Grove Scholars Program

The Grove Scholars Application is now available!

Complete the Grove Scholars Program Application, which includes the 3-essay Personal Statement (see below)
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Dream Act. Students not eligible to apply for federal aid may complete an alternate application available upon request.
Enroll in an approved Career and Technical Education program.
Have completed a Student Education Plan (SEP) with an academic counselor for at least two semesters, for the current year.
Have at least a 2.0 GPA and 75% completion rate (applies to continuing students only).
Be a full-time student at Skyline College.

Application Deadline:
September 19th, 2019

Apply online

submit your application
by 3:00 pm on Thursday,
September 19th, 2019.

Apply Here!
(Get your Essays Ready First)

Please check all work before submitting an application.

For more information or assistance with the application process, students should email us at grovescholar@smccd.edu or contact SparkPoint at Skyline College.

The Grove selection committee will review your application and will notify you via e-mail, if selected, by October 4th, 2019. You must accept via email to grovescholar@smccd.edu by October 7th.

How to submit the Personal Statement:

You must complete these 3 essays BEFORE starting the application form, so you can upload the essays into the application.

Name each file with your LAST name, FIRST name and the essay number (for example, 'SmithJohnEssay1.pdf').

Each question must be in a separate PDF file. ONLY PDF format will be accepted. NO WORD DOCUMENTS!

To make a PDF file, in Word you can 'save as' and then under the dropdown 'save as type', choose 'PDF'.

Put your name and the essay number and title at the top of each essay.

Limit each response to the length requested.

Format should be double-spaced, 1” margins, 12 point Times New Roman font.

Essay 1: Statement of Need

Reflect on your current financial need and provide a thorough and detailed explanation of how you will use your Grove Scholarship funds to help you complete your CTE program and improve your financial situation. (1 double-spaced page = ~400 words).

Essay 2: Career Goal/Academic Commitment

Explain the steps that you are going to take in order to ensure that you complete your program in a timely manner and attain a job in your chosen career. Please provide detailed and specific examples showing what you have done to prepare to enter the job market (i.e. job-related work experience, internships, volunteer, job shadowing, mentorship, etc.) (1 double-spaced page = ~400 words).

Essay 3: Career Counseling and Financial Coaching Meetings:

Grove scholarship recipients must participate in a series of a total of four (2 Career Counseling and 2 Financial Coaching) mandatory meetings. These individual meetings are designed to educate and answer questions for recipients on best practices regarding: cover letter and resume development, banking, budgeting, savings, and credit use. Please explain which of these areas you are most interested in improving upon and why. ( <1 double-spaced page = ~200 words).

About the Grove Scholars Program

Through funding from The Grove Foundation, SparkPoint at Skyline College is proud to offer a needs-based educational scholarship to students pursuing certificates in Career and Technical Education programs at Skyline College. View the Approved CTE Programs list.

Students may be awarded up to $2000 for the semester. To date, over 300 of these $2000 scholarships have been awarded to Skyline College students. Scholars participate in financial education workshops and individual financial coaching, career counseling, and additional services to support academic success and goals. The scholarship is offered each semester and there is a competitive application process a student will need to complete.