During high school, freshman communication studies major Christine Bergholm never planned on going to a four-year college. She was too busy working after school to help take care of her six brothers and sisters.

Unlike many high school sophomores, Bergholm had to deal with a bigger issue than making good grades: a new place to live. At age 16, Bergholm’s parents, who she said were severe alcoholics, were arrested. She and her siblings were put into foster care. The experience took a toll on Bergholm’s academic life, but her grades started to turn around when she went to live with her friend’s family.

“I called my friend to tell her I wasn’t going to be able to come to her birthday party because I was being put into foster care,” she said. “She asked me if I wanted to move in.”

Bergholm did move in with her friend’s family. Her foster family promoted education and strongly encouraged her to think about going to a university. Finances were the only issue in her mind keeping her from going to school. Bergholm started researching online for financial aid and eventually became part of a fairly new program at Sacramento State called the Guardian Scholars. The Guardian Scholars is a program designed for foster youth who are in need of financial support.

This semester, Bergholm received a full-ride scholarship through the Guardian Scholars program, which is sponsored by Wells Fargo . She was given $9,000, enough to pay for tuition until she graduates. She said the scholarship has lifted a heavy financial burden off her, and now she’s able to focus on her studies and build a “happy, successful life.”

“I know if I work hard I can do great things?so why not pursue it if I know I’m capable,” Bergholm said.

So what about the rest of the student population who aren’t foster youth? With tuition increasing seemingly every semester, the financial load for students can sometimes be too much to handle.

Scholarships are often an out-of-reach idea for the students whose GPA is less than perfect.

Dezeree Johnson, manager of the Student Life & Services Center located on the first floor of the University Union, said there are hundreds, if not thousands of scholarships that are available to Sac State students.

The Student Life & Services Center has a binder full of different scholarships available for Sac State students ready to browse through. Many scholarships often require a written essay, but Johnson said students shouldn’t be discouraged to apply for the scholarships because of the essays.

She suggested students use the same essay and format it to meet the needs of several different scholarships.

Where do students begin to look? Research online seems like the best place to start looking.

Craig Yamamoto, the director of the Financial Aid Office, said students should be careful of websites that charge money to search for scholarships.

He said some websites that claim students will receive their money back through a scholarship or some form of financial aid are a scam and students will be out the money they pay.

A safe website he recommends is FastWeb.com, or any other site that doesn’t charge in order for you to search through the scholarships.

Kylee Keroher, the scholarship coordinator at Sac State, said students have to be pro-active in their search for financial aid. The scholarship office, located on the third floor of Lassen Hall, provides students the resources they need to find the scholarships they qualify for. Finding and applying for scholarships isn’t as simple as it seems.

“Applying for a scholarship requires students to put forth time and effort as well as a little bit of ambition,” Keroher said.

There are three different categories of scholarships offered through Sac State:

1. Institutional Scholarships. These are awarded to students through the Financial Aid Office. These scholarships can be applied for online at the university website at www.csus.edu/faid. Click ‘scholarships’ on the sidebar and fill out the online application, before the March 15 deadline. Keroher said there are roughly 70 institutional scholarships given out each semester. Each scholarship has different criteria for applicants. Keroher said students with a minimum GPA of 2.0 will qualify for most of them, but each scholarship is different.

2. Department Scholarships. These are awarded to students through their major departments. Keroher suggested students check with their major departments and see what sort of scholarship is available to them. She said many departments are big on scholarships, such as the Business Studies Department, which she said gives out roughly 50 scholarships a year.

3. Community Scholarships. These are private scholarships that may offer different or specialized criteria for applicants. Yamamoto said that many scholarships are based on merit, but many of the community or private scholarships have more “quirky” requirements that cater to a select few.

Yamamoto said he encourages students to find scholarships and apply for as many as they can. He said he has met students who have funded their entire education through scholarships and grants.

For Bergholm the full-tuition scholarship has given her a chance to save her money. She still works 30 hours a week at Borders, but instead of paying for school she’s now able to save for a car.

“If you don’t have the courage to ask for help you’re not going to get it,” she said.

Adina Zerwig can be reached at [email protected]