Certificate from California Junior Scholarship Federation, what does it mean? (buy, middle school)

[CptnRn]

My 13 year old niece, who is in 7th Grade, recently was awarded this "Certification" from the California Junior Scholarship Federation. The family is not sure what this means. I'm guessing that perhaps it means she will be qualified to compete for a scholarship when she reaches college age.

I found this on the Wikipedia.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cali...hip_Federation
"Members of the California Scholarship Federation are eligible for a variety of tuition scholarships available at universities across the state and in select colleges nationwide. Regional subcommittees nominate several members as Life Members based upon character, leadership abilities and volunteer service. Fifty of these students receive $1,500 each, and five of these (one from each region of California) are awarded an additional $1000 toward their college tuition."

Can anyone clarify what this certification means?

[2sleepy]

I've never heard of it before but I googled it and found this:
CJSF - What is CJSF?

[Bulldogdad]

College resume fluff.

[eureka1]

It means they achieved a certain GPA. Doesn't guarantee anything.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by Bulldogdad

College resume fluff.

Not even that, since college admissions officers don't consider middle school grades or honors.

There is NO scholarship involved. It is kind of just like an honor roll for kids who maintain a certain grade level in middle school.

In high school, there are two organizations your niece should know about. One is the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). This is also sort of an honor roll for high school students who meet a certain grade level. It is not really a resume builder, but kids who earn it can put it on college applications, although it won't knock the socks off of any admissions officers because so many kids qualify. Again, NO scholarship involved.

The other is the National Honor Society. College admissions officers tend to take NHS more seriously, because the student is nominated in either sophomore or junior year by their teachers based on both grades and extracurriculars. However, in order for college admissions officers to be impressed they do look to see that the student has actually participated in NHS activities, which tend to be community service activities. Again, there's no scholarship involved. But, most schools only consider the top 10% or so of students for nomination, and those are the types of kids that colleges DO tend to consider for scholarships (if the student picks the right colleges, that is).

Then, there are a bunch of scam "awards" and "honors." These are run by companies who buy the mailing lists of every high school in the country and then send a letter to every student (or their parents) congratulating them on being "nominated" for their award or honor. They're scams because (1) the only nomination or honor is that your name was on the mailing list and (2) families have to pay $50 or more so that their child can receive the "honor" and certificate. College admissions officers are well aware that these companies send these "offers" to millions of students and that there is no real "nomination" process, so they just ignore these sorts of "honors" when a student lists them on their application. Some of these companies get to parents by saying that their kid will be considered for a scholarship if the parents pay the fee. But in reality, very few, if any, of the thousands of families who fall for this will every see a scholarship from these things.

So, parents do need to be aware that not every "honor" their child is nominated for is really an "honor." But, hey, if you don't mind paying $50 or $60 for a nice certificate to hang on your wall saying your kid is special, go for it. Just don't expect a scholarship, and don't expect to impress colleges with it either.

(Tell your niece's parents that the biggest source of scholarships comes from colleges themselves. If she earns great grades, does well on her college entrance exams, is involved with extracurriculars in high school, and picks the right colleges (by that I mean colleges that are looking for kids like her) she'll increase her odds of being offered a scholarship. And, if her family meets certain income levels, she may also qualify for the Cal Grant, which is a state-based scholarship for students with certain GPAs in core classes (again, eligibility is income based). Unfortunately, a lot of families think there are "millions of dollars of scholarships waiting!" from private companies and organizations. In truth, the vast majority of those private scholarships are very small ( a few hundred dollars). The few larger ones are extremely competitive. So, any family shopping for scholarships needs to focus on finding the RIGHT colleges that WANT and NEED what the student has to offer, and then fall in love with those schools. That's the best way to get scholarship money in the end.

(Sorry for the length of this, and I know it has veered off the original question. But I am a retired college counselor, so this is a subject near and dear to my heart. Hopefully, this information can help someone).

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Not even that, since college admissions officers don't consider middle school grades or honors.

There is NO scholarship involved. It is kind of just like an honor roll for kids who maintain a certain grade level in middle school.

In high school, there are two organizations your niece should know about. One is the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). This is also sort of an honor roll for high school students who meet a certain grade level. It is not really a resume builder, but kids who earn it can put it on college applications, although it won't knock the socks off of any admissions officers because so many kids qualify. Again, NO scholarship involved.

The other is the National Honor Society. College admissions officers tend to take NHS more seriously, because the student is nominated in either sophomore or junior year by their teachers based on both grades and extracurriculars. However, in order for college admissions officers to be impressed they do look to see that the student has actually participated in NHS activities, which tend to be community service activities. Again, there's no scholarship involved. But, most schools only consider the top 10% or so of students for nomination, and those are the types of kids that colleges DO tend to consider for scholarships (if the student picks the right colleges, that is).

Then, there are a bunch of scam "awards" and "honors." These are run by companies who buy the mailing lists of every high school in the country and then send a letter to every student (or their parents) congratulating them on being "nominated" for their award or honor. They're scams because (1) the only nomination or honor is that your name was on the mailing list and (2) families have to pay $50 or more so that their child can receive the "honor" and certificate. College admissions officers are well aware that these companies send these "offers" to millions of students and that there is no real "nomination" process, so they just ignore these sorts of "honors" when a student lists them on their application. Some of these companies get to parents by saying that their kid will be considered for a scholarship if the parents pay the fee. But in reality, very few, if any, of the thousands of families who fall for this will every see a scholarship from these things.

So, parents do need to be aware that not every "honor" their child is nominated for is really an "honor." But, hey, if you don't mind paying $50 or $60 for a nice certificate to hang on your wall saying your kid is special, go for it. Just don't expect a scholarship, and don't expect to impress colleges with it either.

(Tell your niece's parents that the biggest source of scholarships comes from colleges themselves. If she earns great grades, does well on her college entrance exams, is involved with extracurriculars in high school, and picks the right colleges (by that I mean colleges that are looking for kids like her) she'll increase her odds of being offered a scholarship. And, if her family meets certain income levels, she may also qualify for the Cal Grant, which is a state-based scholarship for students with certain GPAs in core classes (again, eligibility is income based). Unfortunately, a lot of families think there are "millions of dollars of scholarships waiting!" from private companies and organizations. In truth, the vast majority of those private scholarships are very small ( a few hundred dollars). The few larger ones are extremely competitive. So, any family shopping for scholarships needs to focus on finding the RIGHT colleges that WANT and NEED what the student has to offer, and then fall in love with those schools. That's the best way to get scholarship money in the end.

(Sorry for the length of this, and I know it has veered off the original question. But I am a retired college counselor, so this is a subject near and dear to my heart. Hopefully, this information can help someone).

Thanks, that is great information. I have shared it with the family.