California Black Media

Apply Now: Sept. 3 Is Financial Aid Deadline for California Community Colleges

Diablo Valley College student Ivan Hernandez realized his family didn’t have enough money to support his dream to go to college. However, he has been able to successfully apply for financial aid and is currently enrolled in community college. “I have been very lucky that financial aid has been such a big factor in my education,” said Hernandez, a double major in Business Administration and Computer Science. “Without financial aid, I don’t think I could be in the education system like I am now.” The California Community Colleges education system (CCS) enrolls 2.1 million students. Fifty-five percent of those students at the system’s 116 colleges receive financial aid.

Published

2 years ago

August 27, 2024

Oakland Post

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By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

“I have been very lucky that financial aid has been such a big factor in my education,” said Hernandez, a double major in Business Administration and Computer Science. “Without financial aid, I don’t think I could be in the education system like I am now.”

The California Community Colleges education system (CCS) enrolls 2.1 million students. Fifty-five percent of those students at the system’s 116 colleges receive financial aid.

According to CCS, 5%, or about 10,500 of its students are Black. Asians account for 11%, Whites, 23%, and Hispanics make up 48% of the student body.

Hernandez was among the speakers during an Aug. 15 press conference hosted by Ethic Media Services, California Black Media, and the California Student Aid Commission, geared at highlighting the Sept. 3 deadline for community college students to apply for financial aid for the 2024-25 school year through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application.

CSAC Executive Director Dr. Daisy Gonzales said financial aid makes education beyond high school financial possible for all students.

“Financial aid is the most important ingredient in student success in higher education,” said Gonzales, who noted she was a foster youth who used financial aid to attend community college and went on to earn her master’s degree and Ph.D. “I have walked the path of many students in California. Stories like mine do not happen by accident or luck.”

FAFSA is federal aid for students.

The application process for this school year requires students and parents to report their income from 2022.

Funds from FAFSA and the Dream Act help the state’s community colleges serve a substantial percentage of students who qualify as low-income students — with annual income $40,000 — and those who are undocumented or from immigrant families.

“Students regardless of their documentation status or the status of their family members can quality to have their tuition coved as well as aid to help cover costs like rent, food, transportation, and books,” she said. “There is even additional aid to help cover childcare for student parents.”

The amounts in aid packages vary, but for example the Chafee Grant for Foster Youth provides students with up to $5,000 an academic year for up to five years, while the Dreamer Service Incentive Grant awards up to $4,5000 per school year to undocumented students who do volunteer services with an approved organization. The Cal Grant Students with Dependents Grant gives up to $6,000 a year to student-parents to help cover costs associated with being a parent and student.

Applying for financial aid has been a challenge this year for many students due to delays and technical issues complicating the online form caused by the rollout of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which seeks to make federal student aid more gainable by widening Pell Grant eligibility and simplifying the form.

For more information or to apply, visit Better FAFSA, Better CADAA or call 1-888-224-7368.

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Kamala Harris Says State and Local Leadership Matters as Much as Washington

The discussion was moderated by Daniel Squadron, co-founder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union. The organization supports state legislative candidates in competitive states and advocates for greater investment in state legislative races. 

Published

3 weeks ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo States Project.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris said that traveling the country since the 2024 Presidential election, during her book tour, gave her an opportunity to hear directly from Americans about the challenges they face every day, reinforcing her belief that many people feel unheard by Washington and increasingly look to state elected officials for solutions.

Speaking at UCLA on June 23 during a discussion hosted by The States Project, Harris said she deliberately used her travels to spend time listening to people rather than simply talking to them.

“After the election I needed to take a minute, but when that minute was over, I needed to listen,” said Harris.

One conversation that stayed with her was with a single mother of three in Jackson, Mississippi, who was attending cosmetology school while raising her children on a $150 weekly grocery budget. Harris said the woman also told her the tap water was sometimes too contaminated to bathe her children.

When Harris asked what she wanted others to understand about families like hers, the woman replied, “Don’t they see me?”

“There are a lot of people who feel that they are not interested, and that their everyday fears and worries and hopes aren’t being heard,” Harris said.

“People are done with the status quo,” Harris added. “They’re done. It’s not working for them.”

She said political leaders must focus on solving everyday problems while presenting a broader vision for the country’s future.

“It’s about having affordable housing, affordable healthcare. It is about having a tax code that works for working people,” Harris said.

Harris said those conversations reinforced her belief that state elected officials are often better positioned than Washington to understand the everyday challenges facing their constituents.

“I support The States Project because the folks here and the folks we are supporting — state elected officials — are on the ground seeing and hearing these stories every day,” Harris said.

The discussion was moderated by Daniel Squadron, co-founder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union. The organization supports state legislative candidates in competitive states and advocates for greater investment in state legislative races.

Harris said protecting voting rights remains central to the broader civil rights movement.

“The fight for civil rights in America, born out of the struggle of Black Americans, has benefited so many groups,” she said. “But when we look at what’s happening across the country, the fight for justice, for equality, lives on.”

Looking beyond the current administration, Harris said Democrats must present voters with more than opposition to President Donald Trump.

“We’ve got to have a mindset and a purpose that is about the day after this administration leaves the White House,” Harris said. “The question is going to be, what are you going to do with the power if you get it?”

Harris closed by encouraging Americans to remain engaged in their communities and state government.

“I strongly believe nobody should be made to fight alone,” Harris said. “Especially at this moment in time.”