The Peralta Colleges Foundation will award several scholarships to students across the district, with March 1 being this semester’s deadline for all students to submit applications for these scholarships. 

There are three types of available scholarships: annual scholarships, endowed scholarships, and Osher scholarships.

There are over 50 annual scholarships available to students, which are funded by contributions from the community and corporations. These scholarships can be given to the students to provide support with tuition, fees and other educational matters. Endowed scholarships, of which there are over 20, provide continuous funding for current and future students. 

Students can also apply for an Osher Scholarship (a specific endowed scholarship) through the Peralta Colleges Foundation. According to the Peralta Colleges Foundation website, the Bernard Osher Foundation made a “historic gift of $25 million” in May 2008 to the California Community College System; the purpose being to establish a “permanent scholarship fund totaling approximately $70 million” for community college students in the state  “who struggle to afford the ever-rising cost of an education.” The money from the endowment funds “over 3,000 scholarships of at least $1,200 every academic year, forever.”

Following the March 1 deadline there will be a review process from March 2 to April 6. The scholarship selection period will then begin on April 8 and end on April 12th. The final deadline for recipients to accept the scholarships is May 14. An award ceremony will be held the same month. 

There is support available to students for the scholarship application process. The colleges suggest visiting icanaffordcollege.com. For further information on scholarships, students can go to peraltafoundation.org.