Funding to Reach Your Goals

While the best course is to begin planning and saving for college well before arriving on campus, You should know that your college, the university, your community, and a host of organizations, both local and national, offer a number of programs to assist with college expenses.

Additionally, once on campus and working toward your degree, you will find that even more scholarship and grant opportunities are available within your chosen field of study.

We urge you to explore the possibilities outlined in the following sections and capitalize on those that apply to your circumstances. Links to your left provide quick access to scholarship references.

Scholarship stories and a set of budget worksheets are also provided for your reference and use.

Scholarships, Grants, Awards and Prizes

The generosity of a large number of alumni, philanthropists and organizations have made it possible for many students to receive financial assistance. Scholarships and grants are available from the college, the university, the federal government, philanthropic organizations, and many companies. Scholarships available from the college and the university are found in the links list to the left.

Scholarships range in value from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars and are generally awarded based on a level of academic achievement and/or need.

Awards and prizes are much the same as grants except that these are generally single or one time awards for fixed amounts. Applied Science students have opportunities to win awards for their projects and to compete in competitions throughout their academic careers.

Students are encouraged to apply or compete for as many of these as possible because the funding a student receives from these sources does not require later repayment.

Cooperative Employment

Most programs within Applied Science incorporate experiential learning as a standard part of the overall curriculum. Our students command excellent starting salaries upon graduation because they have several quarters of real industrial work experience in addition to their degree.

Most importantly, this work is paid employment and many students report that co-op earnings are enough to cover much of their college expense.

Part-Time Employment

The university as well as many of the businesses located close to campus offer a variety of part-time employment opportunities. While not encouraged for freshmen students, these jobs are another way to offset expenses.

Tuition Reinbursement Programs

Many employers offer tuition reimbursement as a benefit to their employees. If you are currently employed and attending college either full or part-time, you may want to look into your employer's policies for repaying college expenses for their employees. Most programs of this type call for verification of a minimum grade achievement.

Loans and Other Financial Assistance

While not making loans directly, the UC Financial Aid office can assist with arrangements at a number of programs and institutions.