Many students at Venice have received scholarships to colleges. Some students even have their whole college tuition paid for.

College admission goes through phases. There is a merit phase and a financial need phase, said Anne Keitel, Venice High's college counselor.

"We're in a merit phase now. It's a good time to be at the top of the class." For students attempting to obtain an academic scholarship, they need to meet certain requirements.

"Academics, academics, academics," Keitel jokingly asserts. "Actually, colleges are looking at the way you lead and impact activities you're involved in and your uniqueness."

Angelina Calderon, a senior, always planned on receiving a scholarship. She said she has worked hard and received good grades throughout her high school career. This is represented by her 4.256 GPA. Aside from academics, she is constantly involved in extracurricular activities such as Knights and Ladies, Chatelaines and Esquires, Students for a Better Tomorrow (a business class) and Interact (a youth group for the Rotary club). Calderon says one of the main reasons for her receiving the scholarships was help from the Fulfillment Fund. This is a mentoring program in which students can visit colleges for free and receive college counseling.

Calderon said receiving the scholarship does affect her college decision, but it is not the main factor. She does not want her parents to pay too much. Receiving a scholarship allows Calderon to go to college for free. Calderon applied for and received the Christopher Scholarship when she was a tenth grader and received $16,000 toward her college education. In addition, she was chosen by Santa Clara University to receive the Presidential Entry scholarship, which pays for all of her tuition, housing and book expenses.

Senior Megan Bernstein won scholarships from three colleges. She has been offered from $2,000 to $9,000 from UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego. Like Calderon, Bernstein has attained a high GPA along with high SAT scores. She has been involved in activities outside of her academics. She has been on the tennis team for four years, was a member of the former Venice High School debate team, has been "A Team" captain of the Science Bowl team for two years, and has assisted other students through tutoring. Bernstein is still undecided as to which college she plans to attend.

Thalia Santos has been awarded with a scholarship to Whittier College. Along with he 3.6 GPA, Santos was part of the JV soccer team, a leadership program at a youth center, Knights and Ladies and Chatelaines and Esquires.

"I have good grades, and I've done a lot of extracurricular stuff outside of school," said Santos. She said receiving this scholarship made it easier for her to go where she wants to go. For Santos, getting a scholarship was unexpected.

"I had no idea that school had scholarships to offer," said Santos. "I only applied to that school, and it was surprising that they gave me one/" Santos suggests that all students do their best and study as hard as they can.

Chelsea Garnett always hoped for a scholarship but was unsure of her chances. Through hard work, a diligent attitude and staying clam in stressful situations, she obtained a GPA of 4.25. This GPA and winning attitude won her a scholarship to USC. She is still not sure if she is going there, however, because she has been accepted to Stanford, and that is where she wants to go.

"College is expensive," said Garnett. "My mom encouraged me [to try for a scholarship]. She's paying." Garnett also relayed that she does not want to worry about student loans. Procuring a scholarship to pay for half of her tuition at USC is no small feat. Being a National Achievement Scholar and doing well on the PSAT helped to seal the deal. "[School] is hard work, so pretend like it's your job," Garnett reminds students. She also calls attention to the fact that "not everyone take time to [fill out applications.] Those who do apply have a decent chance of getting one."

Although the students listed here have accomplished great things academically, there is hope for those who haven't achieved above 4.0 accumulative grade point averages. Keitel said that 75% of the students at Venice are eligible for federal and state financial aid. She recommends filling out FAFSA and Cal Grant forms.