Almanor scholarship extended to all high school graduates
The Almanor Scholarship Fund announced that the eligibility requirements for the scholarship have been amended to include students who have graduated from any accredited high school in the Chester/Lake Almanor Basin.
The 10-year Almanor Scholarship is available to any college student who meets the eligibility and academic requirements, even if he or she graduated from an Almanor Basin High School decades ago.
Most Almanor Scholarship Fund recipients initially applied for the scholarship as high school seniors. However, those who did not apply at that time are still eligible to submit an application, if they plan to be a full-time college student.
Although the grants are paid each qualifying term, the application process occurs annually.
Applications will be accepted between March 1 and June 30, for the 2020-2021 academic year.
Truman Collins established the Almanor Scholarship Fund in 1945 with $1,000. It was designed to aid young men and women in their pursuit of higher education.
The Fund’s Trustees select recipients after review by the Selection Committee.
The original eligibility criteria required that the applicants be residents of the northern half of Plumas County and be able to demonstrate marked intellectual capacity.
The Almanor Basin portion of the county was the chosen geographic location, as Chester did not have a high school until 1951-52.
Because the original document specified that only residents of the northern half of Plumas County were eligible to apply, residents of Westwood or Greenville were not included.
In the 1980s, the eligibility criteria were changed to require that applicants be graduates of Chester High School.
The first recipient of the scholarship was Pauline Foote, daughter of the first Collins Pine Company sales manager. The award was $100.
Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, the scholarship award has been increased to $4,200 per year.
The Almanor Scholarship Fund currently requires that applicants must graduate from a Chester/Lake Almanor High School with a cumulative academic GPA of 3.0 and a minimum combined Math and Critical Reading SAT score of 1080; or, a GPA of 3.25 and a minimum combined Math and Critical Reading SAT score of 920. The applicant must have been enrolled in a Chester/Lake Almanor High School for at least three years or have been enrolled in a Chester/Lake Almanor Elementary School for at least four years.
If the applicant does not qualify from high school, a student may attend one full year of college in an accredited school on a full-time basis, and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better before applying.
Full-time status is defined as taking an average of 12 units per semester or quarter.
Students must reapply annually, by the end of June, in order to be considered for the next academic year’s scholarship.
Students may receive scholarships for up to six years of undergraduate work and four years of graduate work, as long as they maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
The ASF awarded a record of 71 scholarships in 1981, with 48 per year being the average for the past 20 years.
Since 1945, the Almanor Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 2,700 scholarships, totaling almost $3.3 million.
The Collins Pine Company and a few generous donors have funded this remarkable program.
The 2020-2021 Almanor Scholarship applications for Chester High School seniors are available from the school counselor.
The applications for other high school seniors and college students are being mailed, as requested, or with the final scholarship payment for this academic year.
For additional information, contact Laura MacGregor, 258-2111, ext. 7013.
