Top 232 California Scholarships in February 2025

These scholarships are aimed at financially supporting California students’ academic and career goals. Depending on the scholarship, a California student could mean a student that’s currently enrolled in a California school, a student enrolled anywhere that lives in California, or both. 

If you have any questions about whether or not you count as a California student, check the application guidelines of the specific scholarship you’re interested in before you apply. 

There are scholarships out there for California students in every field and walk of life, as well as scholarships that are aimed at students who live or study in specific Californian counties.  

No matter who you are, there are scholarships for California students out there that fit you perfectly. You can improve your chances of winning scholarships by finding the opportunities that best match your qualifications and creating a strong and unique application that highlights those qualifications.

To refine your search and find scholarships for California students that also match profile criteria like your grade level, major, and more, get personalized scholarship recommendations on the Mos app. 

For an overview of just a few great scholarships for California students, plus some helpful tips for how to find and win scholarship opportunities for California students, keep reading! 

Ten Scholarships for California Students that Mos Loves

1. Silicon Valley Community Foundation Scholarships

   • The Silicon Valley Community Foundation provides $4,500,000+ to students throughout the Silicon Valley area. There's one application for all of their scholarships, which requires a personal statement. and local students have a very high chance to win!

2. PG&E Access Network Employee Resource Group

   • This scholarship is offered to high school seniors and continuing undergraduate college students who have a primary residence that is a PG&E customer in California at the time of application. Veterans and adults returning to school are encouraged to apply. To qualify, you need to enroll full-time and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. All majors are eligible; encouragement is given to medical, psychology, or physical therapy emphasis.

3. Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program

   • The Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program is open to undergraduate and graduate law students. To qualify, you must be enrolled in a San Francisco Bay Area Law School.

4. Defense Against Distracted Driving Scholarship

   • The Defense Against Distracted Driving Scholarship offers $1,000 to support high school seniors and college students with a minimum GPA of 3.0. The recipient must be 18 years of age by the beginning of the spring semester and attending a school in California. An essay is required to apply.

5. QOC Scholarship

   • The Queens of the Castro offers $1000 to California students who are self-identified members of the LGBTQ community and have demonstrated a commitment to raising awareness about LGBTQ issues, combating homophobia and/or bullying or educating your community about similar topics. 

6. AMN/Health Care Communicators Scholarship Essay Contest

   • This scholarship is for high school seniors and college students currently enrolled in a San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles school district who plan to enter the field of health care upon graduation. An essay and letters of recommendation are required to apply. 

7. Toyota/TELACU Scholarships

   • The East Los Angeles Community Union will grant a $5,000 to Hispanic undergraduate students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business, science, technology, engineering, or math disciplines. To be eligible, candidates must legally reside in California, be rising juniors or seniors, attend a regionally accredited college, and have good standing. Recipients also participate in corporate workshops to develop interviewing skills and find internships.

8. AWAF Scholarships

   • The Association for Women in Architecture Foundation offers up to $7,500 to women students studying Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, Land Planning, Interior Design, or Environmental Design leading to a college degree. To be eligible, you must be a resident of California or attending a California school. You must also have completed a minimum of 18 units in your major by the application due date.

9. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir San Diego Visual and Performing Arts Educational Scholarship

   • The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir San Diego Visual and Performing Arts Educational Scholarship supports high school seniors in San Diego County, California, who plan to pursue studies in visual and performing arts at any accredited college or university in the United States. Eligible fields include dance, film, graphic design, multimedia production, music, painting, performing arts, sculpture, singing, theater, visual arts, and writing. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a GPA of 2.75 or higher. 

10. Samsung Semiconductor Scholarship

    • The Samsung@First Scholars program awards up to $15,000 to college sophomores, juniors, and seniors, as well as master's students. To qualify, you need to attend a California public four-year college, have declared a major in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM), and have a GPA of at least 3.0. Preference is given to students enrolling in a school in the greater Bay Area. An essay and recommendations are required.

Tips and Strategies for Applying for Scholarships for California Students 

Here’s a guide of what to consider when you’re applying for scholarships, how to apply, and a few practical tips on how to set yourself apart as a strong applicant.  

• When to Start Applying for Scholarships? Right Now!

If you want to win as much money for college as possible, you should start your scholarship search as early as possible. That way, you can avoid missing out on deadlines and give yourself plenty of time to get your application materials together. 

Basically, the best time to start applying to scholarships for California students is right now! 

• Research Your Scholarships

The fact that you’re reading this guide means that you’re already doing your research. Great work! 

Plenty of organizations and foundations offer scholarships to Californians in different fields of study, belonging to different demographics, or experiencing different life circumstances. 

Use this page to search for California scholarships that fit your profile, your financial goals, and your academic interests. 

It pays to be strategic about the scholarships you apply for instead of just applying for every single listing without checking the requirements first. For example, if you’re majoring in photography, it would be a waste of your time to apply for a scholarship that’s only for political science majors. 

• It’s a Numbers Game 

Ultimately, the best way to boost your odds of winning scholarship money is to apply for as many opportunities as you can. 

This might seem to contradict the previous point, but it’s all about hitting the right balance between narrowing down your search and maximizing the amount of applications you actually send. 

Think about it this way: 

• Applying for one scholarship you qualify for is better than applying for ten scholarships you don’t qualify for. 

• Applying for ten scholarships you do qualify for is way better than applying for just the one.

• Make a Game Plan   

Being a student can be overwhelming. 

You’re busy all the time with commitments that include—but aren’t even limited to—class, clubs, studying, homework, social events, and jobs. It can be difficult to set aside time to apply for scholarships, which is why lots of students end up missing deadlines for scholarships they'd have a great chance of winning. 

To avoid falling behind on your academic and financial goals, be intentional about how often you apply for scholarships, what time you work on your applications, and much time you spend on them. Think of it as starting a new, healthy habit—like flossing your teeth or meditating. 

Set a personal goal for how many scholarships you want to apply for a week. 

Then, find a time in your schedule where it would be easy to integrate your new scholarship habit. For example, if you study in the library every Tuesday night from 7-8, spend 15 minutes of that study time for scholarships. If you use Mos, that’s enough time to apply for 5 or more scholarships! 

• Track Your Scholarship Applications   

Once you identify all the opportunities you qualify for and make an application plan, keep track of your scholarship journey. The Mos app makes this easy by letting you save scholarships and track your application status, but you can also do this on your own with a physical list or a spreadsheet online. 

However you want to keep tabs on your scholarship applications, make sure to track their deadlines and application requirements. 

• Tailor Your Application 

Every scholarship will ask for its own set of application materials. For example, a scholarship for California students majoring in history might ask you to write an essay about a prominent Californian from history that inspires you. 

Because of this, you shouldn’t just reuse the exact same essay or personal statement for every scholarship you apply for. 

Your application should highlight why you’re applying for the specific scholarship you’re applying for, not just why you’re applying for a scholarship in general. Explain how, if you receive the award, it will help you achieve a career or educational goal that aligns with the mission of the organization that’s offering the scholarship. 

For example, if you’re applying to a scholarship that was founded by or dedicated to a particular person, you should demonstrate that you’ve done research on who that person is, explain how their legacy inspires you, and outline the ways the scholarship would help you continue that legacy. 

That doesn’t mean that you have to start from scratch with every single application. You can use a previous essay or personal statement you’re proud of as a template for your future applications as long as you make meaningful changes to it that tailor it to a specific opportunity.  

For more on how to write a good personal statement, check out these resources: 

• Purdue Owl: Writing the Personal Statement

• College Essay Guy: How to Write a Personal Statement (Tips + Essay Examples)

• Highlight Your Achievements and Leadership Skills 

A scholarship application isn’t the place to be humble. 

A lot of scholarships ask for examples of your leadership skills, community involvement, or other achievements. Scholarship committees don’t know anything about you outside of the contents of your application. If there’s a certain accomplishment or quality you’re proud of, the only way to make sure they know about it is to tell them. 

That might seem obvious, but some students default to downplaying their own accomplishments. When you’re reading over your application form or your essay, make sure you include all of the (relevant) stuff you’d want the scholarship committee to take into consideration. 

If you’re having trouble with this, try doing a brain dump on a sheet of paper. Write down every single extracurricular activity, school event, hobby, volunteer position, and leadership role you can remember having. Then, circle the ones you’re the most proud of in red and circle the ones that are relevant to the scholarship you’re applying for in blue. Anything you circled twice should definitely make its way into your application. 

If that’s too hard, ask a friend, parent, teacher, or mentor to help you brainstorm a list of your accomplishments. The people who care about you will often be able to list a ton of amazing things about you that you might write off as “not that impressive.”  

• Prepare Your Documents and Transcripts 

A lot of scholarships require you to submit financial documentation, academic transcripts, or both.

Need-based scholarships are aimed at students who don’t have the financial means to pay for college. The federal and state governments are two major sources of need-based aid. 

The federal government offers financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

The FAFSA is a form that asks for a fair amount of personal information and financial info. Learn what documents you need for FAFSA on the Mos blog.  

The state government of California also offers its own financial aid programs through FAFSA too! Most California students will only have to fill out FAFSA to access federal and state aid programs. However, undocumented students and certain other non-resident students (who aren’t eligible for federal funding) can fill out the California Dream Act Application (CADAA) instead. Learn whether you should submit FAFSA or CADAA. 

Unlike need-based scholarships, merit-based scholarships are meant to reward a student’s accomplishments—usually academic accomplishments, but there are plenty of merit-based scholarships that reward things like artistic talent or sports prowess too! A merit-based scholarship might ask for a transcript of your grades. 

If you’re in college, your transcript will probably be on your student portal. If not, email your academic advisor or registrar to ask for a copy of it. 

If you’re in high school, check out PrepScholar’s guide on how to get your high school transcript. 

Make sure you have all necessary documents ready before a scholarship’s deadline. Ask for your transcript a few weeks in advance to avoid missing out on money you qualify for.

• Follow Directions Carefully 

Scholarship applications often have specific formatting requirements. 

A few examples of requirements you might run into: 

• Essay word count. Example: A scholarship that specifies that your essay can’t be over 500 words. 

• File format. Example: A scholarship that only accepts application forms that are uploaded as PDFs. 

• A portfolio. Example: An arts scholarship that requires you to include 3-5 charcoal drawings you’ve done, all scanned and uploaded as a single file. 

If you don’t submit an application that matches all of the submission requirements, you run the risk of being disqualified, no matter how strong of an applicant you are. 

Think about it from the scholarship committee’s perspective: if they get a lot of strong applications from students who are all equally deserving of the award, they might end up falling back on technicalities like word count to decide who to eliminate from the candidate pool. Don’t give them any reason to throw out your application. 

Carefully read over all of the submission instructions when you’re putting together your application. If it helps, make a list of every separate requirement and check them off as you apply. Before you hit submit, check your application over one last time just to be safe. 

• Ask for Strong References 

Some scholarships for California students will ask you for letters of recommendation from professors, teachers, mentors, or other figures in your life. 

When you’re deciding who to ask for a letter of recommendation, think about the people who you’ve known for a longer time and who have witnessed your accomplishments firsthand. A professor who’s seen you work hard and improve over the course of three years is probably a better option than a professor who only had you for one class two years ago. 

You can set up your recommenders to write you the best letter possible by telling them what kind of qualities or achievements the scholarship provider is looking for, and by sending them a polite email reminder about your recommendation a couple weeks before the scholarship’s deadline.

You can also set yourself up to get a stronger recommendation by building your relationships with your potential references. Regularly going to a professor’s office hours is a great way to distinguish yourself as a diligent student to them.

• Pay Attention to Deadlines 

Scholarships usually have firm deadlines, and it’s pretty rare for them to accept late submissions. 

We already mentioned the importance of tracking deadlines earlier, but one more tip to avoid missing deadlines is to set yourself a personal deadline that’s a day or two before the official deadline. That way, you can avoid the frantic race to finish your application before midnight on the due date, and you have a grace period of a few days to work on your application if life gets busy. 

Other Sources of Financial Aid for California Students 

Scholarships aren’t the only way to fund your education in California. 

For information on other financial aid resources, check out The Mos Financial Aid Roadmap: 8 Ways to Get Money for College. 

Apply Faster on the Mos app 

When you apply for more than one scholarship, you have to fill out the same information over and over again. Even if it only takes a few minutes every time, those minutes add up. Plus, it can make the whole process feel like a mind-numbing slog instead of an exciting chance to spotlight the achievements and qualities that make you special as an applicant. 

When you sign up for Mos, you only have to fill out your information once. Then, every time you apply for a scholarship, the app auto-fills your information into the application. This means that applications can take as little as a few seconds! With every scholarship you apply to, your odds of winning money for college from one of them go up (remember, it’s partially a numbers game). And with every scholarship you apply to on Mos, the amount of time you save goes up right alongside those odds. 

Related Scholarship Categories

• No-essay scholarships

• Easy scholarships

• Merit scholarships

• Scholarships for women 

• Computer Science scholarships

• Nursing scholarships