CalKIDS Stories

“I was excited and relieved. The money made a difference by taking away some of the financial burden college brings.”

“I felt very fortunate and less stressed…it was a huge help. I used the money for books and testing materials for school.”

“I was absolutely surprised…I didn’t know I could have money for school just like that. I used my funds for tuition…it took a big load off my back. Now I can finally focus on my education.”

“I used my money to pay for my first housing bill and that allowed me to save more money for the next two payments. It made a huge difference to me because by the end of the year I was able to pay for all of my necessities.”

“I had to work 2 jobs to pay for parking and books…I felt so relieved that I could finally pay for bills at university.”

“I used the money to sign up for an online course not affiliated with my school but was really helpful for my major. I was able to connect with lots of talented people in the field from all over the world. Without this money, I couldn’t get this extra opportunity to network with people and learn such valuable things that my school doesn’t teach.”

“It was honestly such a big relief…knowing I had at least some funds to help me with the tuition and not to be too much in debt.”

“The funds helped me not feel like such a financial burden to my mom. The funds are part of the reason I’m not in debt right now.”

“I felt so relieved to have this money. Every bit counts when you’re in college and I had a bit of relief knowing that I could pay my tuition.”

“The whole amount I received from CalKIDS went towards the tuition costs to study at my school of choice. While many wouldn’t see it as a lot of money, it was a big help to me going into school understanding that the tuition bill would have to be paid by me as my parents didn’t have the financial means to do it for me. The money just really helped to ease my mind a little more and relieve some of the stress of paying for college.”