Four years, one advisor, and a community that stays with you.
For Berkeley public high school graduates going straight into a bachelor’s degree.
You’re graduating from Berkeley High School, Berkeley Technology Academy, or Berkeley Independent Studies, and you’re headed into a bachelor’s degree in the fall. We give priority to students who are in the first generation in their family to go to college, who qualify for a Pell Grant, and who come from groups historically and currently underrepresented in earning bachelor’s degrees. If that’s you, this was built for you.
Eligibility and dates are on the Apply page.
The Journey
01
Start here
It begins right after you receive your high school diploma, before your first day on campus. You spend three to five days at orientation, where you meet your college success advisor and the other scholars in your year and build your first plans together:
- An academic plan with your courses and your major and minor,
- A financial plan including your aid package and a budget for the year,
- A social, emotional, and wellness plan that prepares you for taking care of your body, mind, and spirit,
- An early start to a career plan that best aligns with your interests, talents, and values,
- A pragmatic plan for what to do on the day you arrive on campus.
You’ll go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling prepared.
02
Keep going
Every term, you meet with your advisor one-on-one. Your scholarship helps with all the added expenses of higher education: books, gaps in tuition, transportation, technology, and more. When something goes wrong, the Emergency Fund can respond within days and help with unexpected issues (transportation, technology failures, and more). When an opportunity comes your way, the Opportunity Fund can help you say yes (an unpaid internship, a conference, and more).
03
Graduate
You want to finish in four years, yet sometimes it takes a little longer. If one extra term would let you finish your requirements or allow you to take on a program or an experience that makes the degree mean more, the Finish Line Fund is there for that.
04
Start a career
A degree is the first goal, but a career is the next one. Career readiness runs alongside your advising the whole way through: skills you learn on your own schedule, one-on-one coaching, and networking events with real professionals in real rooms. And the BCS Community Network of alumni, community mentors, and local employers, you can reach out to for advice, an introduction, a practice interview, an internship, or maybe even a job.
What’s Included
A scholarship every term
Up to $24,000 over four years, up to $6,000 a year, for tuition, books, housing, technology, transportation, and the costs that really add up. Plus three funds for the moments in between: Emergency, Opportunity, and Finish Line.
A College Success Advisor
From acceptance to early career. Someone who knows you, meets with you one-on-one, and helps with the plan and with the problems.
Career readiness
Learn interview and job-searching skills, practice them with coaches and professionals, and get connected with employers.
The BCS Community Network
A network of BCS alums, community mentors, and local employers you can reach out to when you need something specific, and who will answer.
What we ask of you
Come to orientation the summer before you start college. Stay enrolled full time. Meet with your advisor on a schedule that the two of you set each term. Send us an update twice a year. Show up for BCS events over the summer and on breaks, and be part of the community. In return: everything above, for up to six years.
Ready to apply?
Eligibility, dates, what you’ll need, and the application are all in one place.