Fund: Pathways to Success Scholarship Fund Department: Palm Desert Center Admin Dept D01280 Purpose: Undergraduate Student Support History and Purpose: The mission of Pathways to Success is to improve the college-going culture of underserved students in the Coachella Valley by increasing access to college through scholarships coupled with linkages to student support systems and career pathway strategies. Scholarships are available in 1 or 2 year increments in the following amounts: Up to $5K for University for 1 year (either local or out of valley) and up to $10K for University for 2 years (either local or out of valley). University of California Riverside, Palm Desert Center has been actively engaged in conducting outreach and promoting higher education to students in the Coachella Valley, who are less likely to attend college in comparison to students from other areas in California. As a result, Palm Desert Center is participating in a new program, Pathways to Success, funded by the College Access Foundation. Pathways to Success seeks to improve college going rates and college success for under-served youth in the Coachella Valley. The vehicle to accomplish this is through scholarships and focused student success support for low income students. Palm Desert Center has made a commitment to raise $50,000 to support this effort and these funds will be matched 100% by the College Access Foundation. Pathways to Success links the award of scholarships and focused student success support for low income students to a valley-wide effort that is creating a broad range of newly developing career pathways as a means of diversifying the local economy. This initiative links business, education, regional economic development and a variety of local non profits under the unifying goal of improving college going rates and college success for our under-served youth. Pathways to Success is the first effort of its kind in California. The program calls for a ten year partnership with College Access Foundation that will result in substantially increased college going rates and student success in the Coachella Valley, one of California's regions most in need of this support. The linkage of scholarships and student support to regional career pathways strategies will generate a model for replication throughout the state and nation. Selection and Guidelines: Pathways will provide one-year and two-year scholarships of $2,500 to $5,000 per student. For scholarships offered at UCR, you must have already applied for admission to UCR by the annual November deadline date, or are already an admitted student attending UCR. To be considered for the scholarship, you must meet the following criteria: 1.) You or your parents must be permanent residents of the Coachella Valley for the past three (3) years. 2.) You must have attended a California high school for a minimum of three (3) years and graduated or completed a GED in the state of California. 3.) You must apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the March 2nd priority deadline: http://www.fafsa.edu.gov. If you are ineligible to complete the FAFSA, you must provide acceptable income verification. Please contact the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) office at (760) 340-1575 for further assistance on acceptable documentation. 4.) You must demonstrate financial need (as identified by academic institutions and FAFSA). 5.) You must be pursuing your first Bachelor's or Associate's degree at a non-profit accredited college, university, or academic institution in the U.S. 6.) You must have a minimum 2.0 GPA or above and maintain full-time enrollment and good academic standing throughout the academic year (as defined by academic institutions). Third and fourth year college students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA or above and maintain full-time enrollment and good academic standing throughout the academic year (as defined by academic institutions). 7.) You will be given preference if you have had previous involvement in college preparation program(s), demonstrate community leadership, have been involved in a career pathway program(s), and are first in family or first generation to attend college. 8.) You must submit two letters of recommendation from a Professor, Instructor, Counselor or Community Leader. 9.) You must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts. 10.) You must submit a copy of your current Student Aid Report (SAR) from the FAFSA. 11.) You will be expected to sign a contract with CVEP's Pathways to Success program involving you in scheduled leadership events, mentoring, workshops, and web based interactions. 12.) You must complete the CVEP Pathways to Success / College Access Foundation of California information release form. Deadline to apply is March 2nd annually. Request for Information: Apply online at: