The office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at BC conducted a live presentation, on Nov. 4, about the misconception students may have regarding scholarships.

Amanda Stone, the program manager for scholarships at BC, started the recording by stating that the applications for scholarships are available until Feb. 1, 2021. Stone explained that she is available to help with BC scholarship questions or concerns, and even able to help with concerns about outside scholarships. The slides she presented explained seven different myths that students have about scholarships.
These myths were students have to be full-time, if a student does not qualify for a grant then they do not qualify for a scholarship, you have to be a U.S. citizen, you need faculty references, you cannot apply if you are transferring, you need a high GPA, and you have to write a lot of essays.

A common misconception mentioned in the presentation was that a student has to be a full-time student to receive a scholarship.
“Some scholarships do have specific enrollment requirements and those would be stated in the criteria of the scholarship.” However, not all scholarships state-specific requirements involving enrollment. “Students enrolled in at least 6 units can receive scholarships at Bakersfield College. That’s just two classes,” Stone said.

Another myth mentioned was that if one does not get grants, then one does not get scholarships. “Only 30% of our scholarships require you to have ‘financial need’,” Stone said. “BC determines scholarship ‘need’ by if you are receiving the CA College Promise Grant (aka BOG), which non-Pell eligible students can qualify for.”

Many students believe that they have to be a US citizen to apply for scholarships, this is false. “Most of our scholarships do not have a U.S. citizenship requirement or even require FAFSA,” she said. “We have a number of scholarships specifically for undocumented students, AB540 students, and international students.”
This gives a wide range of opportunities for all students and does not limit students based on where they come from.

Stone explained that the most common myth that many students believe involves essay writing for scholarships. BC offers a scholarship application that requires three 100-word personal statements that apply to all scholarships through the BC application, according to Stone. BC offers essay workshops for those who need help perfecting and clarifying personal statements.

The live was concluded by Stone stating the next three steps to take to apply for scholarships; start the application by searching for it on the BC website, if needed get help with the personal statements, and contact the financial aid office with any questions one may have.