Scholarship Workshop fills the room

The Scholarship Workshop filled up quickly as Rachel Samarin, program assistant, prepared for the event she was hosting.

The workshop was held on Tuesday, Feb. 2 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

She didn’t expect the outcome of students who showed.

“I was surprised. I think it was a really good turnout. This is probably the most well attended workshop that we’ve had, so it’s really exciting.” She said.

The workshop is beneficial for the students because they are able to work on the application there, as opposed to going home and forgetting, or missing the deadline.

She adds, “We haven’t always had them in the computer lab… [it is helpful] when they have questions, and they always do, [so] I’m here to answer the questions.”

An average amount of 400-500 students complete an application.

Many start the application and don’t finish it, so the amount who actually receives a scholarship is minimal.

Last year’s percentage of applicants who received a scholarship was 20-30 percent of all completed applications.

Currently there is an amount of $52,800 available funds located in between 36 scholarships.

She states “I want the student’s to know about the resources that they have, and it does take a little bit of time to go through the application, but I think in the end it’s worth it”

If students receive financial aid, then they are also able to receive a scholarship that will not affect the amount of financial aid they receive.

She adds, “Most of the scholarships are based on need, so even students who are receiving financial aid are still in need.”

The money in these scholarships has been privately raised.

It is not in the school’s budget or state dollars. They are donations except the Edison STEM Scholar Scholarship, which is a grant.

Students who wish to apply need to be a STEM major, have a minimum GPA of 3.5, and have completed at least 12 units at Cerritos.

These are exclusive scholarships only for Cerritos College, and currently have 402 applicants who have started the process; 64 of which have already completed the application.

Shannon Estrada states, “I don’t think they realize that once they get it all filled out, they can just reuse the information and tweak what they need to.”

The deadline to complete the application for these scholarships is Feb. 22.