In a time when private and public educational institutions are fighting for the hearts and minds of our children, the GSACS NexGen Scholarship exists to help students with financial need to attend Christian schools in the Golden State Association of Christian Schools. The NextGen Scholarship’s goal is to help students avoid government education and attend a Christian school where they can be educated from a biblical worldview and philosophy. Its desire is that no student would have to say no to Christian education because of financial reasons. This scholarship is designed to be the “last money in” after all other resources have been exhausted so students stay enrolled in Christian schools. The NextGen Scholarship is not a subsidy for Christian schools to raise prices, to stop providing tuition benefits to teachers with school-age children, to avoid the responsibility of raising scholarship money, or to negate the opportunity to teach wise stewardship and budgeting to school families. This scholarship is not intended to make attending your school easier for families; it is solely to be used to make it possible for those children to attend that otherwise would not be able to enroll. NexGen Scholarships are awarded as funds are available.

Scholarship Eligibility

1. The student must be a full-time student attending a GSACS-affiliated Christian school that has full member status.
2. This scholarship is not available to GSACS-affiliated homeschool-based schools.
3. The student must be a new enrollee unless there are mitigating circumstances for financial assistance that were not present at time of enrollment in previous years (i.e., death, loss of income, divorce, former recipient of NexGen scholarship, etc.).
4. The student must be in good standing with the school.
5. The student’s parents or legal guardians must have a financial need with evidence of having already sacrificed for their child to remain in Christian school. Parents or legal guardians must pay for a portion of the tuition.
6. The student’s parents or legal guardians must apply through FACTS (a financial aid management service) verifying financial need.
7. The student must have received all possible scholarships and discounts from the school and other resources at the school’s disposal. (This scholarship is not designed to cover staff and ministry discounts, tuition benefits, or any other discounts the school or ministry provides.)
8. Each school must determine the eligibility for financial assistance using FACTS. FACTS has recommended income-based eligibility requirements, but schools may fine tune the application appropriate to their setting. GSACS recognizes that minimum eligibility may be different depending on cost of living for various locations throughout California. If schools establish a lower expectation than FACTS, then they must be prepared to explain the reasons.
9. Each school must assign what they believe each student is eligible to receive and then that amount must be approved by GSACS who awards the scholarship.

Application Process

1. Each school must yearly fill out and sign the institution application through GSACS verifying understanding of the NexGen scholarship and its intended use.
2. The school must diligently determine who is eligible for this scholarship. Falsely applying for a scholarship will likely hurt the availability of funds for another student in need and will cancel the school’s eligibility to receive scholarships in the future.
3. Each student-applicant’s parents or legal guardian must complete the application through FACTS.
4. The school may find it helpful to meet with applicant families to determine if there are other issues beyond the application process that should be considered. Each school must be aware of specific family issues to avoid taking advantage of the generosity of the donor.
5. Each school gives their final suggestion of how much scholarship to award, based upon FACTS and their understanding of the need of the applicant.
6. Schools submit all applications through FACTS. GSACS has access to this application information and will award applications based on the school’s final recommendation. FACTS will be the primary tool of communicating scholarship recommendations and approvals.

Funding Process

1. Scholarships are awarded for an academic year for each student.
2. Schools should have applicants submit applications by September 1st and January 15th (for students joining mid-year).
3. GSACS will review applicants and submit eligible applicants to the donor of the NexGen Scholarship.
4. Scholarships are not guaranteed, but GSACS will seek to approve scholarships in a timely manner so decisions by all parties may be made.
5. After scholarships are approved, GSACS will seek to send scholarship money to schools by October 15 and March 1 after confirming students are indeed enrolled.
6. All unused scholarships due to change of enrollment status should be returned to GSACS.