About the IAP

Programmatic Overview
At the Center of the Incentive Awards Program are the scholarship awards themselves, this year totaling over $1.8 million. When the Program was founded in 1992, Scholars received $5,000 annual awards for a total of $20,000 over 8 semesters. Today, thanks to the generosity of countless donors, the Incentive Awards Scholars receive awards up to $32,000 in donor-supported scholarship funding.

These awards are disbursed over four years and are the cornerstone of highly competitive financial aid packages, which minimize the need for scholars to use loans or work-study to fund their education. Because Incentive Awards Scholars come from backgrounds of economic disadvantage, nearly all qualify for additional forms of financial aid, including Federal Pell Grants, State Cal Grants, and other institutional scholarships and grants, as well as work-study that helps to complete their financial aid package.

In addition to this scholarship support, all Scholars receive a wide array of services — along with the opportunity to develop as leaders — throughout their undergraduate years. Because the IAP expects Scholars to be positive role models for younger students in their former high schools, the Program has the responsibility to help them succeed and learn how to become “ambassadors” for others. Furthermore, the Program, which serves a wide range of students with differing interests and needs, must be flexible enough to help Scholars reach a variety of academic and personal goals.