Scholarship FAQ

To be eligible for the Richmond Promise, you must:

1. Be a resident of the City of Richmond, North Richmond, or Point Richmond (i.e. have a Richmond home address)
2. Have graduated from an eligible high school within the West Contra Costa Unified School District boundary area or received your GED/high school equivalency this academic year or the year prior*
3. Have attended an eligible high school at least 9th-12th grade consecutively
4. Complete the FAFSA/Dream Act by the March 2 Cal Grant deadline (unless not AB 540 eligible)
5. Submit a Richmond Promise Scholarship application by the application deadline

Additionally:

-Students can apply for the scholarship up to a year after obtaining their high school diploma/equivalency and up to the age of 21 as of the application deadline in the year a student applies to the scholarship

-Students who pursue military service must apply within a year of high school graduation or receiving their equivalency but are exempt from the 21-year age limit. Students who pursue military service may defer their scholarship for up to 8 years as long as proof of service is provided.

Find a list of eligible high schools here.

Scholarship award amount is $1,500.00

If you have extenuating and unique circumstances, such as having moved or changed schools many times due to being in foster care or homeless, you can still complete a Richmond Promise Scholarship application. You will be required to also complete an Appeal Form, which is included in the scholarship application, to explain your extenuating circumstances. The Richmond Promise Appeals Committee will review your appeal and a decision will be given to you in May.

Yes! The scholarship is available to any Richmond resident who graduated from an eligible school. AB 540 eligible students will need to complete the California Dream Act application by the March 2 Cal Grant deadline to qualify for the Richmond Promise Scholarship.

If you are not AB540 eligible and are undocumented, you can still complete a Richmond Promise Scholarship application. You will be required to also complete an Appeal Form, which is included in the scholarship application, to explain your extenuating circumstances. The Richmond Promise Appeals Committee will review your appeal and a decision will be given to you in May. Not sure if you’re AB540 eligible? Learn more here.

You can use your Richmond Promise Scholarship at any accredited, not for profit 2-year or 4-year college/university, or Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. You may not use the scholarship for fully online or at for profit institutions.

For-profit colleges are privately owned and operated, whereas non-profit schools are publicly owned. The credits earned at a for-profit school may not be regionally accredited, meaning they cannot be transferred over to other regionally accredited schools.

Students may not use their Richmond Promise Scholarship at for profit colleges.

[1] NACAC https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/forprofit.pdf

No, the Richmond Promise Scholarship is renewable for up to a total of four years for students attending a 4-year college, and for up to a total of two years for students attending a 2-year college. If a student attending a 2-year college transfer to a 4-year college, they may receive the scholarship for an additional two years.

A student attending a 4-year college has up to 6 years to use 4 years’ worth of scholarship funds (8 semesters or 12 quarters), and a student attending a 2-year college has up to 3 years to use 2 years’ worth of funding (4 semesters or 6 quarters).

We understand the variability of life circumstances that may cause a student to have to take a term or year off from school. Richmond Promise Scholarship recipients may take up to one academic year (or two semesters/three quarters consecutively) off from school and still continue to receive their scholarship. Please be in touch with us at scholarships@richmondpromise.org if you believe you will need to take time off.

Additionally, students who did not apply for the Richmond Promise Scholarship the year they graduated from high school or completed their GED/high school equivalency, may apply for the scholarship up to one year after but must be under the age of 21 when they apply (unless they are/were in the military).

Yes! Richmond Promise will happily transfer your scholarship between eligible schools and actively encourage people to transfer from two to four-year schools. Please meet with your community college counselor as soon as possible to create a transfer plan.

You should apply for the Richmond Promise Scholarship your senior year of high school or the year you are planning on completing your GED/high school equivalency. You may also apply up to one year after completing high school or a GED/high school equivalency program up to the age of 21 years old (unless you are/were in the military).

The application open in early October and closes in early March every year.

You can find this year’s application deadline here. Late applications will not be accepted.

For assistance with your application, please utilize your school’s college and career center, or see if we have a workshop coming up

1. Email: You will need an email address to create an account for the online application
2. SAR: You must upload your SAR or CalSAR as a .pdf file. You receive your SAR or CalSAR after completing the FAFSA or Dream Act.*
3. *Remember: You must complete your FAFSA/Dream Act application by March 2 each year as a requirement for the Richmond Promise Scholarship unless you are ineligible to complete either financial aid application (i.e. not AB 540 eligible).

The FAFSA and the CA Dream Act application provide government financial aid to California residents. It is necessary that you apply by March 2 so you receive the maximum amount of financial support to make completing college as affordable as possible. If you are not eligible to complete the FAFSA or Dream Act (not AB 540 eligible), you will be exempt from this requirement.

Reminder: You complete either the FAFSA OR the Dream Act, not both, depending on your citizenship status.

You should complete the FAFSA if you are one of the following:

• United States citizen
• United States permanent resident with a Permanent Resident Card (Alien Registration Receipt Card, or “Green Card”)
• Conditional permanent resident (1-551C)
• Other eligible noncitizens with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any one of the following designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Indefinite Parole,” “Humanitarian Parole,” or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant”

You should complete the Dream Act if one of the following applies to you:

• AB 540 or AB 2000 eligible student (Learn if you are AB 540 eligible here)
• Reside in California with a U-Visa
• Reside in California with a Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
• You have a DACA Social Security Number

Reminder: You complete either the FAFSA OR the Dream Act, not both, depending on your citizenship status.

1. Which type of web browser are you using? (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox)
2. You can access your SAR as a PDF by following these steps:

• In Internet Explorer:

1. Log into your FAFSA

2. Click “View or Print Student Aid Report” for your 2018-19 FAFSA

3. Click “View Student Aid Report (PDF)”

   • The browser may block the pop-up. If this happens, select “allow once” from the bottom of the browser screen

4. Drag the mouse to the bottom of the screen until a menu appears; select “Save a Copy,” the left-most button

5. Click save and it should save your whole Student Aid Report as one pdf file

• In Mozilla Firefox:

1. Log into your FAFSA

2. Click “View or Print Student Aid Report” for your 2018-19 FAFSA

3. Click “View Student Aid Report (PDF)”

4. Click the “Download” button in the right hand corner

5. Select “Save File” and it should save your whole Student Aid Report as one pdf file

• In Google Chrome:

1. Log into your FAFSA

2. Click “View or Print Student Aid Report” for your 2018-19 FAFSA

3. Click “View as a pdf”

4. Go to File > Print

5. Change the printer to “Save as a pdf”

6. Click save and it should save your whole Student Aid Report as one pdf file

California Dream Act

• Log into your California Dream Act Application account

• Click “View Processed Information,” enter your 4-digit federal PIN number, and then click “Next.”

• A window will pop up showing your SAR as a PDF. Follow the above instructions that correspond with the web browser you are using to save the document.

No, you do not! You should use you and your parent’s taxes and income information from twy years ago to complete your FAFSA or Dream Act. We recommend you use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (only if you are completing a FAFSA, not a CA Dream Act Application) if you can to quickly and accurately input you and your parents’/guardians’ income information.

Still confused about which year’s taxes to use? If you are applying for financial aid for the 2019-20 academic year, you would use taxes from 2017.

You will be notified via email in early May 2018 if you are a recipient of the Richmond Promise Scholarship.

• See if we have an upcoming financial aid/scholarship application workshop
• Contact Miguel Molina, the Richmond Promise College Access Coordinator, at mmolina@richmondpromise.org or 510-794-8326 for one-on-one assistance.
• Go to the Student Resources section of our website for a growing list of resources help you find more scholarships, complete financial aid applications, access support on college applications, etc.

You can get free tax support at many local community sites. Visit Earn It! Keep It! Save It! to find free tax assistance near you! When you are going to get your taxes prepared, be sure to bring with you the following:

1. Photo identification (for you and your spouse, if filing jointly)
2. Social Security card or ITIN for each family member
3. W-2 forms for all jobs held in 2015
4. All 1099, 1098, or other tax forms
5. Savings and checking account and routing numbers for Tax Refund Direct Deposit
6. Prior year’s tax return
7. Your household’s health coverage information (1095-A if bought through Covered CA).

In order to receive your Richmond Promise Scholarship, you will need to attend a College Success Workshop where required paperwork will be completed in June and July. If you are unable to attend a workshop, you must let the Richmond Promise know at scholarships@richmondpromise.org.

If you attend a College Success Workshop, your scholarship will be received by your college at the beginning of the academic year. We will send a confirmation email/text to you once your check is sent. The amount of time it takes for colleges to process the award and apply it to your financial aid package varies, so we cannot guarantee a specific day that the money will be made available to you.

No. The Richmond Promise scholarship sent directly to your college. First the scholarship will be applied to your tuition, other school fees, or loans. If there is any extra award left over, it will be given to you by your school in the form of a check or directly sent to your bank account if you set up electronic funds transfer (EFT) with your school.

No. For all scholarship recipients, your scholarship will be equally divided between your school’s two semester or three quarters (fall/spring, or fall/winter/spring).

The scholarship may be used for the total cost of attendance as defined and calculated by the college and university you attend, which includes: tuition and fees, books, supplies, food and housing, transportation, and other education-related expenses.

If funds are still available after being applied to your tuition, other school fees, or loans, any extra amount may be given to you in a check from your school for books, school supplies, food and housing, transportation, or other education-related expenses.

We understand that situations may come up that prevent you from attending school in the fall as you planned; however, if you need extra support getting to school in the fall, please contact us at scholarships@richmondpromise.org or (510) 230-0422.

If you still cannot attend school this fall, no worries – you can begin receiving your Richmond Promise Scholarship either in the spring or the following fall after you were awarded the scholarship. You may only take up to a year (two semesters or three quarters consecutively, not including summer) off from being full time at school to remain eligible to receive the scholarship.

Congrats on getting to college! We are here to help encourage you to take advantage of the college experience and be as successful as possible. That’s why in order to remain eligible for renewal of the Richmond Promise scholarship you must:

1. Be enrolled full-time (12 or more units) at an accredited, not for profit 2-year or 4-year college or university, or CTE program, unless you have a registered disability or are a custodial parent
2. Maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA
3. Participate in an academic support program (e.g. EOP, EOPS, Puente, Umoja)
4. Complete your FAFSA/Dream Act each year by the March 2 Cal Grant deadline
5. Renew your Richmond Promise Scholarship each year by the established deadline

You will be notified via email in late May during each year of college on how and where to renew your Richmond Promise Scholarship. The deadline will be in July.

To remain eligible for the Richmond Promise scholarship, each year of college you must:

1. Be enrolled full-time (12 or more units) at an accredited, not for profit 2-year or 4-year college or university, or CTE program, unless you have a registered disability or are a custodial parent
2. Maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA
3. Participate in an academic support program (e.g. EOP, EOPS, Puente, Umoja)
4. Complete your FAFSA/Dream Act each year by the March 2 Cal Grant deadline
5. Renew your Richmond Promise Scholarship each year by the established deadline

If you do not meet one of the above eligibility requirements, you should still complete the renewal application by the established deadline! You will be required to complete an Appeal Form as a part of your application. The form will be built into the renewal application. The Richmond Promise Appeals Committee will review your appeal to decide whether to grant you an exception to continue receiving your scholarship.

There will be no extensions to the renewal application deadline. If it is missed, you will not receive your scholarship for the upcoming school year; however, you may be eligible to complete a renewal application the following year and begin receiving your Richmond Promise Scholarship the following academic year.

In order to complete a renewal Richmond Promise application, you will need:

1. Log-In Information: Log into the Richmond Promise renewal application via our website with the same account (username and password) you used when you first applied for the scholarship.
2. FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR) or CA Dream Act Application Student Aid Report (CalSAR): You must upload your SAR or CalSAR as a .pdf file. You receive your SAR or CalSAR after completing the FAFSA or Dream Act.*

*Remember: You must complete your FAFSA/Dream Act application by March 2, 2018 as a requirement for the Richmond Promise Scholarship unless you are ineligible to complete either financial aid application (i.e. not AB 540 eligible – learn more here).

For requirements to remain eligible for the Richmond Promise scholarship see above: What do I need to do to remain eligible for the Richmond Promise Scholarship?

The Richmond Promise Team will review your application and let you know once it has been processed. In this time period, we will also request any incorrectly submitted or missing documents from you. The scholarship payment process will follow the same timing as the previous year it was awarded to you.