In its second year, the Golden Promise Program now includes books to go along with free tuition, parking and college fees
Gabby Chambers was in no-man’s land. For her freshman year at GWC, in 2018–’19, she qualified for a Federal Pell Grant, which paid for college. However, she didn’t qualify for a Federal Pell Grant this academic year. Her family made too much money, but they didn’t make enough to pay for her to go to Golden West College. Thanks to the Golden Promise Program, however, Chambers is enjoying her sophomore year at GWC.
Now in its second year, the Golden Promise Program pays for tuition and books for qualified students. In its debut year, 162 GWC students received free tuition through the Golden Promise Program thanks to a grant of $380,000 provided by the state. That grant was for two years, and surplus money from the first year allowed GWC to add free books to qualified applicants this year, says Dr. Claudia Lee, Vice President, Student Services.
This year, there are some 700 students enrolled in the Golden Promise Program, Lee says. “The Golden Promise Program is truly free college for those who qualify,” Lee says. “It eliminates the stress of worrying about how to pay for textbooks and material fees, and allows our students to focus on their courses and academic goals. It’s an amazing program that we hope to refine and expand in the coming years. I’m so proud of our campus for always putting students first!”
Requirements to apply for the Golden Promise Program include being a first-time college student, a California resident, a full-time student (12 or more units) and submitting a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or California Dream Act Application. Chambers, 19, is taking 12 units this semester. She lives with her grandmother in Fountain Valley and works three days a week as a certified nursing assistant at a skilled nursing facility.
“Trying to do work and school and then worry about money is just too much,” Chambers says. “Thanks to the Golden Promise Program, I don’t have to stress about money. I can just focus on school and then do my work on the weekends.” Chambers wants to be a labor and delivery nurse.
Aimee Geck, a freshman who graduated last spring from La Quinta High School in Westminster, wants to become a chiropractor. “At first I wanted to be a nurse, but I have a chiropractor and I was talking to him about what I should do, and he said, ‘Oh, I think you would make a good chiropractor.’”
Geck, who grew up in Huntington Beach, heard about the Golden Promise Program when a GWC representative came to her high school to give a presentation. For years, she attended the swap meet at GWC on weekends and always had planned on going to college here. Like Chambers, Geck didn’t qualify for financial aid this year.
“My parents weren’t too happy that we didn’t qualify,” Geck says. “We were right on the borderline.” But the Golden Promise Program is covering Geck’s roughly $900 in tuition, books, and student fees per semester. Geck is taking 15 units this semester. Her classes include algebra, introduction to biology with a lab, and a college success class where she learns how to manage money and other practical skills.
“Everyone’s really nice and friendly, and they’re all very helpful,” she says of her teachers and fellow students at GWC. Geck plans to transfer to a four-year college or a chiropractic college after she earns her associate’s degree. “When I qualified for the Golden Promise Program,” she says, “my parents were very happy.”
