Here is some good news for students: Cox Charities is offering $75,000 in college scholarships to graduating high school seniors in the San Diego area.

The Cox Scholars scholarships range from $2,500 to $5,000. Recipients must be a 2021 graduating high school senior living in Cox’s Southern California service area. Applications are now open and the deadline to complete and submit the online application is Friday, Feb. 3.

“Now more than ever, students in our community are working hard to achieve their educational dreams amid new learning circumstances and tough financial times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a company founded by a teacher, we continue to support local students and education in San Diego and look forward to awarding our annual scholarships in the new year,” said Chanelle Hawken, vice president of government and public affairs for Cox Communications in California.

Scholarship recipients will be chosen based on their scholastic achievement, extracurricular activities, volunteerism, and staying focused on their educational goals despite facing adversity in their lives.

Here are some tips for students when applying for a Cox Scholars scholarship:

1. Before applying — Review the scholarship requirements carefully and make sure you’re eligible before spending time putting an application together. If you don’t meet the requirements such as G.P.A. or place of residence, your application will not be considered.
2. Financial information — Use tax forms to declare income or give your best estimate if tax forms are unavailable. To be most effective, don’t leave any sections blank.
3. Extracurricular activities — The scholarship committee wants to know what applicants are interested in. Make sure to provide an accurate timeline including all activities from the previous four years. Make sure not to repeat information in multiple places.
4. A personal statement — Don’t wait until the last minute to put this together. Give yourself time to think about the topic, and answer from your own personal experience. The more passionate, the better your statement. Ask someone you trust to read it and give feedback. And don’t forget to run a spellcheck.
5. Submit your application and supporting documents before the deadline – If you wait until the last minute, you may encounter issues that prevent you from submitting the application on time, such as computer issues or gathering financial information from a parent.

For more information, visit www.CoxCharitiesCA.org.

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