Applicants must meet the following qualifications:
Female, residing in Contra Costa County, California
A minimum 3.5 cumulative unweighted GPA
Be active in community service
Be in need of financial aid - Your Student Aid Index (SAI) from your FASFA Submission Summary (FSS) must be no more than $40,000
A graduating High School Senior or Junior/Community College student who will be attending a 4-year College/University in the Fall
Scholarship Guidelines
Scholarship funds are payable to the 4-year College/University Scholars are attending and are only to be used for school expenses including tuition, room & board, and books.
BSF scholarships are awarded annually and students are granted only one BSF scholarship in their lifetime. If awarded a BSF scholarship as a graduating high school senior, the Scholar may not apply again as a graduating student from a community college. It is the Scholars’ responsibility to ensure that all of the items in the Application package have been received by BSF by the due date. Incomplete applications shall be given no recognition and no response.
Requesting an Application
If you meet the qualifications listed in our “Do I Qualify?” section on this page and would like to apply for the BSF Scholarship, please complete the Request a Scholarship Application form at the bottom of this page. The online application will request information outlined in our "How to Apply" section on this page. It often takes longer than people anticipate to gather all of the required information. Thus, we suggest that you review the "How to Apply" section on this page to understand the qualifications and what information we will request from you to facilitate the completion of the online application. It will be easier for you to complete the application if you have all the PDF documents ready to upload prior to completing the application. Please see the “FAQs” section on this page for additional information.
Theonline application period for 2025 opens Wednesday, January 15, 2025 and will close at midnight on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Thus, all completed application packages must be received by Saturday, March 1, 2025. The 2026 application dates will be opened mid-January 2026.
Questions regarding the online application process can be sent to [email protected]
HOW TO APPLY
Information needed to complete your online Application
Family Member Letter - a PDF of a letter from a family member describing your family's financial situation and why you need financial help to attend college. Please name the file as follows: your last name, your first name - Family Member Letter (ie Doe, Jane - Family Member Letter)
Documentation of Financial Need - a PDF copy of the page(s) of your Eligibility Overview from the FASFA Submission Summary (FSS) that shows ONLY your 1) Name, 2) Estimated Federal Student Aid, and 3) Student Aid Index (SAI). Please ensure that NO OTHER personal information (ie Social Security, Birthdate, Driver's License etc) OTHER THAN your name, estimated federal student aid and SAI are shown on the page(s) you upload. If you have submitted your FASFA form but not yet received your FASFA Submission Summary (FSS), please complete the Federal Student Aid Estimator on the FASFA website (https://studentaid.gov/aid-estimator/ ) and print out the Estimated Federal Student Aid and the Estimated Student Aid Index (SAI) using the "print or download estimated information" button at the end of the estimate and upload a PDF copy of the estimated information. Please name the file as follows: your last name, your first name – Financial Need Documentation (ie Doe, Jane - Financial Need Documentation). Payment of the BSF Scholarship is contingent upon the receipt of the scholarship recipient's Eligibility Overview from the FASFA Submission Summary (FSS). If you receive your FSS after completing your application, you can send your Eligibility Overview from the FSS to [email protected]. Link to FASFA https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
School Counselor/Student Advisor Verification and Transcript Form - Please request that your school Counselor/Student advisor email [email protected] requesting the link to the Counselor/Student Advisor Verification and Transcript form as they will be required to 1) verify that you are a full time student in good standing at their school and are ready to graduate and move on to a 4 year College/University in the Fall AND 2) upload a copy of your transcripts. In the subject line of the email, please ask them to title the email as follows: your last name, your first name - Request Link for Counselor/Advisor Verification and Transcript Form.
Cost of Attendance - a screenshot or print out of the Cost of Attendance from the College/University's website. Please save the Cost of Attendance as a PDF, make sure your name is at the top of the document and name the le as follows: your last name, your first name – Cost of Attendance (ie Doe, Jane - Cost of Attendance)
College Financing Plan - if received, a PDF copy of the College Financing Plan or Financial Aid Summary from the College/University. Please save the College Financing Plan as a PDF, make sure your name is at the top of the document and name the le as follows: you last name, your first name – College Financing Plan (ie Doe, Jane - College Financing Plan)
Personal Interest Letter- Please write us a short personal letter describing your interests, academic intentions and how this scholarship would impact your education. Please save the letter as a PDF and name the file as follows: your last name, your first name - Personal Interest Letter (ie Doe, Jane - Personal Interest Letter)
Recommendation Letter - Counselor/School Advisor or Teacher - Please request that the person providing your School Counselor/Student Advisor or Teacher Recommendation Letter email [email protected] requesting the link to the Recommendation Letter Form so that they may upload a copy of their recommendation letter. In the subject line of the email, please ask them to title the email as follows: your last name, your first name - Request Link for Recommendation Letter Form.
Recommendation Letter- Community Service/Work - Please request a recommendation letter from someone in the community who knows you through community service or work and ask them to email [email protected] requesting the link to the Recommendation Letter Form so that they may upload a copy of their recommendation letter. In the subject line of the email, please ask them to title the email as follows: your last name, your first name - Request Link for Recommendation Letter Form.
Awards/Extra Curricular Activities - A list of your awards, honors, community service, and/or work, school, athletic or other activities. It should include the Award/Activity name, description, time period and hours per month.
Essay - Please upload a PDF of the essay you submitted for your college applications OR write a 1-2 page essay on the prompt: "If you had to describe your biggest mistake, what would it be and what did you learn from it?". Please save the essay as a PDF and name the file as follows: your last name, your first name - Essay (ie Doe, Jane - Essay)
It is the applicant's responsibility to request and ensure that all requested information from Counselors/School Advisors and Recommenders are sent directly via the Counselor/Student Advisor Verification and Transcript Form and/or Recommendation Letter Form by the application deadline date. Incomplete applications shall be given no recognition and no response.
application deadlines
2024 Application Deadline Dates:
Closes - The online application will be closed at midnight on Friday, March 1, 2024. Thus, all completed application packages must be received by Friday, March 1, 2024
Opens – January 15, 2024
Notification - After applications have been reviewed, the Scholarship Committee will conduct personal interviews with the semi-finalists as part of the final selection process.
2025 application dates will be opened mid-January 2025
It is the Scholar’s responsibility to ensure that all of the items in the Application package have been received by BSF by the due date. Incomplete applications shall be given no recognition and no response.