich diversity of California, particularly in Los Angeles. Applicants must be of Latinx descent. Applicants must be high school seniors or first- and second-year college or trade school students. They must have active involvement in community service activities within the Latinx community. Applicants must submit an unofficial copy of high school and/or college transcripts to showcase their academic achievements and commitment to excellence. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

The Latino Art Beat Scholarship is available to high school seniors who have been selected as winners in the Latino Art Beat National High School Hispanic Heritage" Art Competition in their award categories. Students living in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and the District of Columbia are eligible. Scholarship amounts vary from $2,000 to $20,000, allocated over four years. The application deadline for the 2025 Spring semester is Nov. 1, 2024, and the deadline for the 2025 Fall semester is Feb 1, 2025.