Assist-a-Grad – the local scholarship process hailed by seniors and befuddled by underclassmen. Although the application is tedious and overwhelming, the seniors that persevere enter a select pool of RHS-only applicants for RHS-only scholarships.

“I chose to apply for Assist-a-Grad because there is a smaller group of people you are competing with so it [is] worth the time and effort,” attests senior Alex Baur.

Competing internationally with a plethora of students from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and personal achievements, in the large, national pool of scholarships, I, much like Alex, faced stiff competition. Applying to nearly 20 independent scholarships myself (and winning, thus far, only 2), I appreciate how Assist-a-Grad limits the applicant pool exclusively to RHS students. In this way, each applicant has near-equal opportunity to exploit RHS’ many extracurricular and academic programs. Also, every applicant worked to meet the same school expectations – that is, they worked under the same graduation requirements.

Also, as the scholarships are donated by community members, it’s likely they’ve personally attended or been affected by RHS events. As RHS plays an integral part in the Rocklin community, many locals appreciate the rigor and prestige of an RHS education. This gives them a greater perspective on the quality of RHS students, thus influencing how they score and award scholarships.

“I chose 12 scholarships [to apply to] that I really felt applied to me,” claims Aliena Pitts, a senior at RHS.

The Assist-a-Grad scholarship catalog covers a plethora of student interests and accomplishments, providing a wide-ranging selection for students to apply. Interested in a career in law enforcement? The health industry? There’s a scholarship for that. Played football at RHS? Served as a peer counselor? There’s also a scholarship for that. The multitude of Assist-a-Grad scholarship offerings allows many students to be competitive in the selection process.

However, for all its benefits, the Assist-a-Grad process is lengthy and arduous. Although the application itself is streamlined, applying for multiple scholarships entails writing numerous essays, providing personal information and continually assembling the final, print scholarship packets by hand.

Ultimately, regardless of its labor-intensive process, Assist-a-Grad positively impacts RHS students, as the community rallies to support seniors in their audacious (and expensive) dash to college.