The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is helping fund the futures of 1,846 Santa Barbara County students, to the tune of nearly $7.2 million in college scholarships for the 2023-23 academic year.
The nonprofit organization’s awards for undergraduate students average $3,331 — factor in graduate students, and awards average $3,858 overall. Recipients were selected based on the primary criteria of financial need, motivation, and academic potential.
Between North County and South County communities, the total $7,190,758 awarded this year was split close to evenly. Of the money, $3,523,780 will go toward supporting North County students and $3,666,478 toward students in South County.
High school seniors were notified of their awards on April 21; all other recipients were notified on May 15. Scholarships can be used for college, graduate, and vocational studies, including law school and medical school.
“The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara remains an invaluable resource for young people and their families in our community,” said Interim Scholarship Foundation President and CEO Mary Dwyer. “We are tremendously proud of our efforts to help Santa Barbara County students access postsecondary education and thank our many generous donors who make these scholarships possible.”