Scholarships: My Road to Vet School

At the CA state Fair Scholarship Gala with "Poppy" the bear

I have had a lot of people ask me about Scholarships. Money is a growing concern for everyone receiving a higher education these days. Let's face it, our economy is not doing well. I wanted to share my personal experience of paying my way through school by obtaining over $15,000 in scholarships. I also worked during my undergraduate education which you can see from my experiences. 


My parents did put aside some money for me to attend college, as they started saving when I was just a baby, they purchased bonds in hopes to make money off them later when I was all grown up and ready for college. I was also left some money from my Great Grandmother when she passed. She lived a long happy life and I am so lucky to have met her, whenever she visited she always gave us cookies and milk. She lived on the small island of Alameda, CA (near the bay area). 


Anyways, I haven't touched any of that money yet thanks to the generous amount of scholarships I have received over the years. I don't know the best way to help you find the scholarships that are right for you, but I can give you some tips on how to start looking. 


I would begin by doing your best to apply for scholarships in high school because this is when they are most available. I received $5,000 after graduating from high school just from applying for scholarships offered through my high school by the local community. I won a scholarship from the FFA program, and from the local community organizations. I decided to go to community college instead of a university or state school to begin with so I could save money and stay close to home. I think this was the best idea I ever had although I did miss out on the dorm living, I still don't think I missed much, plus tuition was $26/unit and I averaged about 16 units a semester, so all in all tuition was under $900/year plus the cost of books/parking pass, etc. I also applied for scholarships every year of college, averaging about 2-3 scholarships ranging from $500-$1,000 each per year. I searched the internet high and low for scholarships relating to my career field as well as applying for scholarships through my community college. I also joined Fastweb, which gives you a list of questions regarding your religion, race, age, career interest, etc. and matches you will scholarships you are eligible for. I also highly recommend applying for FAFSA (federal and state financial aid). It never hurts to apply and you might get money from them! I did when I started my first year at UC Davis. Also, see if scholarships are offered by your parent's work. I know some companies offer scholarships specifically for dependents of their employees. Also the military takes great care of their soldiers and their dependents. My Step-father served in Vietnam and I get benefits for being one of his dependents. I only found this out in the middle of last year, so I have only received benefits since then. So exploring those options early if they pertain to you is a great idea. I encourage you to go talk to your school's financial aid office and ask them for help, that is what we pay them for anyways! Also, don't forget to get scholarship applications in by their due dates and most importantly don't forget to include all the application materials. I have heard this is the most common reason for people not winning scholarship monies they applied for because they forgot one little part of the application. So don't let that be you! I got a phone call once when I accidentally sent an unofficial transcript with one of my scholarship applications and was told that unfortunately my application would not be in consideration for their scholarship award. I was crushed because I had applied and received this scholarship before and couldn't believe I had overlooked such a minor detail. So check and double check your application packet before you submit it. 

Google has been one of my favorite search engines when looking for scholarships, I often use key words with "scholarship" such as "equine" or "veterinary" or "transfer" to locate scholarships that are right for me. Often, scholarships are not advertised or right in front of you, and often must be sought out. 


On another note about your scholarship application packet, only include what they ask you for, they don't want a bunch of extra paper included that they have to sort through to get the information they asked for. If they ask for a resume, keep it to one page in length and really only include what is relevant to that scholarship application. Also, never use staples with your scholarship application packed, I have found that many committees prefer paper clips over staples, because it enables them to easily view your application, but also to take a page out of your application and pass it around to other committee members. The only thing I would recommend including unless they say not to include it is a photo of you. This is a really big push for them to award you the scholarship, because they actually see you and I don't know if it's proven, but I believe it may help over applications without photos. If you are going to include a photo, it must be professional or close to it, for example, I included a photo from my senior portraits in high school, one with me and my Arabian horse, "Cal" at the time. Another thing you can include unless the application states "only" is extra letters of recommendation. The more people that recommend you for the scholarship, the better and keep in mind they must be GOOD letters of recommendation from someone that really knows you. Most scholarship applications ask for 2-3 letters of recommendation, but sometimes I have included 4 outstanding letters. I honestly don't know if this really helps, but I'm sure it won't hurt. 


Just make sure your application is the best you can do, you don't have to use fancy paper, but make sure the printer made the text clear, that everything is spell-checked, in order, etc. The better you can present your application, the better chance you have of getting yourself elected, they usually don't get to meet you although some scholarships have interviews, your application may be the deciding factor in awarding you the scholarship. It is very similar to applying for a job, you want to be the desired, respectable, and knowledgeable candidate. 

Start Saving for college EARLY!!! It is worth the investment.

Scholarships I have received: 

California State Fair Scholarship (two times)
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West Coast Equine Foundation Dick Randall Memorial Scholarship (three times)
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Arabian Horse Foundation Scholarship
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CCPOA (California Correctional Peace Officers Association) scholarship (two times)
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Placer/Nevada County Cattlewoman's Scholarship (two times)
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FFA High School Scholarship
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Perry/Stella Tracy Memorial Scholarship (three or four times)
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Cameron Park Rotary Club Community Scholarship
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UC Davis Transfer Student Scholarship (covered my first year of tuition at UCD)
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The Rourke Family Foundation Scholarship