0:02 Hello. Thank you for joining the Ventura
0:03 College Foundation scholarship workshop.
0:06 This video will take you through our
0:07 standard workshop we host on campus.
0:13 We will be doing an overview of our
0:14 available scholarship programs as well
0:16 as important information pertaining to
0:19 each application. We will also be
0:21 covering the most important parts of the
0:23 application.
0:27 We have three different applications in
0:28 our program. The paramedic and career
0:31 education applications are special
0:33 applications only for students enrolled
0:35 in those programs. The career education
0:38 application includes advanced
0:40 manufacturing, agriculture, applied
0:42 industrial technology, or diesel
0:44 mechanic studies programs. Additionally,
0:47 our general scholarship application is
0:49 open to all VC students who have
0:51 completed six units at any time or are
0:54 currently on track to pass a minimum of
0:56 six units. Most VC students will qualify
0:59 to apply. Paramedic and career education
1:02 students are also invited to apply to
1:05 the general scholarship application. The
1:07 paramedic and career education awardees
1:10 will be notified of their application
1:12 status in 2025 and disperse their checks
1:15 in full as soon as possible. The general
1:18 application awardees are notified in
1:20 April 2026 and will begin dispersement
1:23 of checks in fall 2026 and second
1:26 payment in spring of 2027.
1:30 The application can be found in your VC
1:33 portal. It will be on the left hand side
1:35 under the financial aid tab and will
1:37 read scholarships VC.
1:41 From there you will see all three
1:43 applications. For this presentation we
1:45 will be going through the general
1:47 application.
1:50 All applications require a minimum of
1:52 one VC staff recommendation. This
1:55 recommendation can come from a faculty
1:57 member, counselor, admin, anyone who is
2:00 a VC staff member. The recommendation is
2:03 to be academic in nature. It is critical
2:06 that you reach out to your recommener
2:07 before submitting their email in the
2:09 application to make sure that they have
2:11 time to complete your recommendation.
2:13 Respecting the time of our staff members
2:15 is of highest importance and will help
2:18 you receive a better recommendation. On
2:20 our website, ventura foundation.org, you
2:24 can find a form called the VC recommener
2:27 info sheet. This form is for you to fill
2:30 out and give to your recommener to
2:31 assist them in writing the
2:33 recommendation. Once you have confirmed
2:35 with your recommener, enter their name
2:37 and VC email into the application. This
2:40 will automatically send them a link to
2:42 complete your recommendation. If they
2:44 happen to lose the link, you can always
2:46 click send reminder to resend the email.
2:50 Recommendations are mandatory for all
2:52 applications and without a completed
2:54 recommendation, your application will be
2:56 forfeit. Do not wait until the last
2:58 minute to secure your recommener.
3:01 Additionally, you can add up to three
3:03 recommenders and the best scored letter
3:06 will be added to your overall
3:07 application score. You can submit your
3:10 application without a completed
3:11 recommendation letter as long as you
3:13 have included the recommenders
3:15 information. Recommenders have an
3:17 additional week after the application
3:19 deadline to submit their letter.
3:24 The next tab will ask some basic
3:26 information about you. Most of this can
3:29 be completed in 10 minutes and is the
3:30 simplest part of the application.
3:33 Something to note is whether or not you
3:34 are a re-entry student. A re-entry
3:37 student is someone who is currently in
3:39 their first year back at VC after taking
3:41 a minimum of one year off of their
3:43 education at VC.
3:49 When you come to the educational goals
3:51 and transfer questions, please answer
3:53 with your most educated guess on what
3:55 your 2026 2027 academic year plans are.
4:00 If you select that you will be
4:01 continuing at BC, then you will be put
4:03 in the running for our continuing
4:05 student scholarships. Likewise, if you
4:08 indicate you will be transferring, you
4:10 will be put into the running for our
4:11 transfer scholarships.
4:16 The essay portion of your application is
4:18 the most important part of the
4:19 application as it is what the majority
4:21 of your application grade is based on.
4:24 On our website, you can access a VCF
4:26 scholarship essay brainstorming sheet to
4:29 assist you in drafting your essays. The
4:31 prompts are intentionally broad to give
4:33 you an opportunity to tell your story.
4:35 Our recommendation is focusing on three
4:38 major points. Why you are pursuing your
4:40 education and why it is important to
4:42 you. What are the difficulties you are
4:45 facing or have faced in pursuing your
4:47 education? And what are the plans for
4:50 your future education or career goals?
4:53 Getting personal in your essays is good,
4:56 but please keep your identity anonymous.
4:58 No name, age, or gender unless it is
5:01 critical to telling your story. All of
5:04 our essays are read three times by three
5:06 different reviewers, and you are
5:08 entirely anonymous to them. We then
5:10 average the three grades and that will
5:12 be the grade applied to your essays. In
5:15 the application, you can see the grading
5:17 rubric to help you understand the
5:18 grading process. Please have your essay
5:21 reviewed by the tutoring center ahead of
5:23 submitting. There are two mandatory
5:26 essays, but multiple optional essays.
5:29 The optional essays are for scholarships
5:31 we have difficulty awarding. Please read
5:33 those prompts carefully and only write
5:35 an essay for those if you believe you
5:37 are a strong candidate. Skipping the
5:40 optional essays will not have a negative
5:42 impact on your application.
5:48 Students who are awarded will be
5:49 required to attend the scholarship
5:51 awards ceremony on Saturday, May 16th,
5:54 2026. This is a wonderful celebration
5:56 where students get to meet their donors
5:58 and families get to celebrate their
6:00 students. It is a full-scale event with
6:02 a stage and professional photography.
6:05 Not only is this a great opportunity to
6:07 celebrate with your families and
6:09 network, but it is also the only
6:11 opportunity our scholarship donors have
6:13 to meet their recipients. This event
6:15 inspires further scholarship donations
6:18 and continues to grow our program so
6:20 that we can continue to award students.
6:23 In cases of significant hardship, you
6:25 may contact the foundation to schedule
6:27 an alternate meeting
6:31 for the general application. After the
6:34 application closes, we begin the scoring
6:36 and review period. Applicants will be
6:38 notified of their status in midappril
6:41 via their VC email.
6:46 The paramedic and career education
6:48 applications closed on November 25th at
6:51 5:00 p.m. and the general scholarship
6:53 application will close on January 22nd
6:56 at 5:00 p.m. There are no exceptions
6:58 made for missing a deadline. Please do
7:01 not wait until the last minute to submit
7:03 your application.
7:07 Some final reminders. The earlier you
7:10 communicate with your recommener, the
7:12 better, as you will depend on them to
7:14 have a complete application. Please also
7:17 remember to frequently check your VC
7:19 email. All of our communications will be
7:21 sent to that email address.
7:26 Some final reminders. The earlier you
7:29 communicate with your recommener, the
7:30 better, as you will depend on them to
7:32 have a complete application. Please also
7:35 remember to check your VC email. All of
7:38 our communications will be sent to that
7:39 email address.
7:44 To get in touch, you can contact me,
7:46 RSLi Agarwal, at a A G A R WCC.edu.
7:57 edu. Please make sure to include your
7:59 question in the email subject for a
8:01 better streamline.
8:06 We wish you the best of luck. If you
8:08 would like additional resources and
8:10 information, please visit our website,
8:12 venturaolfoundation.org,
8:14 and click on the student support tab.