There is good news for Kern County high school seniors. Beginning Feb. 1, eligible Kern County high school seniors can apply for approximately $100,000 worth of college scholarships, available in amounts ranging from $1,000-$4,000. Known as the Cal-SOAP/Kern County Scholarship, it makes funds available to graduating seniors in Kern County, who demonstrate a financial need and maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average (GPA). Scholarship applications can be downloaded at http://learning.kern.org/calSoap. Applications must be submitted to the Southern San Joaquin Valley Cal-SOAP office, 2000 K Street in Bakersfield by 5 p.m. on April 1. They may also be mailed to — ATTN: Alyse Barrios, Cal-SOAP, 1300 17th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301. This scholarship is a little different than most,” said Cal-Soap Field Advisor Alyse Barrios. “It is both need and merit based. We are looking for students who might be left out of the traditional scholarship search. This will benefit a lot of middle income families. The plan is for the scholarships to be refundable with the hope of helping students through their entire four year college education.” More