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CalKIDS Scholarship: Everything you Need to Know
By
Kira Ranieri
Kira is a content writer at Scholarships360. Kira earned a Bachelor of Media and Journalism with a concentration in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Gabriel Jimenez-Ekman is the Director of Content at Scholarships360. He has written over 300 articles on college admissions, financial aid, and scholarships, in addition to spearheading research projects for Scholarships360's Top Colleges resource. Gabriel graduated from Kenyon College with a degree in sociology.
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In 2022, the state of California launched the CalKIDS Scholarship, which allows newborns and young children to automatically receive funding for their education. Select older children born before July 1, 2022 may also be eligible, making this a great opportunity for any parents or current high school students in California to know about. Today we’ll break down what CalKIDS is, who’s eligible, and how to claim a CalKIDS scholarship for you or your child. Let’s get started!
What is CalKIDS?
The California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program, also known as CalKIDS, is a scholarship program that awards money to the youth of California to start saving for college. The state launched the program in 2022 to help California students and parents get a jumpstart on saving and paying for college.
Parents of children born on or after July 1, 2022 can enroll to automatically receive a scholarship for their child. Students from low-income backgrounds who attend public school in California may also be eligible. The scholarship includes an initial deposit, which varies depending on the student’s age, and possible financial incentives when the deposit is placed in a college savings account. Parents can link their CalKIDS account to ScholarShare’s 529 plan, which is a college savings account that is tax free.
Keep reading: How much can you contribute to a 529 plan in 2025?
Who’s eligible for CalKIDS?
There are two groups that are eligible for the CalKIDS scholarship: newborns and young children, and students in grades 1-12.
Newborns and young children
All children born in California on or after July 1, 2022 have a CalKIDS Scholarship waiting for them. That’s right, even newborns! As soon as 90 days after your child is born, you can claim free money for their college education. The awards for this group are as follows:
- $25 for children born between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023
- $100 for children born on or after July 1, 2023
- $25 bonus when you claim your CalKIDS Scholarship Account
- $50 bonus when you link your CalKIDS account with a ScholarShare 529 account
Students
Students who were born before July 1, 2022 may still be eligible for CalKIDS. In order to qualify, students must either be public school students enrolled in grades 1-12 during the 2021-2022 academic year or public school students enrolled in the 1st grade during the 2022-2023 academic year and every school year thereafter.
The scholarship award amounts for this group are as follows:
- $500 for low-income or English learner public school students
- $500 more for foster youth
- $500 more for homeless youth
California high school students can also claim up to $1,500 for college or career training.
How do I claim a CalKIDS scholarship?
If you or your child is eligible for CalKIDS, it’s a pretty simple process to claim your scholarship. Your first step is to head to the CalKIDS website, and from there you’ll need to have some information ready to input in order to claim the scholarship.
Newborns and young children:
For newborns and young children born on or after July 1, 2022, parents will need to input the county the child was born in, the child’s birthdate, and the 13-digit Local Registration Number (LRN) on the child’s birth certificate. Parents may have also received a letter from the ScholarShare Investment Board which will have a unique registration code that can be used in place of the child’s LRN.
Students:
For students who attend a California public school, you or a parent or guardian will need to input the county where you attended school, your birthdate, and your Statewide Student Identifier (SSID). You may have also received a letter from the ScholarShare Investment Board which will have a unique registration code that can be used in place of the SSID.
Once you have all the materials you need to register, you can make an account and automatically claim your CalKIDS scholarship upon registration!
When do students get access to the scholarship funds?
Since the scholarship is meant to be used to start a college savings account, the funds will not be distributed until the student is at least 17 years old and has enrolled in an eligible institution. Once the student has enrolled, they can submit a distribution request via the online portal to use some or all of their program balance. Upon approval, ScholarShare will send the payment directly to the eligible institution to pay for expenses such as tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, and computer equipment.
Are the award funds automatically invested?
If you claim a CalKIDS Scholarship, the awards are not invested until they are put into a 529 account. With the ScholarShare 529 account, the funds from CalKIDS are invested in the Plan Passive Enrollment Year Portfolios. This means that the investment plan becomes more conservative as the student comes closer to their college enrollment date.
If you wanted to opt out of putting the funds into a 529 plan, know that connecting a 529 is not required. That being said, using ScholarShare’s 529 plan is highly encouraged. Not only is there an additional monetary incentive, but also when you put the funds into a 529 plan it allows them to grow with tax advantages. Investing the funds, especially if you start as early as possible, can lead to a large sum that is ready to be used to pay for your child’s college education!
See also:What are the 529 plan rules?
Key Takeaways
Other top scholarships for California students
Along with CalKIDS, there are many amazing scholarship opportunities for California students. Here are some of our top picks based on reputation and award amount:
- Yeager Science Scholarship – $23,000 scholarship for students who plan to pursue a degree in physical science or technical areas at a California Community College and/or a California State University or University of California system school
- Edison Scholars Program – $12,500 scholarship for high school seniors from southern California who plan to pursue STEM degrees
- Cal Grant – Widely offered program for California students attending in-state public institutions
- Celebrate The West – High school students from California or other Western states who submit an original two-dimensional art piece informed by their experience living in the West can win $200 – $1,500
Explore more scholarships for students in California by starting your personalized scholarship journey with Scholarships360! That way you can get matched to scholarships based on your location and other qualities like demographic, academics, and extracurricular interests.